I have a three and a half year old working straing gundog and I am considering using him at stud. As a responsable dog owner I was about to get him hip scored and eye tested, and also to improve his chances of being considered by prospective breeders, I would like to train him for and enter him into Field/Working Trials.  I recall seeing a thread on the forum stating that as far as working dogs are concerned, not many breeders would expect/require hip scoring/eye tests, is this correct? Also as a novice (please excuse my ignorance) I understand there is a difference between Field Trials and Working Trials, can someone explain what this is and how I would go about training him/entering him into competition?

Admin: breed removed.

Personally I would want to see hip and eye scores from both parents, however I admit that some in the shooting fraternity are a bit lax on these things.

THe difference between field and working trials is basically the use of live game as opposed to dummies. I would have to say that most people start compeating with their dogs when they a bit younger than yours. It is not easy to get FTC or WTC, and there are a lot of things for both you and the dog to learn (there is a big difference between a good working gundog and a FTC). I would suggest that you contact either the kennel club or someone like the breed register and find a local gundog training club to join.