It seems that we might be confusing two issues here. Distaste for the designer breeds, and like any other fashion, what might be considered designer today, might be out of vogue tomorrow leading to alot of puppies without proper homes, and the fact that there is a huge variance worldwide about acceptability of color and markings for differing breeds, and much of the difference is how the animal is used or worked within that culture. And as has been mentioned, a dog with color disqualification might still be a wonderful companion animal, and might be a whiz at hunting, tracking, agility, obedience, and a therapy dog work...the only restriction is that the animal should probably not be bred. But from my experience, the animal can compete in all other aspects of AKC competitions aside from conformation. As I have heard time and again from the various posts on this site, many folks seem to consider conformation as a glorified beauty pageant or popularity contest, and their references to it are somewhat snide anyway, so why should they be upset about disqualifying colorations? After all, they are not purchasing their dogs with that purpose in mind. As far as people duping registrations....it happens in every other aspect of life, so why should the dog world and the AKC be exempt from unscrupulous people. And yes, we try to educate, and we should keep trying in that vein-the proverbial broken record about breed standards, but if an individual truly loves the appearance of the "merle poodle", then that is what they will seek out and buy, and probably pay way too much for. So many pet choices are made from emotion and impulse (one of the reasons our pounds and shelters are so overwhelmed) that the decisions people make regarding their pet choices are hardly with the stud book and breed standard in the back pocket. Those who breed purebreds are trying to retain a sense of the history of the animals by breeding true-even when the actual use and purpose of the breed may no longer be an essential part of society. I am certainly not going to be able to use my IWs for wolf hunting, not will the Borzoi owners and breeders, but the effort is to keep the history of the breed alive for future generations. There is probably more leeway in breeds that are still actively being used for working and hunting, because as the duties of the animals evolve and change, so will the animal's overall conformation and perhaps even adjustments in breed standard to reflect that. There is also the idea of a "hook"-a specific trait or characteristic attributable to certain breeds. For example, when any of us on this website are asking others to help identify a mixed breed puppy or dog from photos, we are all using the "hooks" we are familiar with, because we aren't able to see the dog's behavior, demeanor, and other traits which might lead to a guess as to the parents lines.
Not sure at all how I feel about the White Dobies and GSDs, but I do know that part of the problem is that they are not strictly speaking a mutation, but rather a recessive trait which isn't desirable, and that they are wholly and completely unique and different than the problem of albinoism and its attendant other health issues. I know that the acceptance in Europe is much greater than in our country, and I have known people who have owned both white GSD and white Dobes, and the animals behavior, mannerism, temperment, size etc are all right on the breed standard-they just happen to be white or cream in coloration. I don't know that I would spend extra for them, nor necessarily even seek them out with an eye to perpetuating that trait, but the shame is that some of these animals are phenomenal breed representatives in terms of how stable, steady, and good tempered they are, and it is a shame to not be able to pass those qualities along to future generations. Some of these dogs have phenomenal field abilities, and once again, to not encourage those desirable traits due to coloration alone is seemingly wasteful. If my understanding of the genetic mechanism is correct, to breed the white GSD and Dobes with animals that did not have the recessive at all, would result, by and large in a litter of pretty normal colored animals-eventually the recessive would be extinguished by careful DNA screening and cross breeding. (Once again though, recessive genes do have a purpose, and do we have the right to extinguish them, and are we any different than the "designer breeders" if we seek to eliminate something that perhaps doesn't occur regularly, but does occur naturally.)