Pup's first hunt test
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April 3, 2007 11:43 AM
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txtrigger2003
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Well, last weekend I took Arrow to run in a hunting test put on by NAVHDA's Lone Star Chapter. Took place near Taylor, TX, at the Spanish Oak Hunt Club, and although I attended one of the chapter's training days last fall, it was my first test event. Part of my agreement with Arrow's breeder was to run him in the first level test, called Natural Ability, which must be done before a pup reaches 16 months old.
The Natural Ability test has three main parts: field work, water work, and tracking. There are about eight areas of evaluation by a three judge panel, and in each category a pup can receive a score from zero to four. There is no dog vs dog competition; rather, each pup can earn a "prize" if it scores well enough. Prizes are categorized as Prize I, Prize II, and Prize III. Failure to score enough points overall or high enough in a certain category can result in a "No Prize."
Arrow scored well enough to earn Prize III (87 total points out of a possible 112) and was just one point in one category from being a Prize II. I was very pleased with this result, given that Arrow is still a little under nine months old (youngest of the ten dogs testing that day) and that I am a novice trainer/handler. Moreover, the tracking and water work are the areas that give pups the most trouble, and Arrow got perfect scores in each. His immaturity and his lack of enough wild quail this hunting season earned him a little less than perfect scores in field work, and a little problem or two during our field work resulted in a penalty that dropped us from Prize II to Prize III.
Anyway, I just want to encourage those who are considering training their own gun dog to give it a try. Sure, I am making mistakes, and Arrow will likely never reach his full potential without some professional training along the way. But most of the dogs testing were also being trained by novice owners and most did well. It was a good experience and it was encouraging to have independent judges evaluate your dog and determine that he is coming along nicely. I forgot my camera on test day but was told I could get some pics from other attendees -- if I do, I will try to post them.
"Life's too short to hunt with a beardless dog . . ."
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