The official rules are found in the NAVHDA publication: Aims, Programs, Test Rules available from the NAVHDA Central Office. The following is a brief, and therefore incomplete, description of the tests.
Newcomers interested in NAVHDA testing should obtain a copy of the book as soon as possible. A NAVHDA Handler’s Clinic is especially valuable.
This test is for dogs 16 months of age or younger on
the day of the test. There is no minimum age, but as a practical matter, a dog
should be at least six months old. If a dog is older, it may be judged for
evaluation only, which is to say that a score will be given, but no certificate
or prize will be awarded.
The test is designed to evaluate the things a dog
does naturally, but that does not mean that the dog should not have been
introduced to birds and water.
The Natural Ability Test has three primary elements.
Additionally, the dog is evaluated for use of nose, cooperation and desire to
work as demonstrated in each of the primary elements.
Field: Dog and handler search a field for 20
minutes. Two shotgun blanks are fired while the dog is searching to evaluate
for gun shyness. The dog
should be aware of the handler, use its
nose and search cover where birds might be found. The dog must find birds and
point convincingly..Usually the handler is asked to flush the birds. A chase of
the flushed bird is assumed to demonstrate a strong desire for prey. Pointing
and search are both evaluated. Note that live ammunition is not used.
Tracking: One of the judges pulls the flight feathers on one
wing of a live pheasant and drops them on the ground. The bird is then placed
on the ground and shooed off to run into cover. The dog, which has been kept
from seeing the pheasant run, is then brought to where the pheasant started and
released to track the bird. The dog is not required to find and retrieve the
pheasant, but must demonstrate that it can track the bird a reasonable
distance.
Water: The dog is brought to the edge of the water. The
handler then selects a retrieving dummy from an assortment provided by the
NAVHDA chapter. The dog must show that it is willing to swim, but does not need
to retrieve the dummy. If the dog refuses to swim for a dummy, a dead bird is
thrown into the water to encourage the dog to swim. If the dog swims to a bird
after refusing a dummy, it will can still pass the test, but the water score
will be a maximim of ‘2.’
Other Evaluation: After
the water phase, the judges evaluate the dog’s coat, teeth, other physical
characteristics and temperament. This information becomes part of the dog’s
permanent NAVHDA record.
This test is for a mature, finished hunting dog. Use
of nose, desire to work, cooperation and obedience are evaluated throughout the
test.
Field: A 30-minute field search. The dog must find birds, point and be steady to flush,
wing, shot and fall. The handler sends to the dog for the retrieve, which must be
accomplished directly with a retrieve to hand. The handler carries
an empty shotgun and must mount the gun and swing on the bird when flushed. The
birds are killed by the official gunner(s).
Search
for the Duck: A live duck with flight feathers
pulled is released into a pond with cattails, lilly pads or other vegetation
growing in it and shooed into the cover without the the dog seeing it. The dog
and handler are brought to the edge of the water and the dog commanded not to
move (the specific command is up to the handler). The handler files one blank
shotgun shell and commands the dog to fetch. It is not required that the dog
actually find the duck, but if it is found, the dog must retrieve it promptly.
The dog must search dilligently and independently.
Heeling, Remaining by Blind,
Steady by Blind and Retrieve of Duck:
·
A heeling course is set up as a series of “gates.” The
heeling course leads to a rudimentary duck blind at the water’s edge. The
handler, carrying an unloaded shotgun, walks the course with the dog at heel
(may be on a lead).
·
At the blind, the handler commands the dog to stay put (the
actual command is the handler’s choice) and goes out of sight as directed by
the judges. The handler fires two blank shotgun shells about 10 seconds apart.
The dog should stay at the blind without whining or barking. The handler
returns to the blind.
·
A gunner out of sight of the dog and handler fires a blank
shotgun shell. Then the handler fires a blank shell. Then the out-of-sight
gunner (also called the “distraction gunner”) fires a second blank shell. A
duck-thrower then heaves a dead duck into the water and the handler fires a
second blank (four blanks total at this stage)
·
After a perceptable interval, the handler commands the dog to
fetch the dead duck, which it must do expeditiously and deliver to hand.
Evaluation of Physical
Attributes: Judges will record physical attributes when the dog’s coat
is wet. Normally this is done after the water test. The attributes become part
of the dog’s permanent NAVHDA record.
Retrieve
by Drag: A cold, dead duck or pheasant is
taken to a field where some feathers are pulled. The bird is then dragged
100-200 yards into cover where the dog will encounter the game out of signt of
the handler. The dog must pick up the bird and return directly to the handler
and deliver to hand. (A furred animal may be used in place of a bird, but it
must provided by the handler).
The UPT was designed to test the dog’s progress
toward the more demanding Utility Test. Practically speaking, the test is not
very popular, i.e. handlers and their dogs go directly to the UT. The reasoning usually expressed is that because
the UPT is so similar to the UT, handlers go directly to the more difficult
test.
·
Essentially, the UPT is like the UT
with the following exceptions.
·
The field search is 25 minutes
instead of 30 minutes. Steadiness requirements are not as rigid.
·
A dead duck is used in the Search for the Duck rather than a live
bird.
·
The Remain by
Blind test is not used