Hello chapter members, this warm weather seems to have really gotten people’s blood pumping about training & testing season.  We are fielding an increasing amount of emails and calls, so I thought it would be helpful to send out this update.

*Anybody with a Kelley Farms grounds pass please use extreme care and caution the next few weeks if going out to run your dogs.  The roads will be extremely soft and please do not tear them up.  Ideally, it would be best to stay away from there the next few weeks, but if you go, park by main gates and walk-in only-thank you!

TESTING

Due to strong demand for Test entry slots this year, we have added a day of testing slots at our May 15th, 16th, 17th Natural Ability Test at Four Brooks.  There are a few slots still available to chapter members only.  Although the test is still marked as “Full”, on our website, please contact test secretary Jacob Tillman at jacobtillman80@gmail.com to see if there are openings, and he will send you the registration info.  You will need the password. Do not delay, as this will soon be opened up to the public to ensure we fill the test.

There are also still a couple slots in our MOCK Natural Ability Test set for Saturday May 2nd at Kelley Farms.   This is open to chapter members only, and to see the Event post you will need the password: navhda

We will be looking for Volunteers at all of our tests in 2020, and it is not too early to get these dates on your calendar.  We also expect those of you who are entered to run a dog in our tests to volunteer to help on a day you are not running.  Please review the dates and contact the Test & Clinic Coordinators if you can help.  No experience is necessary.

We also have an upcoming Training/Testing  Clinic this Saturday March 14th at Cabela’s in Rogers.  Preparing for NAVHDA testing.  There are still openings.

TRAINING

As a chapter, we are making some big shifts in Chapter Training Philosophy.   We are not professional trainers, and will not train your dog FOR you, but we will do our best to provide access to the resources YOU need to assist in training your dog to whatever your testing or hunting goals are.  This includes the information we have on the Training Resources page of this website.  These are things you can study and work on at home or on your own.   We want everybody to have a specific goal in mind when they show up to training this spring, and to come as prepared as possible.  To start thinking about your goals and training processes, please check out these News posts I wrote last winter.

We are getting closer to announcing our Training day information and formation of the summer Training groups.  If you have not done so, please take our Training Survey.  We will be closing this survey later this week, and once we sort through the data, will be forming our smaller training groups.

Wondering about what Judges are looking for when you test your dog?  The Handler Clinic on May 2nd & 3rd is an in-depth look at the AIMS Program & Test Rules book and how the NAVHDA scoring & scorecard system works.  There are still a few openings in this Event.

For a full Overview of all of our upcoming Training & Testing Events, please see the last  Training Events Update or our Full Calendar.

Finally, please check out our Sponsors.  We do have 2 professional trainers as chapter sponsors, and encourage anyone who may not have the time or confidence to train their own dog, or needs specialty help to seek out their services.

Feel free to contact me at pete.aplikowski@mnnavhda.org, or our Director of Training Mitch Carlson at mitch.carlson@mnnavhda.org with any questions as we get rolling into Training season.

Pete Aplikowski-President

NAVHDA Judge