SE MI chapter has dates up.  End of May I will be testing NA with my pup.

Anyone else?

I have not picked my day yet either but most likely I too will test on Sunday.

I sure wish they had some tests now.  Ive got so much training set and going on for my pup by May/June testing NA will sort of be not as accurate as what it was intended for.

We just played with 12 red quail and 2 ringnecks this weekend in the launcher.  His pointing is locked steady to shot and his tracking is up to speed; in fact he understands the command track and places his nose to the ground sniffing away.  Cooperation is fantastic as is his response to gunfire......now only if we had a big ole indoor pool to test that.  In the summer at only 4-5 months old he was a bit water shy only going in a couple times on his own to belly depth.

Hope to maybe see you there with my little field burner.

At the time I did not use live birds, but did coax him with some treats.  He went to swim depth but not without a lot of coaxing.  I ended on a positive note in the fall and suspect that now he will be brave enough to do it on his own.  I suspect when he sees his brother the Brittany go diving in he will do as he does with everything else.....follow him in. 

And by then we should be done with our force fetching so a toss of the bumper and "fetch" should result in a retrieve "should",

So your dog will be showing its NATURAL ABILITY???
 

Indeed!    Problem I see with the NA test is the NA of a dog changes vastly from 6 months to the 12+ month time frame they allow.

I suspect some of my dogs natural ability will be enhanced or even altered due to formal training.  Reason why I would prefer an offered test in my area now instead of May.

 Why not just go on to UPT test your gsp  and skip NA testing your pup.If you are done force breaking what is the point of doing the NA test. You should have been testing your pup NA when he was 6 months old on your training schedule.

 Why waste the money doing an NA test on a force broke dog. It will only Mask the results of NA testing. Don't take this wrong it just seems dog would be ready for the next level of testing.

 NA is meant to show natural traites for the breeder  and give the handler an idea of what he needs to key training on to finish the pup. Please don't muddy the water running a finished dog in a exposior only test.

I am glad for you that you have been able to advance in your training of your young charge. Just my 2 cents.

 I agree teach them there name that should start as soon as you get the pup home at or near 7 to 8 weeks old. Big difference between showing a pup birds and a finished force broke dog. This is more  about a dog that would only go in belly deep water and now is being force broke to retrieve to run a NA test this coming May.

 I am not faulting the training of this pup proceed as needed. However just run the pup in a UPT test . The dogs test results will be misleading for those just using test results for breeding info. There is no astric *shown for dogs getting a 4 in water when force broke to retrieve prior to testing. I think the water is froze up tight right now for a NA test anywhere near MI. All in the timing of tests per the calander . I guess he could run NA on Sat. and then maybe run UT on Sunday in May. That would make things pretty clear for those whom are looking at test results to plan certain breedings.

 Once again just my 2cents.

Oh I do agree that FF really is going to take away the "natural" water instinct of the dog.

What is so hard is to define what is natural ya know?

 Cause to me a dog who goes in after a toy because the other dogs to it a couple times and it becomes intising and then will always swim on his own after that is still a natural when it comes to water.  But to the next person may not be. Wouldn't our jobs be a lot easier if the dog could just talk and tell us if they liked to swim or not! LOL

Great input guys (and gals).

Well the FF process was done to complete the dog more so all around vs preparation for water entry.

I do think just testing the UT or UTP would be the way to go...unfortunately come May test time the water will just begin to have warmed up.  I do doubt i will have enough time to spend ample time preping for the search, etc in the water.

I do suppose several of the basics of the NA test will still be viable, gun exposure, cooperation, desire, etc as those are tested in all areas.  Cost isn't really a factor as the breeder is covering the cost due to wanting to have a tested dog from his litter.  That said he would like the entire line of tests done...and that is fine as i enjoy the atmosphere   I did attempt to get into a fall test but all slots were filled by the time i attempted to register in all three chapters in MI.  And who knows, I have seen odd things happen; my dog may not hold a point on that day.

MOOSE- It is expected that a dog understand the basics before any field testing or evaluation take place.  Granted the NA the dog should know its name and come as a bare minimum; but the basic household commands are always good to have handy.

Heck, if any of you guys are going to attend this NA test maybe we could meet up a weekend or two prior and run us a little simulated test and see how our pups would do and if there is any further preparation for the test.

Heck maybe we can get a few members together at a midway point, put out a few birds and stuff.  Make a training day out of it..........and a bbq of course.

Thats great!  I can get some black mutants or ringnecks for $15 also.  Or Red Quail for $4.25 each.   If we could get a few of each bird it would be great to expose the dogs to them all.  Ive got a launcher and other tools also.

Oh yea the launcher works great to get a dog to be solid on point.  I also have an endless supply of pigeons and doves to use for training for free.  At this point (no pun intended) ive not been shooting the birds over the puppy, just having him go on point and if he moves a muscle "pop" off goes the launcher and the bird is gone.  If he holds until i flush the bird (launch) I then crack off a shot with the dummy launcher with a wing tied to it and have it go get it.  I keep him on the CC so he is learning he can not go until the command "fetch" is given.

Well this was the case, since we began FF he no longer gets to play this game until his FF is fully done.

But yea this would be good fun to get a few of us together and have a training day slash get together.