The Field Trial Game: Some Insights Into What It Takes to Win ... and What the Future May Hold for the Sport (Training Q&A‪)‬

(Question) I recognize that field trials are all about super sporting dogs. But for a lot of us hunters, bird hunting is all about gun dogs too. How come so many hunters look on "field trial" as two dirty words and most professional trainers tell you a choice has to be made...that the same dog can't be both a shooting companion and a field trial champion? With the way sporting life is trending now, all the criticisms about dogs, hunting, guns, animal abuse and restrictions, ad nauseum, I'd think people so wrapped up in outdoor sports would be banding together and supporting the "dog cause" rather than criticizing and splitting up. (Georgia)