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.

Go to our Testing Information Page for all test dates and information.

Online entries for all 2024 tests will open at 8:00am on Saturday Feb 17th to chapter members only.     Open to Non-Members March 1st.

Make sure you have all Navhda International and Chapter membership up to date and that your dog has a valid NAVHDA Registration number.

 

Our condolences to the family of Vince Steffens on his recent passing.   Vince was a longtime chapter member and board member, last serving as our President in 2015.   Memorial/Obituary Info is below:

VINCE STEFFENS: Age 60 of St. Michael, passed away December 14th at his residence. A Memorial Service and time of sharing for Vincent Steffens will be held Thursday, December 28th at 1:30 PM, with visitation beginning at 1 PM, at The Peterson Chapel St. Michael-Albertville Funeral Home. Online condolences may be made at; www.thepetersonchapel.com.

We hope everyone is having a terrific hunting season!  Please share your photos and stories on our Facebook Group.   Your  Minnesota Chapter Board of Directors is hard at work planning for our 2024 Season.   Here are some updates on what we are working on:

Membership Renewals-2024 Membership renewals will be opening soon, after we finish some maintenance/upgrades on this website and our payment processor.    $10 discount for renewing by 12/31.  Watch your emails for the membership drive announcement in the coming weeks.

Bylaws Update-All members were previously notified about an upcoming vote on a slight revision to the chapter bylaws.  All members we have valid email addresses for will be getting an email soon with an electronic ballot/voting option.  PLEASE watch for that email from a system called Election Runner and participate in the voting.  Read the proposed change here.

SAVE THE DATE!   Annual Meeting/Fable Fest will be Saturday Feb 3rd at Brookhall in Blaine.   We are in need of a Coordinator to help plan and host this event.  If you can help, contact Pete Aplikowski at 651-485-0055 or pete.aplikowski@mnnavhda.org.

Winter Positive Reinforcement Indoor Classes-Chapter member Bob Brearey will again be leading this course at Hooley Hall at Washington County Fairgrounds in Stillwater.  Class will be on Mondays starting Feb 5th and run 10 weeks.  Class will be limited to 12 handlers/dogs.  Registration will be opening soon, so watch your emails for that announcement.

Joe Dolejsi Memorial Scholarship-Applications for the Joe Dolejsi Memorial Youth & New Handler Scholarship are  now open.    Click here to learn more about Joe, this program. and  our new all online application.

Kelley Farms/Keystone Woods WMA-In conjunction with the Minnesota Field Trial Federation, we are actively involved in discussions with the Minnesota DNR about the future of dog training on these grounds which will be called Keystone Woods WMA.   There are going to be public hearings/meetings this winter about future plans for Keystone Woods.  We will provide all of our members with that meeting information when it is available.

2024 Training Plans-With the changes at Kelley Farms, we are making plans for expanded training at Four Brooks WMA near Milaca.  We are also always looking for alternative training grounds opportunities, especially access to private  water sites for DUCK SEARCH and  BLIND RETRIEVES. We are also looking for some options for INDOOR  heated space for additional winter training classes.  If you know of any possibilities, please contact Director of Training Keith Larson.   training@mnnavhda.org

2024 Tentative Test Dates-Test entries will open in February initially to members only.  Here are our planned dates.

  • May 11-12-Natural Ability-Four Brooks WMA-Milaca
  • June 22-23-NA-UPT-UT-Four Brooks WMA-Milaca
  • July 20-21-Natural Ability-Four Brooks WMA-Milaca
  • August 17-18-NA-UPT-UT Iron Range Retriever Club-Virginia/Eveleth
  • August 24-25-UPT-UT -Four Brooks WMA-Milaca
  • September 7-8-Natural Ability-Four Brooks WMA-Milaca

 

 

 

 

For the past several years, we have moved to only accepting online registrations & payments for membership registrations & renewals.   Due to the high demand for testing slots in recent years, we have also restricted test entries to chapter members only starting in February.   To help us better serve our members and reduce the workload on our Chapter Secretary and the individual Test Secretaries, the MN NAVHDA Board of Directors has approved the following change to the Chapter Bylaws regarding membership:

CURRENT:

Article II: Membership and Dues

Section 4: Members who have not paid Dues by March 31 will be dropped from membership and all the benefits of membership will be terminated.

PROPOSED CHANGE: (Change is in BLUE)

Article II: Membership and Dues

Section 4: Members who have not paid Dues by January 31 will be dropped from membership and all the benefits of membership will be terminated.

Requirements to change Bylaws:

Article VII: Bylaws Amendments 

From time to time, the Board may approve Amendments to the Bylaws as necessary. Proposed Amendments are to be sent to the full Chapter membership with a two-thirds majority of those members participating in the voting needed to be ratified for approval and adoption. There shall be at least a 14-day time period after notification to Members before a vote is held. The method of notification to Members and voting method and procedures are to be approved by the Board.

Our Full Bylaws and Appendices can be viewed here.

**All current primary chapter members and registered secondary members 18 years of age or older will be sent a Board approved electronic ballot in November  via the email addresses on file with the chapter secretary.

SAVE THE DATE-Mark Your Calendars!-MN NAVHDA Fable Fest/Annual Meeting will be Saturday Feb 3rd at Brookhall in Blaine.   We had a very successful event here last year with around 100 people attending.  We could really use a volunteer to be the point person to work with the venue and manage the logistics on the day of the event.   If you are interested in helping to coordinate the annual meeting, please contact Pete Aplikowski pete.aplikowski@mnnavhda.org, or 651-485-0055.

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN-CLICK HERE

Hello Chapter members,

With some of the land parcel sales in transition at Kelley, we need to move our bird pens to the East side of Manning Ave.  We are looking for some people that can help with this project in the next couple weeks.

If anyone has experience moving equipment or structures like this, your skills are needed.  We will also need about 6-8 people for general help and muscle.

    • Large flatbed trailer or large open snowmobile trailer.
    • High Lift jacks
    • tie downs/straps
    • Ladders (8 ft step ladders & extension ladders)
    • tools to disassemble panels as necessary.  (various size wrenches, cordless ratchets, impact tools, etc…)

If you can help, please contact Director of Training Keith Larson at keith.larson@mnnavhda.org