Everybody has their own opinions on it, so I will give mine. I have to start with I am a big believer in genetics, to me that is your base line starting point.
One of my first mentors who has now passed away used to tell me how good your dogs are breaks down to four factors; 1. Genetics: the starting point the way he put it is you can only get out of them what they have them 2. Hunter/Handlers: someone to lead/guide them, correct and keep them out of trouble, and put them in positions to succeed 3. Environment: places to hunt and game populations 4. Hunting time: Woods time, repetitions they get.
So in my opinion to have dogs you can really rate as top shelf or top notch you need a good amount of all of those factors though you can still be successful with less but I always remember there are levels to everything we do.
You hit the nail on the head…a dog with the right genetics and proper handling does not need to be hunted as much to perform with consistency at a high level but it does need to be hunted enough…
