I 'm sure many here will agree with this. There seems to be the overwhelming opinion that hunting dogs are second class...that only trialing is the proof of the pudding....and without competition ...well, not worth mentioning!!!Of course there are many good hunting dogs that would not make competitive field trial dogs, for one reason or another.
Great dogs handle the difficult work consistently.....handle grouse on windy days....stand well off the sharpies because they know the difference/situation....relocate and pin the running rooster on their own....and leave nothing dead or wounded on the ground no matter how difficult the retrieve. I am sure all of us could add more to this list. None will show this without our patience...taking them out on wild game and giving them the chance to learn. I have watched trial bred dogs in ND run like the wind for a few days, run by cover, and otherwise beat feet ... but with each day they started to figure it out. I would say that without that experience, they would not become the best hunting dogs. I took my hillside grouse dogs to Florida once and they looked lost for two days....but they came around when they stopped running to the thickest cover and started cruising the open ground under the pines. We all train, compete, test, etc....and afterwards I do think we need to confirm that a dog is really a good hunting dog too. But we have to give a dog time...
I have seen many dogs from good trial and test "pedigrees" that were not the best hunting dogs. Most would get the job done....but to find great hunting dogs you have to hunt enough so that they run up against the tough conditions. Any dog can point a quail in a hedgerow, a rooster on the roost, or a juvenile grouse in the browse.
Titles and scores should never become surrogates for performance....but they can be a valuable as a part of the package. Personally, I would never buy a dog from a kennel where the dogs are not being proven on wild game. I am also less likely to buy dogs that require pros to handle them.