J Pike

Thanks for getting back to me guys and all the info!!
Bruce I have a Lab but not interested in training my pup for either, I just wanted opinions from dog trainers who did both. I was told on another site by some non hunting dog owners that training a dog to perform in the ring, hunt tests and field trials etc.is more difficult than training a dog to perform in the field. (to hunt any species of game) I posted that is impossible, hunting dogs perform in adverse weather conditions, sub freezing water temps, staying focused even though they come across numerous distractions thru out the course of an 8-10 hour day afield, fatigue, countless hours of laying still and just waiting for their time to work etc. Where as hunt test/field trials are held in controlled environments etc. and the dogs are not fatigued etc. One even mentioned that things like live flyers flying past her pups heads are a distraction while they sit motionless, and I told her to try firing a couple fast rounds off from a semi auto shotgun a few feet away and see how much of a distraction that is to her pups. Pike