Hunt Testing Dogs

The hunt test world can give you a deeper understanding of your dog

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By Todd Mills

The first real gun dog I’d ever owned cost me $50. A buddy of mine knew I’d been looking and knew of a litter with just one pup left. His recommendation and the owner telling me the puppies were born in a barn in the middle of January was all it took to get me to pull the trigger.

Although I had no clue on what I was doing, I knew somebody who did. That same friend who told me about the litter offered to help train my dog. What started as a quest to train a $50 farm dog has now turned into a love affair. The fascination with training dogs still burns inside me some 35 years later.

I was enamored with the idea of competing with my dog, so I decided to enter the hunt test world with my second Lab. It was an excruciating process, filled with constant failure and countless ups and downs. What came from it, however, was a deeper understanding of my dogs — not only how to train them, but also how to understand and relate to them in stressful and overwhelming situations. The ability to keep a dog under control, in the most competitive environments, taught me invaluable lessons for working with them during actual hunting scenarios.

Here are a few of the lessons I learned.

Anatomy of a Hunt Test

Although AKC and HRC are slightly different organizations, the hunt test levels they offer are similar. We’ll focus on AKC here. There are currently three different titles (Junior, Senior and Master) with each level higher offering more challenging obstacles. It’s not so much a competition against other handlers and their dogs; rather, each dog is assessed on its individual performance.

Judges will score dogs based on marking, retrieving and delivery to hand. Also, they will score steadiness, control, response and trainability. In some cases, especially at the Master level, the test can be set up to create absolute chaos for the dog and handler.

Obedience Matters

If you’re incapable of keeping your dog under control, hunt tests aren’t for you. If any aspect of training is skipped over and not repeated almost daily, your dog will certainly fail under the lights. Basic commands of sit, here and heel are a must. Use a whistle with all your training and get them accustomed to sitting and coming to that instead of your voice.

Provide distractions, such as gunshots, to tempt them to break the rules. Only after your dog is completely steady in any and all circumstances can you move forward. Also, make sure you train in a variety of weather conditions and terrain. If your dog becomes too accustomed to the same property, it becomes a safe place. Provide as much distraction and variety as you can so your dog can perform in any and all conditions.

From Test to Field

Although running a dog in a hunt test is valuable, without strict boundaries, it doesn’t always translate back to the field. Hunting situations can create all kinds of ways for your dog to cheat. Hunting with other dogs can create chaos, especially if the other dog is not steady.

However, it doesn’t mean you can’t do both; it just takes some restraint and control. Forego shooting during those first hunts and focus on handling and controlling your dog. This will pay dividends for both a test dog and a hunting dog. The ability to control your dog in almost any situation is not only rewarding, but can avoid some potentially dangerous situations when dealing with current, big bodies of open water and working with other dogs.

Your dog may need some slight tuning up when you return to hunt test season, but when done correctly, the test dog is capable of doing things most other dogs and owners can’t.

Currently, there are four clubs in Nebraska that host retriever hunt tests: the Missouri Valley Hunt Club in Valley, Nebraska Dog and Hunt Club in Unadilla, Central Nebraska Retriever Club in Grand Island, and the West Nebraska Retriever Club in North Platte. Find one near you to watch and understand how they are run, or visit entryexpress.net and hrc.dog for more information.

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