Category: Uncategorized

We will again have access this 2025 season to a small residual portion of Kelley Farms on the East side of Manning Ave that has not yet been turned over to Washington County for the addition to the Big Marine Park Reserve. Training in these areas will start late April with an Open to All Free Training Day kickoff on Saturday April 26th.  All chapter members will be able to purchase a grounds pass for open access on Mondays & Thursdays.  (Passes are not available yet-will be by mid-April-see below.)

For the areas of Kelley Farms that have been turned over to the MN DNR for the new Keystone Woods WMA, we expect to have access starting April 15th to about 330 acres including multiple water sites. This access is through our membership and affiliation with the Minnesota Federation of Field Trial Clubs (MFFTC).   This organization is negotiating a Lease with the DNR to allow us special permissions for dog training that the general public does not have, similar to what we have at Four Brooks.

The final details and the fee structure for how it will all work is still not finalized, but we wanted to let you know what we know at this point in time.  As in the past, we will be sharing these grounds with many other dog clubs, but with dog training activities now being condensed into a smaller acreage, a more formal schedule is part of the planning, and it is unlikely that there will be “passes” for everyday open access as there had been in the past.

Once the MFFTC sets a fee schedule and calendar for the member clubs, MN NAVHDA will be selling passes to our members that will be good for BOTH the residual Kelley Farms area and Keystone Woods WMA Areas.  The good news is that the cost to our members for this access will be much more affordable than the $375.00 annual pass fee when it was private land.

2025 Test Entries will open on Saturday February 15th at 8:00am.

*IMPORTANT*-We will NOT have Owners/Handlers  use the new NAVHDA Portal to ENTER tests.   However, we HIGHLY ENCOURAGE all NAVHDA members to set up an account/login in the Portal, as it makes it easy to look up your membership details and your dog’s registration info, which you will need to submit test entry on our website.

2025 TESTING DATES and INFORMATION

*The September 6th & 7th Natural Ability Test will open for entries on Saturday April 12th.   This is to allow more time for newly born pups to obtain their NAVHDA registration numbers.*

 

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