All About AKC

[jt807]

I have a dog, a GSP, that is about 20 months old.

I have been training her with the help of some very knowledgable people.

I joined a local club and ran in her in first trial last week. It was two trials, one on Saturday and one on Sunday.

She didn't do very good, scoring wise, on Saturday. She ended up tied for last. However, it was her day. Everything came together for her on her last bird.

I ran her Sunday, and for her class, she came in first place. She scored as much as second, third, and fourth place put together. She left the weekend with the most points for any dog in her class for the year.

She ran really big, and was under control and looking for birds the whole time. I was told that I should make her an AKC dog. My understanding is because she ran so big.

So, I went to the AKC website to see what there trials were about.

I got confused and overwhelmed.

What are all the different classes, or more improtantly, what class do I want to run her in? I saw some stuff about horseback test. I don't have a horse, and I am not interested in paying someone to run her in those. I want to stick to walking trials. Can I do that and still get her a title? What does it take to get her a title?

Any knowledge would be appreciated?

Thanks,
JT

[kninebirddog]

FYI even though other people elect to ride you as a handler can handle your dog on foot
no you won't make a bunch of friends but it can be done huntindog and his wife have titled dogs on foot in AKC regular trials

do not enter all age stakes though being on foo the dog will be to far ahead or if it looks for you you will impede its chances

horses are a coonveince not mandatory though

[ezzy333]

JT,

There are walking trials but in some parts of the country they can be few and far between. Your pup can run as in the derby class till it is 24 months old then you have to move up to the gundog or All Age classes. AA is the class for the biggest running dogs but most fit into the gundog classes best. I think if you check the AKC site you will find most of the rules and info you need.

What kind of a trial did you run in? I think we could explain the differences if you tell us what you have been doing with the pup. And don't be afraid to ask if you need more info.

Ezzy

[shags]

JT, you may walk in any akc stake. Sometimes it puts you and your dog at a disadvantage, but not always. At 20 months your dog can enter Open Derby or Amateur Walking Derby. Derby dogs must have a keen deisre to hunt, be reasonably responsive to their handlers, and point if they find a bird. The gun dog and all age stakes require that the dogs are steady to wing and shot, and back if the opportunity presents itself. A derby age dog can enter the 'broke dog' stakes if they are that far along in training.
There are clubs that offer walking stakes -no horses allowed for handlers. If you go back to the akc site you can do an event search for your area. When you click on a club, it'll bring up what stakes are offered and whether they are strictly walking and any other restrictions. At the least, you can call the contact numbers given; those folks will probably be able to point you in the right direction for the kind of stakes you want to run.
Congrats on your dog's good performance, and good luck in future trials.

[jt807]

Thanks for the information everyone. Been to the AKC website, and it is overwhelming, and somewhat confusing.

So what titles are available for my dog, and are they different if I run in the open or ameteur walking derby's?

I am not there yet, buy traing my dog steady to wing shot and fall. Pretty good on the wind part, gets fidgety and ready to go on the shot part.

I am not entering her next month, more like next year. So she will be over 2 when I enter her. Even with my lack of experience, she has learned very quickly, and re-learned just fine when I screwed up. I just want to know what to shoot for.

The trial I had her in was basically with quail planted in a 40 acre field. Her and one other dog running for thirty minutes. Points for every find, more points for a retrieve. A point or two for honoring and stop to flush. She hit the stop to flush pretty good, but honoring I haven't really started teaching her yet.

Thanks again for the help.

[Wagonmaster]

The standard AKC titles are Field Champion and Amateur Field Champion. Each requires ten points. 2 pts. each can be earned in Puppy and Derby (total of 4), but your dog is out of Puppy. You could still get 2 Derby pts. But Puppy and Derby points only make the process a little easier. The dog has to win most of its points in broke dog stakes anyway. The number of points you can win in a particular stake is determined by the number of dogs in the stake. Some points have to be retrieving points. For an AFC, all of the points have to be earned in Amateur stakes. Up to four Amateur points count towards FC, but you still have to win some points in Open stakes (which pro handlers can run dogs in), to get an FC.

Best to go http://www.akc.org/pdfs/rulebooks/RFTPNT.pdf and read the rules yourself. They are in Chapter 14 (not Chapter 12).

There is also a National Championship sanctioned by the AKC and run by the German Shorthaired Pointer Club of America. There are a series of special titles given for wins at that event. And there is also the AKC Pointing Breed Gun Dog Championships, where National Championships are awarded. The GSPCA has tried a walking National Championship the last few years, but I though I saw it was cancelled this year for lack of entries.

[Tejas]

It sounds like the trial you participated in was a NSTRA trial. NSTRA trials are not licensed by the AKC and placements in NSTRA trials do not earn points toward an AKC Field Champion designation.

Dogs are recognized as NSTRA champions by the NSTRA organization/ I am not familiar with the requirements for earning an NSTRA Championship.

[kninebirddog]

Doesn't sound like NSTRA to me.....

I ran her Sunday, and for her class, she came in first place. She scored as much as second, third, and fourth place put together. She left the weekend with the most points for any dog in her class for the year.

NSTRA doesn't have classes

almost sounds like a hunt test but they don't have placements

[Tejas]

Might not have been NSTRA......I was going on the size of birdfield, running with another dog, receiving points for finds, more points for retrieves etc. It doesn't sound like a hunt test either. I guess I am at a loss.

Doesn't sound like NSTRA to me.....

I ran her Sunday, and for her class, she came in first place. She scored as much as second, third, and fourth place put together. She left the weekend with the most points for any dog in her class for the year.

NSTRA doesn't have classes

almost sounds like a hunt test but they don't have placements

[hustonmc]

I ran her Sunday, and for her class, she came in first place. She scored as much as second, third, and fourth place put together. She left the weekend with the most points for any dog in her class for the year.

It sounds like the trial you participated in was a NSTRA trial. NSTRA trials are not licensed by the AKC and placements in NSTRA trials do not earn points toward an AKC Field Champion designation.

Dogs are recognized as NSTRA champions by the NSTRA organization/ I am not familiar with the requirements for earning an NSTRA Championship.

From the above quote is doesn't sound anything like a NSTRA trial. Sounds to me like a fun day trial put on by the club for the club

[hustonmc]

Looks like we were on the same wave length and you beat me to the punch there Arlette.