VomSteinbruch
FNG
I’ve never competed, but when I started my upland hunting journey, I was mentored by people who did. They mainly ran field trial dogs, mostly English Setters and Pointers, with a few GSPs as well.
Later, I transitioned to versatile dogs after realizing I also enjoyed hunting ducks and other small game. Pointers and Setters weren’t the best fit for that kind of multipurpose work, so I stepped away from that world, not that I had much success in it anyway.
That said, at heart I’m still strongly influenced by the field trial mindset, the appreciation for hard‑charging, fluid, long‑ranging dogs. That’s not always what people in the versatile dog community are looking for.
Field trials are not really about hunting; they are about maximizing a dog’s physical and mental abilities and showcasing them with grace and style. The dog that finds the most birds doesn’t always win a placement. The how is more important than the when. There are perfectly capable dogs that will never win simply because they lack that “spark.” They may have speed, nose, endurance, and can cover a lot of ground, yet something is still missing.
Many newcomers get frustrated because they know they have an objectively good dog, but they don’t yet have the experience to recognize that extra quality that makes a good dog a truly great one. Once you see that spark, you can’t unsee it.
One of my biggest frustrations was that I couldn’t reliably identify that quality myself, which in many ways is subjective, and that’s part of the reason I stepped away.
Another confusing aspect is that the average placement‑winning dog is noticeably ahead in almost every aspect of bird work compared to the average hunting dog. When you see that difference, it can make your own dog seem inadequate. Many people have described that feeling. But it doesn’t mean your dog is bad, it’s just that those dogs operate on a different level that most of us don’t actually need.
