Getting my new dog a title

[quanah labs]

I have been training my first hunting lab this summer for the sole purpose of getting her ready to be a great hunting dog both in the duck marsh and in the CRP fields chasing pheasants. That is until I realized how much fun training her is and what a great time she is having getting worked with so I was thinking about working on getting her some kind of title. The problem is, is that I am new to hunting dogs so I don't know where to start other than to join a retriever club. I don't know what the differences are between getting a AFC or a JH or any other titles. I really don't care what kind of title it is just something that shows that she is improving. Do you have to be part of a club to be a part of a hunt test? I am on a tight budget so traveling a long way is not an option, and between my business, wife, and 3 kids I don't have a great deal of time to be off playing trial games with my dog, so I guess what I am asking is what would be the best title a beginner should start to work on and how would I go about getting it?
Thanks in advance.

[Onk]

I'm new to the whole trialing testing thing myself and have been doing some checking. If you go to AKC website you can find list of hunt test and trials along with all the rules and regs.. Good luck!

[MOOSE]

Check out HRC: http://www.huntingretrieverclub.org/

They are pretty well across the USA and are geared toward retrievers but even us with pointing breeds can run in HRC if we want.

[quanah labs]

Thanks for the info guys. Sorry its taken so long to respond but I have been spending every free minute with my dog. Since posting this question I have joined a local HRC club, and it was the best thing I could have ever done. Thanks so much for pointing me in this direciton. I have met some really nice people and even met a pro trainer that has been amazing. She has showed me some things that I would have never thought of on my own, I could not be more happy with my new HRC. This weekend I am going to perticipate in my first HT and I couldn't be more excited to start my run at some titles.

Thanks again

[DonF]

AFC is an amature field champion in trialing. Designates the status of the handler. If you train for money you csn't enter amature stakes. Used to be you could regain amature status if you quit training outside dogs for pay for two years.

JH is a junior hunter in hunt test's. It's the entry level. This is probably where you would want to start. Join a retriever club.