It takes years to develop a “finished” bird dog, and along the way there will be a lot of mistakes. The key to a finished dog is understanding that every moment is a training moment. Things will go wrong from time to time because there are so many variables. You have to be willing to let a bird go now and again, or make other “sacrifices” along the way in order to teach and train your dog. Let training always be your goal in the field. Even in trials. It may cost you points, it may cost the trial, but that is far better than creating a “trial smart” dog. That is just my two bits.