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Hello Minnesota NAVHDA chapter members!

Even though it is the middle of hunting season, your board of directors has been hard at work planning for the 2025 Training & Testing Season.  With 2025  MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS  now open, we wanted to give our members an idea of what we have planned so far for 2025.

ANNUAL MEETING/FABLE FEST

Our Annual Meeting and “Fable Fest” will be Saturday Feb 8th in Blaine.   We had over 100 members in attendance last year. Don’t miss out!   Follow this link for full information and registration.  Pre-Registration is required.

WINTER TRAINING

Please see our Training Page for details about our winter training and to complete a questionnaire if you are interested in these classes.   Things will kick off with all day informational events on Saturday January 11th at Hooley Hall in Stillwater.

NAVHDA AIMS & RULES CLINIC-(Tentative)

May 10-11 at Four Brooks.   (This date and location may be moved and the clinic hosted by the Minnesota Northwoods Chapter at Pineridge Grouse Camp.)

SUMMER TRAINING

We are again planning to have regular small group training at Four Brooks north of Milaca, Kelley/Keystone Woods in Hugo, and the Iron Range Retriever Club in Virginia/Eveleth.   More information is on our Training Pages.

2025 TESTING DATES (Tentative)

Test entries will open mid-February to chapter members only.  All Testing information is on our Testing Page

  • May 10-11 Natural Ability
  • June 21-22 Natural Ability, Utility Prep, Utility
  • July 19-20 Natural Ability
  • Aug 16-17 Natural Ability, Utility Prep, Utility
  • Aug 23-24  Utility Prep, Utility
  • Sep 6-7 Natural Ability

Joe Dolesji Memorial Youth/New Handler Scholarship

Applications for 2025 awards are now open.   Full information and online application is here.

2025 Raffle Fundraiser-win a $4,000 coupon to Upland Gun Company for a custom fitted, custom made shotgun.   Full details here.

Bird Dog of the Day Merchandise Program. We now have a fundraising arrangement with BDOD.  All merchandise purchased through our link will generate a 20% rebate back to MN NAVHDA.   These items make great Christmas gifts-order soon!  Full details here

 

Help support our Minnesota NAVHDA Chapter by purchasing amazing bird dog or gamebird gifts from Bird Dog of the Day.  They will donate 20% of full-priced merchandise totals back to our local chapter!  Just make sure to order through our chapter’s link and make sure the promo code MNV is applied at checkout, which will also give you Free Shipping on your entire order!

Follow the below link and SHARE with your friends!  All sales through this link will benefit Minnesota NAVHDA.

https://birddogoftheday.com/discount/MNV

Here are some Training Updates:

Kelley Farms-Hugo:  We will be having limited Training at Kelley Farms this year.  Small group training will be mostly limited to people training toward UPT, UT and IT tests and those people have been contacted about grounds access.  We do have some spots reserved for new members and natural ability dogs on Thursday nights.   We will also be having OPEN Exposure/Training Days on April 27th, May 18th, June 15th and August 10th.  See FULL Calendar

Four Brooks:  Weekly Training will again be taking place at Four Brooks WMA north of Milaca, primarily on Thursday nights.  You will need a pass to be on the grounds at Four Brooks.  Buy your 2024 Four Brooks Pass Here.

If you are a new member or need help getting into a training group, please fill out the 2024 Training Questionnaire

Our first larger training day will be on Saturday April 27th at Kelley Farms.  See details at these links.  Registration is required for some events.

General Training Questions?   send email to training@mnnavhda.org

Hello chapter members,

This warm winter/early spring has our phones and emails buzzing with people wanting to get an early start on Training this season.   Please be patient!  We can assure you that your board of directors is hard at work behind the scenes making plans for this season.   We are also not scheduled to take delivery of any birds from our suppliers until late April, as usual.

KELLEY/KEYSTONE in Hugo:  One of the biggest hurdles and delays in planning is the ongoing uncertainty with the Kelley Farms/Keystone Woods property in Hugo.   What we can tell you is that there will be LIMITED training available for some small groups at Kelley in 2024 starting in mid-April.  More details will be announced in the next couple weeks.  We will also be holding 4 OPEN chapter training days at Kelley on some Saturdays- April 27th, May 18th, June 15th, and August 10th.

FOUR BROOKS north of Milaca:    With the limited scope of what we will be able to do at Kelley/Keystone, we will be pushing to  expand our weekly training options at Four Brooks this season.     There will also be an OPEN training day and perhaps a MOCK NA test on July 13th at Four Brooks.      There will be much more room to roam at Four Brooks than the limited amount of space we will have at Kelley.    2024 Passes are available for sale and self-printing now, and the grounds are available for your use, as long as you are not interfering with a scheduled event.  You must display your printed pass on the dashboard of your vehicle.    You can see the Four Brooks Event schedule here.

WE WILL NEED HELP!!    We will be needing help building and relocating bird pens again this spring.  Please watch for those email requests and/or Facebook events to be posted very soon and help us out where you are able.  We will also be looking for volunteers to assist with the OPEN training days and stations.  We are an organization built on volunteer efforts-please do your part!

FUNDRAISING-PLEASE MAKE A DONATION!-Please also support our 2024 Fundraiser-the raffle for a $4,000 value coupon to the Upland Gun Company for a custom fitted and built Italian shotgun.   Fundraising will be more important this year than ever for Minnesota NAVHDA to continue to offer our members adequate training & testing opportunities.  For more information on the raffle and to purchase tickets,  please go to this link:  2024 Upland Gun Company Raffle

 

I got a call tonight from a nice woman looking for the support of dog organizations to correct an error that was made when the legislature and county recorders went through a process of cleaning up and removing obsolete statutes. They accidentally removed a statute related to “estray animals”, and the obligations of a person that finds a stray. So now, currently in MN, if you lose your hunting dog, the person who finds it has no obligation to turn it back over to you or a shelter or even notify anyone. There is new legislation working its way through both chambers. The Senate Bill is SF3703 and the House Bill is HF4288. I researched this, and this is a real thing and a legitimate concern and the Bills authors could use your help to push it through. Please consider contacting your legislators to support these bills. It does not take much effort to send a quick email., You can easily find your Representative and Senators and contact information here:  https://www.gis.lcc.mn.gov/iMaps/districts/

It’s that time of year – questions on getting ready for the Natural Ability (NA) test are rolling in!  Here are some thoughts and tips to get you started before chapter-organized group events begin.

  • Help your pup become bold and fearless. Take puppy walks OFF LEASH or at most by dragging a check cord. Hit the local WMA’s (Be aware of DNR regs on “quiet” season-usually April 15-July 15) and let him go! Be QUIET- Don’t keep reining him in. Build confidence and let him expand his range working AWAY from you and exploring with his NOSE.
  • If you can get a bird, let him go crazy. Remember, at this stage there is no “NO!”. If he eats it, ignore the problem. If he carries it around, be a cheerleader! If he is afraid of it, go slow and don’t make it a
    big deal.
  • After you get a bold puppy, get some kind of recall. A whistle gets their attention better than yelling. Give him a treat when he comes to you!
  • You can do little tracks with pieces of hot dog dragged with a string. Start short, then stretch it out over time to where the hot dog is out of your sight. Don’t rush, make sure the pup can be successful. Later, you can drag a bird.
  • The swim isn’t really about being able to swim, it’s about being brave enough to leave the bottom. Toss bumpers to encourage a chase in the yard. If necessary, throw treats first. You don’t need a retrieve, you just need him to get excited and go for it. When you finally get to the water, you can transition. WATER is weighted more heavily on the NA test Scorecard than POINTING!
  • In the water, get the pup to run in. If you wade in and coax, it’s not going to seem very exciting to the pup. It might help to get the puppy to run with an older pup that will hit the water. Throwing in a wing-clipped bird can help get started also, but you need to get past needing one.
  • Go slow and in small increments. The puppy must always be successful. Remember- be patient. Praise any success! What you do or don’t do could have a long-term effect on your pup.

More information can be found on our website here:  Puppies & Natural Ability Exposure.