NAVHDA Natural Ability Test

With much trepidation, I ran Ozzy in our first NAVHDA test yesterday. I was sooo nervous because I know how strict the judges can be, but it turns out I had nothing to be nrevous about. Ozzy finished with a Prize I NA and the second highest score of the day!!!! For a little background, the dogs have to perform in three tests---field work, tracking, and water. They are scored on several things such as pointing, use of nose, desire, cooperation, etc. They get scored on a scale of 0 to 4 on each thing, and the scores are tallied at the end of the day. A perfect score is 112 (and pretty dang near impossible to get--Prize I is not given very often by judges) and Ozzy got a 110!! I seriously almost started crying when they announced his score, I was so proud! Not only does he look good in the ring but he excels at what he was bred to do too. Now we begin training for the next level of testing, and for some real hunting in the fall.

Way to go lil girl!!! What a great accomplishment!! Oz man is a special little guy!!

Ozzy did a fantastic job at the test. It was fun watching him out in the field. He's quite the big runner. 2 points away from a perfect score is pretty crazy.

I ran our 6 month old GSP, Drake, in the test as well. He didn't fair quite as well but we are proud of him. He passed with a prize 3 with a total of 82 points.

I really enjoy NAVHDA tests! I ran my GWP Angus(who you've seen on the dock), through NA and Utility, and my GSP Ernie through NA. They are stressful, but interesting.
Congratulations!

This sounds interesting!! How would I find more info. about this?

www.navhda.org

It is for pointing breeds only though. Just to let you know!

Roger, Beth is correct NAVHDA is only for pointing breeds. If I were you I would look into HRC...there's a new club in Kalamazoo. Clubs can be a great starting point for someone new to the sport. I know my NAVHDA club has been well worth the membership fee and then some!!

Here are a couple of shots that Beth got of Ozzy in the field.