If you have to go with your dog to pick up a bird then I rest my case. I dont give a rats ass if a bird falls out at 400 yards. That sucker will end up back in the blind in short order and my fat ass won’t do anything but stand up and make a few quick handles. The sole purpose of dog training is to recover game. It doesn’t matter if it’s hunting or trialing, the reason behind it is the same, to get the birds back as quick and efficient as possible. I hate losing birds that’s why I only bring well trained dogs to hunt over. We never lose birds at all in the rice fields and I can absolutely recover any bird with little effort as long as my dog can see me and hear the whistle. I’ve had occasions when a dog picked up a long sailing bird they never saw at such long distances that we shot into multiple volleys before they were able to get back.

You’ve never seen a well trained dog with a competent handler.....that’s an absolute damn fact.