Your puppy and the NAVHDA Natural Ability Test

​There can be a lot of apprehension when looking at getting your puppy ready for a Natural Ability (NA) test. We have all been there. Once you have a few under your belt, you realize that the NA is about building a relationship with your puppy by doing constructive activities with him or her and having fun with your puppy more than anything else. Speaking of building relationships and memories, the NA is kid friendly, and NAVHDA offers discounted Junior/Youth Handler testing opportunities to encourage youth participation! Teaching your kid how to handle a dog is also a reward unto itself! So, schedule pup for two tests, one where you run the dog, and one for your kid. I did this a couple of years ago and had an awesome time with my son and pup.

Ila @ 4-months playing cock-a-doodle-bang

Rye @ 11 weeks

​For the uninitiated, the NA is a test, judged using defined criteria by a panel of judges. You have three main events. Field Phase: this covers search, use of nose, pointing, desire to work, cooperation, and gun shyness. This is done in an area of cover, where birds have been released. Tracking Phase: use of nose, tracking, desire to work, and cooperation. Water Phase: water entry, desire to work, and cooperation. Lastly, a basic Evaluation of Physical Attributes: they look over coat, eyes, and teeth – this is not a breed specific conformation exam. Your puppy can run in the NA at a very early age, some I’ve seen as young as 4 months old, but must be 16 months or less to be eligible to take the test. Older dogs may “audit” the test if there is room but will not receive an official score. 

​Here is a little breakdown, with what may possibly be a few handy tips and tricks to get yourself, and your pup ready to test.

​Gear for the test:
The test is completed with the pup wearing only a flat collar, you can use regular snap leash, or slip-lead to get your dog in and out of the testing areas. E-collars, GPS, JASAs, and check cords, are not allowed to be used during the test. However, whistles are premitted. Do bring/wear: your training clothes (assuming your training clothes are also your hunting clothes), and your hunting vest fully stocked with water. A folding chair, snacks, a fan, shade, and sunblock.

Fizzy @ 4-months with Fat Albert. She was so gentle with him he had several training excursions

Ila's first chukar

​Judging:
As this is a test, there are no limits on how many dogs can achieve a particular score. Dogs are scored by a panel of three judges. There are times when you may have an apprentice judge in addition to your panel. You and your puppy are graded as a team (please note desire to work and cooperation are repeated throughout), but the puppy is the one who ends up with the score. You will be assigned a primary judge from the panel. This individual will be your contact with the judging team. Your judge will explain a few things prior to each event for you, but they are also there to answer any questions you may have. 

​Field Phase:
Many people tend to be very concerned about preparing for the Field Phase and tend to be very concerned about pup being off the check cord and/or e-collar for the first or a very limited amount of time. The secret sauce here is in the preparation. If you are using a method like Perfection Kennels, West-Gibbons, or the Higgins Method, I think you will have a leg up as these methods teach the dog to search, and stop on their own – silently, without whoaing, or stimulation from an e-collar. If your pup seems to lose some vigor or get a little confused in the search portion, recall him, and offer him some water. Your pup doesn’t need to find tons of birds to score well. He needs to search, point briefly, and handle well for you (come when called, maintain contact in the field).  If your puppy does break and give chase, don’t panic. Give him a few seconds.  In this time, take a couple of good deep breaths to relax, and then recall him in a normal way. Your odds of success will be better.

A baby Fizzy working her first bird

Your track starts here, good luck!

​Tracking Phase:
This phase is one of my favorites, but it seems this area is where many seem to struggle. I think there are two main challenges here. 1) Lack of general preparation and 2) Poor methodology.  Preparation for the track really needs to be started at home, possibly in the same hallway that you practiced pup’s recall, then moved outdoors to your patio or driveway, then yard, and then lastly to the field. Many people train the track by going out with the dog using a pole and check cord. This I feel runs contrary to the whole exercise. The track is an exercise of sending your puppy away from you. In short, when training your track, use soft highly desirable foods like cheese or hot dog nubs. Initially smear a nub on the ground, drop a nub, smear a nub, drop a nub. At the end leave a small jackpot. Start the dog at the beginning, use your hand to motion their head down, and once they smell the treat track, tell them, “track” and let them go. They will follow the smear to the nub and be rewarded… when they are done, recall. As they gain understanding of the game, the intermediate nubs get left out, and the jackpot larger. Yes, this means you will be cleaning your hallway or spraying off your patio a few times a week. Once the pup is really doing well, order some wings or a pheasant pelt if you can’t get a hold of some from a friend. When you transition to using some pulled feathers, and dragging your “dummy bird”, go back and shorten the track, and praise them when they get to the end. Retrieving isn’t part of the exercise, but if they do, praise! This can also help bolster your cooperation and desire to work scores.

​Water Phase:
Getting your puppy to swim can be a challenge. Until your puppy is swimming, he needs to not be around water with any dog that is hesitant, to show him that not swimming is an option, or that there should even be a concern about swimming. If you don’t have a strong happy swimmer to partner you pup with, ask around. Ideally the swimmer and your pup can become friends, with some play and running beforehand. When the time comes, pick the pup up and wade out to just swimming depth, facing away from the bank, and have his swimming buddy out in the water so pup can see him. Gently lower pup into the water and he just might swim out to his buddy. If not, he will swim a few strokes and head to shore. Wash, rinse, repeat. Once pup is going out for their buddy, you may be able to substitute a bumper with a wing attached. For the test, the pup doesn’t have to retrieve, but he has to make two water entries, and he really doesn’t need to swim much at all. It’s all in the preparation.

Ila is now part shark

Fizzy, says, the bird is right there boss

​In Summary:
The NA Test is about having fun with your dog and to have the most fun, your team should be prepared. If you are having to force anything during your preparation, simply put, you are doing it wrong. For the NA you should be focused on creating a lasting bond and partnership with your dog, some good memories, and ultimately a nice hunting dog that you can live with. 

Kids and dogs go together like peanut butter and jelly. Being able to teach your kid some skills: priceless