Hello All,

This email is long, but contains a lot of information, so read it carefully. We will begin the training season at Four Brooks WMA on  Thursday April 17th at 6 PM at the North (main) shelter with a pre-season introduction meeting. Items we will cover include Four Brooks Pass Requirements, Grounds Usage and Rules, and the Training Season Plan. No dog work will be done that day.

Below is a link to the Four Brooks Training Night Form. Please fill this form out if you intend to train at Four Brooks this season. This will be used to create the email distribution list, so you must fill this out even if you trained at Four Brooks in previous years.

https://forms.gle/v9QYmhFbbm22pSLs5

Eric Borkoski and myself (Tony Hennen) will be running the Thursday night Four Brooks training group again this season. The 2025 training season will be similar to the 2024 season; we have laid out specific training nights to help individuals with puppies prepare for their NA tests. People/Dogs running the upcoming test will be given priority and will be the focus of the training night. People/dogs running later tests are welcome to help, learn and expose their puppy. One of the tendencies we have seen in the past is over training for the NA test. The objective with the schedule is to help expose many people to the basics of training towards test elements that they can do on their own, and vary our training to cover a broader range of skills and other productive dog work. We will talk more on this at the introduction meeting.

People who are focusing on the Gun Dog Test, Utility Test or Invitational Test will be encouraged to create small training groups to achieve your specific goals. The chapter has equipment available to assist in the training if you need it. If there is interest, Eric, myself, and a few other members can help you put together a Gun Dog Test or Utility training schedule or outline.

NAVHDA is a volunteer organization. All training nights, tests and administrative items are performed by volunteers. If you plan on training at Four Brooks, the expectation is that you are helping maintain the grounds and assisting others with their training. If you plan on testing a dog, the expectation is that you volunteer at a test. Without volunteers, this organization will no longer exist.

There is an upcoming Four Brooks Grounds Maintenance Day on Saturday April 12th starting at 9 AM. Please come and help get the grounds ready for the 2025 training and testing season. Please see the post on our MN NAVHDA Facebook page for more details and what you want to bring. If you do not have Facebook, please reach out to one of us for the information.

A training pass is required to use the Four Brooks WMA for dog training. Below is the link to the grounds pass. You must be a member of NAVHDA International and MN NAVHDA to purchase a grounds pass through this link.

https://mnnavhda.org/four-brooks-grounds-pass/

Below is the tentative training schedule.

April 17: Four Brooks Introduction Meeting (no dog work)
April 24: NA Field Search Intro and Water Intro (May Test Priority)
May 1: NA Pheasant Track Intro (May Test Priority) *pheasant availability is questionable
May 8: Open Training Night
May 10-11 Four Brooks NA Test VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
May 15: Open Training Night
May 22: Open Training Night
May 29: NA Field Intro (June Test Priority)
June 5: NA Water Intro (June Test Priority)
June 12: NA Pheasant Track (June Test Priority)
June 19: Open Training Night
June 21-22 Four Brooks NA, GDT, UT Test VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
June 26: NA Field Intro & Water (July Test Priority)
July 3: NO TRAINING
July 10: NA Pheasant Track Intro (July Test Priority)
July 17: Open Training Night
July 19-20 Four Brooks NA VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
July 24: NA Field Search Intro (August Test Priority)
July 31: NA Water Intro (August Test Priority)
August 7: NA Pheasant Track (August Test Priority)
August 14: Open Training Day
August 16-17: Virginia NA, GDT, UT VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
August 21: NA Field Search Intro (September Test Priority)
August 23-24 Four Brooks NA, GDT, UT VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
August 28: NA Water Intro (September Priority)
September 4: NA Pheasant Track (September Priority)
September 11: Open Training Day
September 13-14: Four Brooks NA Test VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
End of Training Year

Below is the link to Test volunteer opportunities.

https://mnnavhda.org/2025test-clinic-contact-information-for-volunteers/

Eric and myself look forward to seeing everyone and the new members soon!

Sincerely,

Tony Hennen