Happy New Year Chapter Members!

Hunting season is over for the majority of us, but good luck to those of you still chasing birds in the more southerly states.  Please share your pics on our MN NAVHDA Facebook Page.

Our Annual Meeting and Fable Fest is rapidly approaching and will be held Saturday February 1^st from 6-9pm at Chomonix Golf Course Clubhouse in Lino Lakes.  Catch up with your fellow chapter members, share hunting stories and talk about your upcoming training plans.  Please consider donating a wrapped item for our silent auction fundraiser.  It can be serious or funny.  Include a creative hint to entice (or mislead) your fellow bidders.  (Watch out for the Norwegian briefs!  You never know where they will show up.) Chili with all the fixings  will be provided.  Please bring a side dish to share-salads, hot-dishes, and desserts of all types are welcome.  One change this year is that NO Outside alcohol can be brought in.  (New Anoka County Parks Rules.)  There will be a cash bar with beer, wine and liquor at your own expense.    In addition to Officer Reports and a short Business meeting, there will be a VOTE on updating the Chapter Bylaws. Click here for Full Event details.

Minnesota NAVHDA Chapter membership renewals  were due by 12/31.  You can renew online, or do a print & mail option.  Renewals are $40.00.

2020 Training Season kicks off soon.  Follow the links for Registration Info.

• There are still a few openings for the NEW Winter 10 week Positive Obedience Class geared towards puppies 12 weeks to 12 months old.  Starts Monday January 13^th in Stillwater.
• The traditional Winter Barb Jensen Obedience Class is FULL and closed to entries.
• The NEW Retrieving/Force Fetch Clinic on Feb 8^th is FULL and closed to entries.
• Training/Preparing for NAVHDA Testing Seminar Saturday March  14^th 10am-2pm at Cabelas in Rogers.
• For the 4^th consecutive year, we will be holding a NAVHDA Handler Clinic, on May 2^nd & 3^rd.  It will be led this year by longtime Chapter member and Senior Judge Terry Petro.  Limited to 20 participants, so sign up early.  These clinics have filled the last 3 years.

Last Year, Our Chapter led the entire NAVHDA system with 16 testing days over 5 weekends.  We are repeating that schedule this year and  our 2020 testing calendar is now published and all tests are open for entries.  New this year is online test form submission and payment options. We encourage those with testing plans to sign up early.  Tests filled quickly last year.

**So that we can help better serve your training needs & goals, we are asking all those who plan on participating in Training this year to complete our 2020 MN NAVHDA Training Survey. Weekly small group Training information will be published by the end of February. **

Lastly, I would like to thank all of our Chapter Sponsors for 2020:

• Waconia Ford
• Autumn Breeze Kennels
• The Natural Hound & Naked Bear Naturals
• Pete & Kathleen Aplikowski RE/MAX Results Real Estate
• Jan’s Hanging By A Thread Embroidery By Design
• Kelley Land & Cattle Company
• Oakwood Gamebird Producers
• Sudden Valley Kennels

Sincerely,

Pete Aplikowski

MN NAVHDA-President

According to the NAVHDA AIMS book: “The Utility Preparatory Test (UPT) is designed to evaluate a dog midway in its training towards becoming a reliable versatile gun dog.

The Utility Test (UT) is designed for more experienced dogs in an advanced state of training.  It evaluates their ability to perform as reliable versatile gun dogs and demonstrate their physical and mental capability to take training.”

What follows in this article will make more sense if you are familiar with the different segments of the UT test.  You can refer to the NAVHDA AIMS Programs Test Rules

The UPT test requirements allow a dog a bit more slack in Retrieving and Steadiness, but for the sake of this discussion let’s start with looking at how dogs are evaluated and judged at the UT test.

OBEDIENCE:  If you look at the scorecard for the UT test, there are 13 areas where the dog is being judged on Obedience.

RETRIEVING:  Their are 3 different retrieving events on the UT test.   There will be multiple opportunities to retrieve shot birds in the field.  Dead ducks will be retrieved on land & water, and an opportunity to retrieve a live duck is also a possibility during the Search for a Duck.

There is no “right” or “wrong” way to train a versatile dog, and all dogs respond to training differently.  The following steps provide some guidance on the order in which one might consider training a dog for the UPT or UT test without getting bogged down in the various methods of training  retrieving and obedience.

PHASE 1: Retrieving-A dog needs to be a RELIABLE retriever of game to qualify for a prize (pass) this test.  The game it is sent out for MUST come back to the handler to receive a passing score.  Dogs that retrieve reliably to hand with minimal commands achieve the highest scores.     There is NO point in training the segments of the UPT or UT test if your dog does not bring back game RELIABLY.   Having to correct this behavior while actually out running the test event segments during training is a waste of time, birds, and can confuse the dog.  Even if your dog is a very natural retriever, reinforcing that by doing a force fetch or conditioned retrieve process and making sure you use real birds & ducks during the process will pay off on test day, and in the field during hunting season.

PHASE 2: Search for a Duck-A dog needs to achieve a minimum score of 2 out of 4 in this segment to pass the UPT or the UT test.  In general, this means the dog must go out and search for a wounded duck that it did not see fall for a certain amount of time and search a certain amount of the water & cover.  This takes a tremendous amount of independence and desire to work AWAY from the handler.   Dogs that are overly cooperative or have had too much steadiness training BEFORE building this independent love of searching for ducks can often struggle with this part of the test.   High prey drive dogs with a strong passion for ducks can master this task in a short amount of time, and even recover quickly from too much steadiness training. In general, though, it is best to err on the safe side with this and make sure your dog has the GO and loves to search for ducks before you teach it to WHOA ! (Steadiness).  Another  caveat here is to avoid throwing too many objects for your dog during retrieve training, especially at the water.  Dogs that get too accustomed to going on the strong visual cue of a marked object oftentimes have trouble expanding their water search out of the range and distance  they are used to retrieving these items.  Another tip-NEVER train duck search in the presence of a blind at the water.  Dogs learn by association, and we do not want the dog confusing this segment of the test with the “Remain by Blind” portion.

PHASE 3: Heeling-Your dog should have been accustomed to walking on a leash and trained to not pull and have some basic manners while it was a puppy, but now the test requirements call for a much more higher level of obedience.  You will notice on the UT scorecard that the ONLY trait being judged and scored  during  heeling is Obedience.  Teaching a good clean heel with your dog is a very good place to start more advanced obedience because you have a direct connection to the dog to make timely corrections and it can really set the tone for making the dog know you are the boss.  Achieving a good level of Obedience in heeling will pay off big time when you move on to whoa training and steadiness.

PHASE 4:  Field Steadiness (Flush, Wing, Shot, Fall) and Steadiness at Water (Marked Retrieve Sequence)-Whether you train steadiness by the  blind at the water next or move to the field and start working on steady to flush, wing, shot and fall is not critical.  They both involve off leash obedience and training a dog to stay put in the presence of distractions until you release the dog.  There are various ways to train steadiness.  The point I am trying to make is WHEN to work on it, not necessarily HOW.  When training steadiness for the field (Flush-Wing-Shot-Fall), great care should be taken in the amount of pressure being put on the dog in the presence of birds so as not to diminish it’s pointing intensity or it’s field search.  Any use of check cords and e-collars in the presence of birds in this phase need to be done very carefully.  A really solid WHOA foundation BEFORE putting birds down for the dog will really cut down on the number of birds you will need.  In a NAVHDA test, you CANNOT use an e-collar, and being able to STOP a dog that breaks with a verbal WHOA or a whistle can save your bacon!  Verify that you can verbally WHOA your dog in any situation, with any distraction, including in the presence of a flushing bird or multiple birds or running visible birds.

PHASE 5:  Putting it all together-When your dog has shown it has a good understanding of all the UT test segments and is meeting your expectations of performance, it is time to start mixing it up and moving from segment to segment and take note of any problems you see.  A common thing that can happen is that after doing all the steadiness training, the dog’s duck search will diminish and you will have to go back to that for awhile.  When field training, you will also want to make sure you run your dog not just on a couple birds, but do a full 30-45 minute field run in a variety of cover and weather conditions.  Strange things can happen on test day, and you need to be prepared for these and train for these.  If the cover is sparse, and birds are visible and running, can your dog handle it?  Did you train for that?  If birds are grouped up and multiple birds flush, can your dog handle it?  Did you train for that?  If your dog is coning back with a bird on a retrieve and goes on point on another bird, how are you going to handle that?  Did you train for that?  If it is raining and the birds are soaking wet at the test how will your dog react to the change in scent and bird behavior?  Did you train for that?

Prizing or Passing a dog in either the NAVHDA UPT or UT test will be a rewarding experience for the handler. Even obtaining a Prize 3 in UPT shows that you have a useful hunting companion on land and water, before and after the shot.

All new puppy owners take pride in seeing their dog’s first few “points” and snapping a few quick photos to commemorate them.   It is a beautiful thing to see that inherent natural trait come out in a pup, and sometimes also a relief if it comes easily, since some dogs need more specialized exposure to bring out their inherent pointing instinct.  (That is a topic for another discussion.)

Once a new puppy owner gets a few photos of their dog on a nice pretty point, there can be a natural rush to keep advancing the dog into steadiness training, especially if that first hunting season is approaching.  Having a dog that is at least “steady to wing”, is a big step in improving the safety of the dog, and increasing the hunter’s chances of bagging game.  That said, for young pups, especially prior to their Natural Ability Test, caution should be taken in advancing to obedience work like steadiness and retrieve training.

While initial bird exposure and building search desire is vitally important to the development of a young bird dog, this is a period of a pup’s development where an owner/handler should exercise caution and not be in a hurry.  Some key NAVHDA principles can provide some guidance with this.

In the NAVHDA Natural Ability test, a dog is not being judged on Obedience.  As the name implies, the test is a measure of a dog’s inherited natural abilities including Nose, Search, Pointing, Cooperation, and Desire.

Thinking beyond Natural Ability evaluation, a key NAVDHA principle is that the the judging of “pointing” ends when a dog on point “is aware of the presence of the handler.”  The reason this is an important concept is that it defines the transition between what a dog coming into contact with a bird does naturally (Pointing and Cooperation) and Trained Obedience.  Obtaining steadiness in a bird dog requires Trained Obedience.

The pup is also not being judged on Retrieving, either of birds in the field or bumpers in the water.  In the Natural Ability test, because dogs are not expected to be steady, they will most likely run down and catch a flushed bird.  Some dogs that are natural retrievers and exhibit a lot of cooperation will bring these birds back to or near the handler,  and move on with the test.   If your dog does this, be happy with it and encourage it!   For dogs that do not willingly bring birds back (playing keep away, for example,) caution should be taken not to train (i.e force fetch, conditioned retrieve)  the dog to retrieve to the handler, as it may affect the dog’s Desire, Search, Pointing, or even willingness to enter the Water after a bumper toss.

The NAVHDA AIMS Programs Book states that a puppy is eligible to run their NA test up until the day they turn 16 months of age.  While all dogs are different, and develop at different rates, this 16 months of age timeline perhaps should not be ignored, even for dogs who have already run or are not running the natural ability test.  A dog at least 16 months old has had more time to mature and form a bond with its owner/handler.  Being around gunfire and wild birds in real hunting situations will also build a pup’s confidence prior  to being subjected to the training pressure it takes to becoming a “finished” gun dog.

Young dogs that have not had enough proper bird and field exposure can have their natural abilities diminished by the obedience training required to achieve steadiness and a finished retrieve.  Obedience training requires “pressure” and all dogs react differently to various types and levels of corrective training pressure.  Pressure can come in the form of physical or verbal commands, a check cord,  an e-collar, gunfire, or even a poorly timed launch of a release trap.    Some dogs can take a lot of pressure without affecting or diminishing their inherent natural abilities. Some cannot.

Dogs learn by association and the last thing you want is for a pup to associate negative experiences (too much training pressure) with the tasks of searching, pointing  birds, swimming and having fun.    Some traits exhibited by over-pressured dogs:

• Lack of Intensity on Point
• Flagging tail on Point
• Taking out and/or mutilating birds
• Blinking (avoiding birds)
• Diminished Search (clinging to handler)
• Avoiding the field altogether
• Avoiding the Water
• Gun Shyness

The pace at which a dog develops and when to apply certain training techniques to achieve your goals with your dog is a personal decision.  Understanding the proper amount of corrective pressure to use with your dog and thinking about some basic NAVHDA principles related to pointing and steadiness just might help you avoid some mistakes and setbacks.

Joe Dolejsi Annual Youth Scholarship Fund

This scholarship has been established by the Minnesota Chapter of NAVHDA in memory of and in recognition of Joe Dolejsi’s commitment and many contributions to NAVHDA and the development of the Minnesota Chapter.  Joe was a dedicated leader at the International level as well as the Chapter Level. He also enjoyed interacting with youth and was a firm believer that their involvement would be a cornerstone to the growth of NAVHDA.

At the International level:

• He was a Judge for 27 years.
• He judged 1793 Dogs at 218 individual Chapter Tests.
• He was a Handler Clinic Leader.
• He led 14 Handler Clinics.
• He was the Director of Testing, 1996.
• He was the Director of Judge Development for 2 years, 1997-1998.
• He was the NAVHDA International President for 6 years, 1999-2004.
• He was the NAVHDA International Treasurer for 10 years, 2008-2017.

Every year the Chapter will award a scholarship to a young Chapter member, 18 years or under at the time of their application. Applications must be submitted by December 1st.  EXTENDED-Applications are still open for 2020.

The recipient will be awarded coupons for the following MN NAVHDA events/privileges:

• 1-year Family Chapter Membership* (include coupon with mail-in registration)
• 1 Obedience Class – 10 Week Session (include coupon with mail-in registration)
• 1 MOCK Test (NA or UPT/UT) (include coupon with mail-in registration)
• 25% off ONE MN NAVHDA Test Fee. (NAVHDA International Testing Incentive Program offers reimbursement for the other 75%)**
• Free Pass to any MN NAVHDA Training Events for that year. Includes any grounds and registration fees. Purchase of birds is the responsibility of the handler.

The youth awarded the scholarship must be the individual handling the dog and registering/signing up as the Handler (training or testing)

*If recipient or family is currently a member of the Chapter, the coupon can be used for the following year.

**Recipient must sign up and register for any event on their own.  Coupons must be submitted along with registration forms or presented at the time of a daily event not requiring registration. Normal test refund policies apply and a credit, not cash will be refunded.  Reimbursement from NAVHDA International for their Youth Incentive Program covering 75% of test fees must be applied for separately with NAVHDA International.  If the recipient elects to participate in a Chapter sponsored Handler’s Clinic, they must apply for the NAVHDA International Kristin Rieser Youth Scholarship Fund  which will pay for participation in this event.  Please visit NAVHDA Youth Program site for more info

To apply for the scholarship, please follow this link: Application for Joe Dolejsi Scholarship

The winner of the Joe Dolejsi Annual Youth Scholarship will be selected by vote of the Board of Directors of the Minnesota Chapter of NAVHDA. Children and grandchildren of members of the Board of Directors are not eligible to participate.

DONATE to the Fund  Contributions to this fund in memory of Joe are tax deductible.

This article was posted in the February 2018 issue of NAVHDA’s Versatile Hunting Dog Magazine:

According to the NAVHDA AIMS book, The Utility Preparatory Test (UPT) is designed “to evaluate the dog midway in its training towards becoming a reliable versatile gun dog,” and the Utility Test (UT) is “designed to test a dog’s usefulness to the on-foot hunter in all phases of hunting, both before and after the shot, in field and marsh, and on different species of game.”

For an inexperienced handler, the UPT is a great introduction to the hunting team concept and the different areas of focus for the full UT. There is no age limit for a dog in the UPT, so it can also be a good way to evaluate a dog that missed running a Natural Ability test.

But what about the UPT as a measure of a dog’s usefulness to the hunter? Years ago, I had a Lab and then a Boykin spaniel. I was a novice bird-dog man, but we found, flushed, and shot birds and had fun. With some retrieving and steadiness training, it would have been a lot more fun (and much safer). There were shots taken that should not have been—low-flying birds with dogs on their tails. There was a time in Iowa that I dropped a rooster across a dredge ditch, and the dog refused to go across. It was half a mile to a bridge, and I became the dog on that one mile retrieve. For those of you who do not hunt waterfowl and feel all the water work required of a Utility dog does not apply to your hunting style, think again. Pheasants, grouse and woodcock all live near water, and it seems almost every year one of my dogs retrieves an upland bird from water.

In the NAVHDA UPT, a dog is evaluated across many areas, but, for the purposes of the points I am trying to make with this article, let’s focus on Steadiness (in the field and at the blind) and Retrieving (land and water).

In NAVHDA testing, Field Steadiness is brokendown into four parts as described here:

“Steady to Flush” – Judging “Steady to Flush” begins when the dog is aware of the presence of the handler. Think of “Steady to Flush” as behavior during the flushing period. The steady to flush judgment ends when the bird leaves the ground.

“Steady to Wing” – Judging “Steady to Wing” begins when the bird leaves the ground and ends when the gun is fired.

“Steady to Shot” – Judging “Steady to Shot” begins when the gun is fired and ends when the bird hits the ground.

“Steady to Fall” – Judging “Steady to Fall” begins when the bird hits the ground and ends when the dog is sent for the retrieve.

Continue reading “Steadiness & Retrieve Training-The UPT Test”

2018 Handler Clinic (2 Day Clinic)

• Where: Kelley Farms (Kelley Land & Cattle Company), 11425 155th St N, Marine on St Croix, MN 55047
• When: Saturday, June 9th and Sunday, June 10th, 2018
• Time: 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
• Cost: $130.00 (members and non-members)

The Handler Clinic is an educational tool developed by NAVHDA to help dog owners and handlers understand the testing system. The clinics are conducted by designated trained leaders; all of whom are NAVHDA Senior Judges. During the two-day clinic weekend, participants experience all aspects of a Natural Ability, Utility Preparatory, and Utility Test. The first few hours of each day are devoted to informal classroom instruction. There is discussion of Test mechanics, the scoring system and NAVHDA philosophy.

The group then goes out to the field to judge and score dogs being run in the actual Test process. After each dog has run and been scored, there is a discussion of performance and scoring as observed by the participants and the clinic leader. The discussion includes strengths or weaknesses of training and handling observed in the demonstrations, and how they may have affected the dog’s inherited skills.

Who Should Attend?  People with their first pup see how other dogs work and gain insight into what their pup is doing and why. This helps them to develop their pup’s talents and improve performance in weak areas. ➢ Novice handlers learn how NAVHDA evaluates versatile dogs, and are better prepared to handle their dogs in a test. ➢ Experienced handlers gain a deeper, more technical knowledge, of how the team of dog and handler are judged. ➢ Breeders learn what to look for in their breeding stock and their progeny, and how to use NAVHDA records obtained through our Test Records for selective breeding. ➢ For aspiring NAVHDA Judges, attending a Handler Clinic is one of the first steps in our Apprentice Judge Program.

Download Event Flyer and Entry Form

Please read this message from our President-Rolf Rogers

With the recent revision of our web page and our presence on Facebook, we have been provided improved ways to communicate with our Chapter members.  As a result, the Board has decided to transfer the publication of the Chapter newsletter to the new web page and discontinue issuing a stand-alone newsletter.  We believe this change will provide you with more timely, quality information than could otherwise be achieved with a monthly and often semi-monthly newsletter.

The Chapter has grown and along with that, the need for great communications becomes increasingly important but difficult to execute.  As a result, we have also determined the position of Vice President should be changed to Vice President & Director of Communications.  This restructuring, if approved will assure timely and accurate information is always shared with the Chapter.

Along with this change, we would plan to discontinue the appointed post of Newsletter Editor.  Responsibilities associated with this post become part of the VP & Dir. of Communications’ responsibilities.

To revise the job description and eliminate the appointed post of Newsletter Editor requires a motion and vote by the Chapter to modify the bylaws at the annual meeting/Fable Fest. Members at least 18 years of age may vote at this meeting, provided dues are current.  Attached is the motion for your review in advance of Fable Fest. The Board of Directors has unanimously approved this motion and we ask for your support. Should you have any questions about this information, please feel free to contact me at 612.219.4109 or by email: rolf.rogers@mnnavhda.com

Click Here to Review the Motion

I look forward to seeing you at Fable Fest!

Rolf

President MN NAVHDA