I think Davie what we have to do is prove how serious we are about not only giving these dogs enough work, but taking that work seriously and training them to do it to their full potential whether that potential is needed in the field every day or not.
Without naming names, folk have no doubt in the past got their hands on some good dogs, and seen it as an opportunity to make a buck. Probably because of the rarity of that breed. And the most common being the BMH is already raising concerns about hips because of ill informed or unscrupulous breeding.
You personally have seen some breeds ruined because of showing. What was it you said to me recently? 90% of all HWV's in Britain are now known to be pets or show dogs? What a shame for that fantastic working breed...
I can totally see why the Germans are so guarded of their pure working lines.
I have admitted in the past that my dog has failings so this is by no way a dig at folk who are rightly proud of what their dog can do, but a video of a dog being posted following a fresh (hot) track up to 300m is not going to convince them that we are taking the capabilities of their breeds seriously as it then appears we think that is all there is to it. That is not a fully trained deer dog. Why not show a video of the dog following an intricate 1000m track 24hrs old and indicating sign along the way? It doesn't matter if its training or for real. It show that we know what is required.
Starting tests and training days, and having folk like Rudi over to report back is certainly one way of possibly opening doors in the future. It is clear from the currently running threads and passionate responses that there is a following in this country who would like to also see that happen.