At 7 months old we tested Holden in the Natural Ability test through the North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association.
In the test there are three parts; field, track, and water. The dogs are judged on use of nose, search, water, pointing, tracking, desire to work, and cooperation.
At Holden's test he did his Field portion first and found 5/5 birds and had long beautiful points. To get a max score the dog does not need to find all the birds, a dog that finds 1 bird can have the same or better score than a dog that finds all 5. It's about having a productive point, where the judges can clearly tell that the dog is using its nose and is on point.
While in his field portion of the test Holden ended up doing something I had never heard of a dog doing before. He tracked during his field portion, by finding a run away quail. The judge pulled me aside afterwards and said it was a prize 1 track. And we got to skip the pheasant track. They said it’s rare and has only happened 1 other time that a dog tracked during there field portion and was so intense that they could give the highest score and let them skip.
Unfortunately he didn’t swim so he received a score of 84/112, which was a no prize. He scored 4’s across the board except for desire (2) and swimming (0).
At 9 months old we retested Holden through the natural ability test, he ended the day with a score of 108/112 for a prize 2.
We put in a lot of work to get this little boy to swim. At the discouragement of many a bird dog folk we took him for dock diving lessons. Which helped his confidence sore! And of coarse the first time he swam by himself for a bumper with the help of our friend Suzann and her dog Gus. He swam almost everyday at local ponds and lakes to make sure he generalized water retrievals as a good thing.
Trying to find a test for Stevie was a task in itself, limited tests and a decline in judges. When Andrew (her breeder) called to say he found a test that Stevie could get in, I went ahead and signed her up. Then realized we had 3 short weeks to get ready.
We worked with Stevie as much as we could in those 3 weeks. I was starting to feel more confident going into the test, until she came in heat. At this point everything we’d been practicing went out the window. I was thinking she’d blow off this test, and thought I should pull her. But I was nervous about having to find another test and making sure she didn’t get over the 16 month age mark.
I showed up to the test and decided it didn’t really matter, Stevie was going to have a good time so I should just enjoy it too. She’s a spunky little dog with a goofy personality and I love working with her.
We started with the field work. I realized they were using chukar in the test, and Stevie had never smelled chukar before. YIKES. We already had to take a break for a storm coming through so the ground was pretty damp and the wind was blowing. Stevie listened to my direction cues I gave her and she was willing to come in to get water (all very good for her cooperation score).
Right away she got birdy and locked on point. We kicked around looking for the bird with no luck. We walked down further and found another bird but Stevie didn't scent it. So we walked around trying to set her up for it but the wind (& pigeons, & grasshoppers, & tweety birds) was not in our favor. As we neared our 20 minute mark, we headed back toward the front of the field and Stevie locks up on point. The bird held tight in the brush so the judges could confirm it was a productive point. The field portion was complete!
Next was the pheasant track, and with the wind blowing, I had no clue how it would go. As I walked up to the feather pile, I wetted down her whole head with water to help her keep scent. I set her up and let her go. I watched her track exactly where the bird went into the briars. Stevie did not go into the briars right away, she circled to the right and then left, then broke through the brairs and flushed a covey of leftover chukar from the field. At this point the judges told me to go leash my dog (easier said than done, considering Stevie had to squeeze down into the brairs…). I walked down and around the brairs, nervous that she wouldn’t come back to me. And to my surprise, here comes Stevie carrying a rooster pheasant that’s almost bigger than her. I leash her up and grab the pheasant and the judges smile and take note!
Last, the swimming. I took Stevie to the water the night before to get her acclimated to it. However, there were decoys left from utility earlier in the day. Stevie absolutely would not go in the water the night before, so I was nervous. I walked her down to the water in a different path than I did the night before. I threw a bumper and she swam! But didn’t retrieve (she’s never come out of the water without something in her mouth, so that was new). I threw a second bumper and she swam again! That was all she had to do! The judges just had to do her exam and then she was finished.
I went into the test telling Andrew that Stevie might not do anything. I was fully prepared for her to No Prize. I absolutely never thought she would walk away from her Natural Ability test with a 112 score.
Our take away, natural ability does not mean you do no work and just let the dog do whatever come test day. There are hot days, water logged boots, smelly birds, and training that goes into preparing for these types of tests.
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