Anyone with experience, and/or intelligence, will say the same thing.
Anyone who is trying to "test" dogs younger than 2.5 - 3 is a moron.
You can "start" dogs whenever they seem ready, and "bump" them in short practice runs, but you do not
test dogs until they are fully-mature.
Same thing as you can lace a pair of gloves on a 12 year old kid, and let him have some short 2-3 round amateur bouts, but you are NOT going to put a 12 year old in a 15 round world title fight to the finish (even with another kid).
There is also a difference between "sexual" maturity and full-fledged
social maturity.
A human kid can reproduce at 12-14 years of age, but that doesn't mean he's a MAN yet
He is not a leader, is not prepared to support himself (let alone a family), make important decisions, or command respect, anywhere.
He is still a BOY with a BOY'S MIND.
By the same token, so it is with dogs
A young male may hike his leg at 12 months, and be able to sire a litter, but that doesn't mean he's an "adult" yet either.
It is
a biological fact that wolves don't reach SOCIAL maturity until 3-4 years of age. Meaning, they may be sexually-mature at 1, but they haven't become full, socially-mature males (ready to challenge the leader) until they're 3-4 years old.
Too many toothless, inbred idiot-dogmen
understand nothing about dogs (or anything else for that matter), and roll/test PUPPIES ... and kill them before 1-2 years of age ... when these dogs aren't even
anywhere near ready
Just because a pup fires-up at 14 months, for a min or two, doesn't mean he's ready for a full-blown game test next month.
You're just supposed to SCHOOL THEM, with a short bump every couple months, AND ALLOW THEM TO MATURE for another year or two. Same as you let a young kid develop his boxing skills, in short, amateur fights for a few years, before he is ready to turn pro.
There are basic concepts staring people in the face everywhere ... but some people are just too blind to see them.
So think "idiot" every time you hear someone talk about testing any dog that isn't at least 2.5 - 3 years old.
Some dogs, like Chinaman and Dibo, were not ready till 4 or 5 years of age.
A dog's quality is based on LEVEL OF PERFORMANCE (not "how quick they start"), and it is a fact that some of the better-performing dogs took awhile before they were fully-ready.
Jack