Oh and ya asked how i go about picking those quality bloodlines , which I am sure is so ya can make some kinda nasty remarks on how I go about picking my dogs , but i will bite maybe someone can get an idea or two from it..

Actually every dog i picked was done in a somewhat different fashion and under different critera depending on the breeder

But my first GSP I bought years ago and was under the impression all GSPs are the same, as many newbys believe and since some breeders like to pretend their dogs can do everything just as well or better than the next breeder , its a little difficult to educate yourself on the breed without doing some research but I bought my first dog without any knowledge or research on the breed or the various types of testing, I did buy it out of a titled sire as having been familiar with bulldogs knew a dog with a titled background was kinda important rather than just grabbing a dog from the local newspaper that Jimmyboy bred from down the street but really had no idea what the titles meant at the time or what was conducted in the various testing areas, anyway I had this dog who was not exactly the type/style of GSP I had in mind so I trained and hunted the heck out of the dog and got him to hunt in a fashion that met my personal requirements but it wasnt easy on me a newby trainer and it wasnt easy on the dog who wanted to naturally hunt in a different range /fashion than i required ..he still turned into an excellent hunter..
So the dog eventually met a early demise through an unfortunate accident. But he convinced me futher this was the breed for me , i just needed to find the correct type/style for me and my particular hunting style so I spent a year and a half studying various hunt tests and what was required in them checking out dogs reading on the history of the breed the different standards of the breed and talking with people who owned various lines and checking out what people had produced and what the different lines seemed to produce as far as testing goes and talking to people involved with the different types of testing available and checking out some dogs in the hunting fields and asking questions ..

After a year and a half of researching I got in touch with a breeder I had actually already talked to three years prior after talking with numerous people who owned dogs from his line and checking out some dogs from his line and viewing that several people liked his line so much they are creating their own lines from his prodigy or very similar linebreedings and purchased my next GSP Caliber ..
oh even after all my research he was out of untitled unhealth tested parents but the breeder gives a lifetime warrenty on his dogs for any reason so I figured he must be pretty confident they are sound even without testing , and i seen many of his prodegy had hunt and health testing done and heard of none with any serious ailments so felt fairly confident I wouldnt have any health issues ...

Then I bought another GSP so as to never be without a GSP again for a year and a half and then another and another and another everyone I gave a little different critera to before purchasing depending upon the breeder or bloodline..
But in every case I obviously couldnt fly all over the country and even out of the country to look at the dogs due to financial/time off work  reasons so not only checked out the bloodline's as far as how they scored in certain testing areas but also spoke to numerous owners of dogs of the line or owned dogs from the breeder to get their impression of the dogs..You get great input from people who bought dogs from within lines or breeders if they are happy or if they are dissatisfied for some reason..especially from non breeders who are quick to tell ya the faults and have no reason to attempt to lie or cover up the faults ...

but anyway thats the short version how I do it I researched all the hunt testing reguirements of various organizations found some that fit into my hunting style then looked for bloodllines or breeders that have dogs or produced dogs that excelled in those areas then talked to a lot of owners to get their impressions of lines and what it is they produce and checked out a lot of dogs in the field ...
the best way is still to see the parents in action , but no matter how ya pick them you can still end up with a dud its all a bit of a gamble just looking for certain things and talking to people and checking out dogs from breedings helps cut down your odds a bit for finding the right pooch or prospect ....is my thoughts

so there ya go the short version   I am sure its not as good as however you do it, but its seemed to work for me I am pretty happy with the dogs I picked so far, so lets hear it your little remarks on the right way to do it and how my way stinks ...

8 more months and counting!

I said I ASSuMed thats where the converstaion was heading I appologuise if that is not where the conversation was intended to head ...
And also thought it was a good topic to discus figured someone might snag an idea or two from it ...in picking a good prospect or companion for themselves ...

Well thats not very nice for somone who hunts pen birds

 its like you just wrote about my dog after watchin his hunt test haha