Most pups in a litter are pet quality anyway
This depends on the breed you are looking at. I am in Belgians. Almost any groenendael can be shown. Even one of my females that I have now, while not nearly conformational
ly perfect (ugly in most people's terms), can still be shown and can still win. And of course, no dog is perfect -- every one has somehing that needs to be improved upon.
A Championship does not mean alot to me. What it tells me is that the dog will stand for a judge. Otherwise it doesn't say much. My foundation bitch doesn't have her Can CH yet. She DOES have 5 points and was the #19 Belgian in Canada last year from only one show, beating 25 dogs. But she doesn't have her CH. Does this mean she isn't a good specimen? Of course not, it just means she hasn't been shown enough.
I know a sheltie bitch that has been in atleast 30 shows, and now only needs one point to finish her CH. If you don't know she's been in 30 shows, you might take a look at her CH and think "must be a good dog." But how good is she when she's been shown like crazy the past two years and still does not have her CH? The fact that she HAS been shown that much will not be advertised -- only the shows she's won points with. And of course she has never taken anything over Best of Winners. But she will have her CH. Does this mean she's a good specimen? No, it means that occasionally there aren't many other female shelties entered and so she has a chance at taking best female which may give her a point or two.
Unless you know the breed well enough yourself and you look at the dog yourself, you can't look at a CH as an accurate measure of how well put together a dog is. I've met plenty of ugly dogs that have their CH. I've met plenty of breeders of ugly less common dogs that pin their dogs together in the same show so that not only will one of their dogs win, but that dog will also have enough points to finish their CH in one weekend.
Unless the dog has "BIS" or "BISS" ahead of their name -- the CH means nothing. And even then, the amount of grooming it takes to make that dog look better than it actually is is quite phenomonal. I know people that shave their dogs' cheeks to make them look thinner. People that shave cowlicks down the nose to make it appear as if there isn't one. People that dye the hair or chalk it. Oversize dogs that get shorter haircuts to make them appear smaller. Dogs with weight stuff in their ears to make them tip better. People who glue their dogs splayed toes together. Dogsc whose leg hair is brushed inwards so they don't appear easty-westy. Dogs whose head hair is trimmed so that their headplanes appear paralell..etc etc. And then you still have to look at health and temperment, so on and so forth.
Yes, a CH does not mean much. It's easier just knowing what your breed should look like and what it's faults are, so that you can determine it yourself. If the dog is too far away to tell, ask someone who has seen the dog. A good breeder should be willing to tell you the dog's faults, but the best person to ask is not the breeder. Also, a Can CH is different than an AM CH. An Am CH is much more difficult to require.