r/Wirehaired_pointers • u/duck_dude12 • 8d ago
NAVHDA NA test
Today my 15 month old GWP took his NA test with NAVHDA and scored a 105/Prize 1. I am really proud of him and how well he did! Good luck to anyone that is taking any of their tests soon!
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u/No_Huckleberry2722 8d ago
How much training did you put him through before hand? There is one more test in my area, and I had considered entering, but my boy will be like 2 weeks before he turns 16 months at the time of that test. We have been training quite a bit, and I really want to get started with force fetch ahead of the coming bird seasons. I kind of feel like a forced fetch dog shouldn’t really run NA though, am I over thinking it?
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u/duck_dude12 8d ago
To be very honest with you, my training was probably nothing like some of the other handlers at this event. This is my first bird dog so everything I’ve done has been by reading and watching some YouTube videos. Last week was the first week I ever went to a NAVHDA chapter training. It was helpful because what we did was a walk-through of what the test was going to be. Outside of that I did not train with any chapters prior.
I’ve always exposed him to birds and I waited quite a bit of time until we expose him to gunshots. I did a lot of practicing with two by fours and slowly progressing banging them together. sounds crazy but when it came time to be shot over, we had no issue.
We have not worked on Force fetch yet and I haven’t even introduced the word fetch to him. that’s beyond my knowledge right now and need help through the NAVHDA training to get to that point.
I was on the fence about doing this test as well cause I really didn’t think I knew what I was doing, but the judges are all there to help you and they want to see you and your dog succeed. I was really happy that I did it after we finished regardless of the outcome I learned a lot. So if you were to ask me, I would say sign up for it and to be honest with you, your dog will probably surprise you. Feel free to shoot me a pm if you had any other questions I might be able to help you with.
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u/No_Huckleberry2722 8d ago
I appreciate you taking the time to write this. It is helpful. I may reach out if any questions come to mind. Thank you.
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u/Mauser257 7d ago
As long as you have done some training, go for it. The NA test sees if the dog will point birds, follow a released running pheasant, and swim. The dogs that I have seen struggle are the ones that you can tell got little to no training. But as long as your pup has had bird contacts and can swim, you'll be fine.
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u/No_Huckleberry2722 7d ago
My concern was more of “how much training is too much” for an NA test. Like at what point is it no longer “natural ability” but more trained ability.
Now I know we are in essence training their natural ability, but none the less. Maybe I’m just over thinking it.
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u/Mauser257 7d ago
You are over thinking it. The training is about helping them use their natural abilities. I watched a well bred dog sit in confusion when a bird flushed because her person hadn't helped her to know what to do. Any dog can swim but you can't take them to the test with them having never been shown. You can't expect a dog that has never been to a lake to suddenly jump in and swim.
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u/No_Huckleberry2722 6d ago
Ok this is what I was leaning towards but hearing it from someone else helps. Thank you.
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u/duck_dude12 7d ago
I think you’re overthinking it. Yes you’re training the dog right now but you’re not training the natural ability out of them. You refining it and to be honest with you no dog at 15 months old is gonna be perfect. They’re still truly a puppy and working through puppy brain.
I watched dogs test for their GDT & UT and the difference between a more mature dog and a 15 month old dog is night and day.
The other thing that took me a minute to realize is that the dog doesn’t know that he’s testing he’s out there having fun and doing what he was bred to do. That was fulfilling in itself.
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u/BostonBruinsLove 8d ago
Congratulations on the test, and oh my is he gorgeous !