 CaperTot We participated in Central Oregon NAVHDA testing rently, running three dogs: two in Natural Ability, Caper and Birdie, and one in the Utility Test, Ila. The CaperTot had great field and water portions but let her excitement during the track get the better of her, veering downwind off her track and following those of the dogs run before her. She earned maximum scores in everything else to finish with a 108/112 points Prize II! What is noteworthy is only three Drents have passed the NA test at 7-months of age, and Caper’s score happens to be the highest! We are very happy with her enthusiastic performance!!  Ila, doing reps earlier this summer Ila and I ran the UT test, my first ever. Long story short, she and Fizzy both sync'd up their heat cycles, and both decided going "all in" on full blown false pregnancies the week rolling into the test was the thing to do. Sadly, this one turned out to be one of the worst she has had. In all honesty, we thought about scratching her several times. But I had paid, no refunds available, and I needed the experience. With Ila's work ethic in the toilet, constant whining and her belly covered and matted in milk crust, we threw caution to the wind and did it. Tightening up her story here, where/when she performed, she did some really nice work! Her Field phase received nearly perfect marks, and the "steady by the blind and retrieve of shot duck" sequence received top marks. Unfortunately, the wheels came off on her duck drag, normally a favorite of hers. While she managed to get out there and followed the track nicely, she then spooked at the judge hiding near the duck for observation and refused to return with it. This is not where I had expected to find trouble, but Ila does become spooky in a false pregnancy…  Rye accompanied as the puppies' Emotional Support Wirehair Her duck search is one of her most favorite things in the world to do. Her swimming exploits, and love of harassing waterfowl are the kinds of things tall tales are made of. Yet, for Ila, being started with gun fire has resulted in a 50/50 shot of either going out like normal or her more or less not going and looking confused. This is what I was worried about, and this was the side of the coin I got on the day. Naturally, after the test was over, she was allowed to go swim, and she did her normal thing – swimming, crashing through the tule, and getting her mouth on two ducks…how desperately I wanted the judges, who were relaxing at their trucks, to see her then!  It is easy to see how things could have gotten really exciting using this chart I couldn’t have hoped for a better judging panel. I was treated with respect and was never made to feel worse than I already was. Brandon Smith is a judge for others to aspire to emulate. He gained a tremendous amount of respect from me that day. Ila managed to scratch out a 165, no prize. Which all things considered, speaks volumes to the quality of work she did do for me. Onwards and upwards! Had a few things gone just enough better, she could have really surprised us with a better-than-expected result.  Jenna and her Puppy of Achievement The real star of the day was Birdie, and her run has a fun story to go along with it. Birdie did not have to do the pheasant track portion of her test because the judges were able to observe her track during the field search part of the day. During her field search, she had pointed a chukar, which then proceeded to visibly run out ahead of us (we could see it, she could not). After a few moments, her point softened and she moved forward with purpose, clearly tracking the scent of the chukar moving through the grass and sage brush. It stopped in a big brush pile, where she attempted to go back on point, before being a typical puppy and pouncing the bush. We were informed after the judges' meeting that she would not need to do the pheasant track because they had seen enough to give her a score in that area. Without outright saying it, that essentially means that she didn't need improvement in any of the her other scores that the track could possibly have provided (use of nose, desire, cooperation, and even pointing, because they can actually get pointing credit for finding and pointing the pheasant at the end of the track!)
 We met some really nice people. CONAVHDA puts on a good test! So needless to say, we are really proud of the not-so-little dog and very happy to report she earned herself a 112 Prize I! She was happy and confident throughout the day, enthusiastic to do the thing she loves, and cooperative during the exam of her coat, teeth, eyes and general conformation. If her retrieve comes along, I have no doubt she will be killing it in the GDT or UT test in the years to come…we also came home to her AKC Puppy of Achievment Certificate in our mailbox – Giddyap!
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