CONGRATULATION TO KOTA AND OAKLEY! Prize 1 and prize 2 award winners at the NAVHDA (http://www.navhda.org/) natural ability test. I want to thank Barry for being willing to take the time to not only show up and pay for the testing yesterday but for all the time he has spent with his dog Kota. Kota earned 110 out of a possible 112 points and claimed a prize 1. Oakley earned a 108 out of a possible 112 and claimed a prize 2. Barry and I are not dog trainers but dog owners who like to hunt. I think we both felt a little out of our comfort zone as we mingled with all the other dog owners. When you go to events like these you find all sorts of dogs and owners, some whose lives revolve around their dogs and these events and some who are just the weekend warrior who enjoys a good dog and a good hunt.
A few words about NAVHDA The test we participated in yesterday shows the weakness and strengths of each dog. It is a test against a standard that NAVHDA has put together to show if your puppy has what it takes to become a good hunting dog. You are not graded against each other but against the standards that NAVHDA has put together. It is not meant to show that you necessarily have a polished hunting dog but that you have a dog that has the necessary skills(natural ability) to become a great hunting dog. The local NAVHDA sponsors the event. For our test they flew in 3 NAVHDA judges from other states who did the judging. Both Kota and Oakley had perfect scores in everything except tracking. Kota received a 3 out of 4 and Oakley a 2 out of 4. In this event a flightless rooster pheasant is placed in some tall grass and released. After the bird is released we bring in our dogs and show them some feathers the judges have pulled out of the birds. We then show the feathers to the dog and give it a command to find the bird. The dogs are then expected to put their nose to the ground and track where the bird went. It should be an extended track showing the dog has this skill. Both dogs showed such great desire to find the birds that they left the track a little sooner than the judges like. Kota was impressive in the fact that he went far enough away that he found two other tracks of previous birds. Sage left the track early also came back to the track went over the top of the hill and returned with the rooster in mouth but because they did not witness enough of the track scored her a 2 out of the 4. Oneof the other things the dogs are scored on are use of nose. They release live birds into a field and then see if the dog can find them and preferably point them. They are scored on intensity of point and nose work. They are scored on how well they work with the handler. They are scored on water work, this is a versatile bread that should be confident in water. Many of the dogs in our lines are not only used as upland hunting dogs but also water fowl hunting dogs. I must say that our two dogs were the best dogs in the water during the testing. The dogs were complimented on their coats and over all I must say I thought it was a great day for two dogs.
One fun part of the day is that the dogs"grandfather" Kelly Craghead surprised me and showed up to see how his granddogs looked and how they would do. He took the dogs around and showed them to his NAVHDA friends. He did some good bragging as all grandparents should do. Kelly is the one who sold me the pups mom Sage. He is a very accomplished dog trainer. He owned both of my dog Sage's parents and received the coveted Versatile Champion title from NAVHDA for both mom and dad. Thanks for spending the day with us Kelly.
I'm convinced this line of breeding will result in great dogs and pets if given the right time and training that these dogs require. So far all my reports are positive and show that we have great hunters, great house pets and great outdoor companions.
