Entering 1st AKC Hunt Test - Advice?

[GSPVIZ]

So I am entering my 1st hunt test. It will be in the middle of Feb. I will be entering Saturday's and Sunday's test so at least I will get the hang of it by day 2.

I just plan to go out and let the dogs do what they do best.

No e collars correct?

Any advice for the first time out?

Thanks!

[aylaschamp]

I did my first one last year. Took 2 8 month olds and had no idea what I was doing??? Male pup I put into seniors and female went into jr. One of the ladys there was moaning that the juniors had to point at least 1/2 the birds they encountered??? If your dog is used to the cap gun and points till flush you have it made. Seniors, we made it all the way to the last of the field and got thrown out because I had no idea what "delayed chase of game" was. So far all the people that I run around with say the same thing. Delayed chase of game is the one thing no one tells ya about. Your dog cant chase after a missed or flushed bird. I learned the hard way. :roll:

[Sharon]

Advice? ? Don't go. It's addictive.

[gar-dog]

Hey good luck, Matt! Where is it being held?

[GSPVIZ]

Hey thanks Gary.

Petersburg, DE (right near Dover).

There is another in March up in Clarksburg, NJ that I am also going to enter.

You wanna join?

[romeo212000]

It's your first time so don't expect too much of yourself or your dog. You both don't really know what is going on. Have fun, relax and ask questions.

[RayGubernat]

GSPVIZ -

Looking forward to meeting you at Petersburg. I'll probably be there setting birds. The Diamond State GSP folks are really good people. Folks show up with many different breeds which is fun for me. You should have a blast.

My best advice is to do your training as best you can, between now and then and when you cut the dog loose, just relax, go for a walk, don't worry about it('cause it's too late for that anyway) and let the dog do its thing. If you get a chance to walk a brace or two before you have to run, it can help because you will know how the course goes and be in a position to help you dog stay with you through any turns in the course.

RayG

[gsdgspgirlz]

I think everyone here forgets an important factor before letting their dog out to run their hunt test and it is this. YOU really need to stretch out your dog before their test. Vets see way to many injuries and tears of the legs, neck and back. It is simple stretch exercises that take only minutes but can save you alot of headache if you dog sustains an injury. Remember these dogs are ATHLETES and should be treated as such.I don't know of to many track atheletes that don't stretch before a race do you??? and these dogs run as fast over some tough terrain to find those birds.
I am not sure what kind of weather you will be having there, but my jh hunt test with AVA was a 3 hour drive, in a snow storm, walking in over 3 feet of snow, not so much fun and tiring, we failed that first day, but I learned a very valuable lesson.you can never predict MOTHER NATURE or what your dog is going to do.I keep that ,in the back of my mind all the time. We evetually went on the pass all the tests,took more time than i Ioriginally planned but I got to meet alot of really nice people.I do alot of agility trials so it was cool to see that the people at these hunt trials are as nice as the dog owners at the agility trials. Have fun with it and just let the dog do what you have been woking so hard on to do.
Rhonda

[phermes1]

Go out and have fun.

And always look where your gun is pointed before firing. Take your time. There is no rush to shoot, safety comes first.

[The Zephyr]

This is probably a long haul for you, but it will give you all the information you will need. Plus, Gary's a great guy.

January 11 2009
Cleveland, Ohio Title: Pointing Breed Hunting Test Judge Seminar
Breed: N/A
Presenter: Gary Sadler
Sponsoring Club: German Shorthaired Pointer Club of Ohio
Contact Information:
Mark Dirienzo - 12295 Leffingwell Rd, Berlin Center, OH 44401
Email: gsp61@embarqmail.com
Phone: (330) 509-2603
Fax: N/A
Website: N/A

This brochure is simplistic:
http://www.akc.org/pdfs/events/hunting_ ... ochure.pdf

But here's what you want to read thoroughly:
http://www.akc.org/pdfs/rulebooks/RHTPNT.pdf

I might make the Diamond State Hunt Test if I'm not involved with a driven shoot that weekend. I'll definitely be at the event in Assunpink at the end of March.

Good Luck!!!

John L.

[natetnc]

just go out and have fun.... if you are running JH most of the folks are pretty laid back. everyone at these events are willing to help and easy to talk to. no e-collars or tracking collars permitted. i believe it says nothing more than 5 oz or anything that might fool the dog into thinking it has an e-collar on is allowed.

if your dog messes up just go with the flow, the worst thing you can do is constantly yell at your dog, it ruins it for everyone and distracts bracemates, not to mention makes you look like you have no control.

[GSPVIZ]

GSPVIZ -
Looking forward to meeting you at Petersburg. I'll probably be there setting birds. The Diamond State GSP folks are really good people. Folks show up with many different breeds which is fun for me. You should have a blast.
RayG

Likewise Ray.

The breeder of my dogs lives in Wyoming, DE and I think she will be joining me as well with one of her dogs. My wife will also be with me (7 mo. pregnant at that time, so she will just relax!).

It should be fun.

[Chief_dog]

I think everyone here forgets an important factor before letting their dog out to run their hunt test and it is this. YOU really need to stretch out your dog before their test. Vets see way to many injuries and tears of the legs, neck and back. It is simple stretch exercises that take only minutes but can save you alot of headache if you dog sustains an injury. Remember these dogs are ATHLETES and should be treated as such.I don't know of to many track atheletes that don't stretch before a race do you??? and these dogs run as fast over some tough terrain to find those birds.

Actually there are many studies out there that suggest that traditional static stretching before an activity actually hinders performance and increases the chance of injury. Many major college track programs no longer use traditional static stretching before workouts or competition. Instead they use a series of dynamic exercises for a warm up. The most common protocol for a workout is (1) dynamic warmup, (2) workout/competition, (3) cooldown followed by static stretching. I had a kid who made the cross country and track team of one of the top two or three division I programs in the country, and he said they never did a single static stretch until after the workout and cooldown was over. This is a very hot topic in the track and field world right now.

[rhines]

Go out and have fun.

And always look where your gun is pointed before firing. Take your time. There is no rush to shoot, safety comes first.

Only official gunners are allowed to shoot the birds. The handler carries and shoots a blank pistol only. No birds are shot during the Junior test.

The Junior dogs only need to be steady to wing. Seniors need to be steady to wing and remain in position until shot is fired or released. Seniors must also retrieve, but not to hand. Master dogs must be steady to wing and shot and retrieve to hand.

Have fun GSPVIZ - for details, here's a link to the rules: https://www.akc.org/pdfs/rulebooks/RHTPNT.pdf

Hopefully you get braced later in the morning and will have a chance to watch a few braces before your turn. Blank pistol, ammo, lead, whistle and dog is about all you need to bring. E-collars or other training devices are not allowed.

Good luck -

[wems2371]

Page 21--Section 2. Instructions and Test Requirements for Junior Hunting Test

(3) POINTING: A dog is scored from “0” to“10” in
this category on the basis of the intensity of its point, as
well as its ability to locate (pinpoint) birds under difficult
scenting conditions and/or confusing scent patterns.
A “flash” point cannot be graded as pointing,
however, and a dog’s score in this category shall not be
influenced by its steadiness to wing and shot.

Page 31 The Regulations state that a Junior dog must hold point until the handler gets within normal gunshot range

Above are some quotes from the rulebook. I haven't tested yet either, but I keep hearing mixed messages as to a junior dog being steady to flush or steady to wing--which I haven't read yet. Obviously the steadier the better, but what level of does it take to pass the JH? I guess I thought it was a little more like the NAVHDA NA. Denise

[Brittguy]

Above are some quotes from the rulebook. I haven't tested yet either, but I keep hearing mixed messages as to a junior dog being steady to flush or steady to wing--which I haven't read yet. Obviously the steadier the better, but what level of does it take to pass the JH? I guess I thought it was a little more like the NAVHDA NA. Denise[/quote]

Not all of them of course but many people feel judges are too liberal with pointing judging in JR. class. I have not been to a test in some time but in the past I have seen dogs get passing scores when they did just a little more than a flash point. Judges will vary on how they judge what they see.

[rhines]

I keep hearing mixed messages as to a junior dog being steady to flush or steady to wing--which I haven't read yet.

Good catch Denise - I meant steady to flush. For Juniors - the dog can chase that bird like a puppy after it has flushed and still receive a high score and long as it held point until the handler is 'within gun range'. I have even seen dogs that bumped the birds and chased (handler was nearby and fired his blank gun) and passed with a high score.
Any dog with minimal training should have no problem qualifying in JH tests. I have only seen dogs fail for the reason that they could not find a bird in time allowed. Not sure if the rules have changed much, I haven't been involved in over 10 years.

[phermes1]

By far the main reason a dog fails JH is that it didn't find a bird. Dogs sometimes do fail for simply not putting any effort into hunting; not ranging more than 15 yards, heeling the whole time, etc. It doesn't happen much, but it does happen.

If a dog makes an effort to find birds, does find a bird, and establishes a point, it's more than likely going to pass. So long as it's not gunshy, what it does after that point is established isn't very important. Steady through flush/shot, or bumping and chasing - either one is a pass.

[CherrystoneWeims]

For Juniors - the dog can chase that bird like a puppy after it has flushed and still receive a high score and long as it held point until the handler is 'within gun range'. I have even seen dogs that bumped the birds and chased (handler was nearby and fired his blank gun) and passed with a high score.
Any dog with minimal training should have no problem qualifying in JH tests. I have only seen dogs fail for the reason that they could not find a bird in time allowed. Not sure if the rules have changed much, I haven't been involved in over 10 years.

In JH the dog must point at least 50% of the birds it finds. And it cannot be a flash point.

[ezzy333]

The rules says a 3 second point. JH is more or less a natural ability test and I do not train for it. I like to use it as it was intended. Does the puppy have the hunting instinct or does it not? That is the question. Let the pup have 15 or 20 minutes to show off its abilities and if it comes out good then the training staarts for the SH title.

Ezzy

[Steve007]

Contact the PUBLISHER of this book (Not Amazon) and buy it for $22. Fine book. Publisher is listed at this Amazon site. Can't beleve hustlers are trying to get $100 for it on Amazon.


QUALIFY! A Guide to Successful Handling in AKC Pointing Breed Hunting Tests (Paperback)
by Mark Powell

http://www.amazon.com/QUALIFY-Successfu ... 421&sr=1-1

[scout_on_38s]

There has been alot of good information shared so far. The biggest is have fun... My pup is half way there she passed 2 for 2 her first weekend out last fall. Will finish this spring and hopefully get a senior leg or 2 under her belt. I find in junior it is helpful to try and put some distance between you and your bracemate. Let them do their own thing instead of running over top of each other or dealing with chasing etc. I liked what someone said about being quiet and letting your dog do its thing. My first brace I had to work to keep my pup hunting because my bracemate kept calling his dog all over the place. Just my .02- Charlie