GSP waterfowl dog.
 

I was wondering how many other German Shorthair owners hunt waterfowl with their GSP. I have 2 GSP's little over a year old who absolutely love swimming and will retrieve a thousand times in water while their retrieve on land is anything but this consistent. They are from the same litter, the boy is an AKC JR. Hunter working toward his Sr. and his sister came from another ownerwho returned her to the kennel. I cannothunt the 2 of them together(yet)in the upland fields where it's all about being steady to shot and point without flushing so I figure I will take them Dove and Duck & Goose hunting where they can retrieve without the female ruining the males progress by flushing or chasing.

Any pics of your GSP'sin action would be great!

Re: GSP waterfowl dog.
 

Go check out a NAVHDA event. You will see tons of shorthairs being used for waterfowl. This is one of the four primary functions of a shorthair... finding/pointing upland game, retrieve on both land and water, tracking fur, bloodtracking wounded big game.

A list of NAVHDA events in your area are on this website... www.navhda.org. There are a bunch of chapters in PA.

Good luck

Re: GSP waterfowl dog.
 

I had been told about NAVHDA by another GSP owner. I am currently doing the AKC hunt tests b/c of the AKC title being registered on their pedigree. I wish AKC would recognize the NAVHDA achievments on the pedigree as well for the purpose of bettering the breed. Thanks for the info, I will check it out.

I think you would enjoy NAVHDA a lot. The chapters make a huge difference as they will often host training days and other events outside of the tests to help you prepare your dog for the tests and the coming hunting season.

Good luck.

I looked navhda up and like the fact that the dogs are run by themselves against a standard instead of against another dog. I have see judges who are friends with judges and who judge each other's dogs show preferential treatment and at times overlooking what should be grounds for disqualification. I don't like this clique type organization. I saw them give a guy straight 10's whose dog performed satisfactory at best and then heard the judges remark on how beautiful the dog was. They turned a hunt test into a beauty pageant contest. I am going to run mine in seniors and see how things go if I don't like what is going on I will be done with the AKC hunt tests.

A score of 10 has never been used in NAVHDA - you have the wrong organization.

And your statement as far as judges is also not correct. Each dog is judged to a STD and the score 0 to 4 is arrived at by consensus of 3 judges. no matter who they are!
JW

If you would have read this whole thread you would have seen I was refering to AKC Hunt Tests which I myself have qualified dogs through. But thanks anyway!

If you're interested, there's a NAVHDA test coming up in Wellsville, PA on 9/25-26. I'll be there judging and would be happy to explain more how it works.

Good luck.

Sorry I did read the whole thread and took it the wrong way........

JW

I am definitely interested in Navhda. Like I said the only thing that I don't like is that the AKC doesn't recognize the Navhda Titles on the AKC pedigree like they do for the Hunt Test Titles.

My plan is this... My dog came ffrom Stradivarius Baroque/ Hillhaven's Hustler bloodline and his Sire is hopefully going to earn his Sr. title, his Dam is a Jr. Hunter. I want to reach Master Hunter with mine so that when I breed him for the purpose of having another Male from him I want to better his pedigree and continue with that pup to hopefully have a Master so that eventually my present dog's Gr. Grandpup would have 3 generations of Master hunters in his pedigree. That is why I enter my dogs into hunt tests. I am not a breeder but I want to build an already strong bloodline into a stronger one so one day I may breed quality Shorthairs. I understand I will need quality Dam bloodlines as well an will be looking for such in about 3 years.

Stradivarius was a breeder from Quebec I think, no? He is no longer breeding anymore, but produced some great dogs. Some bloodlines you might want to look into in the area are merrymeeting (Blaine Carter) and On Point (Dave Trahan). Both play in NAVHDA as well as with the DK club.

Personally, I think the AKC pedigree means very little to nothing. More and more, hunters looking for a good versatile hunting dog, be it a shorthair, wirehair, pudelpointer or whatever; are looking for either a NAVHDA pedigree, a JGHV/FCI pedigree or an American Field Pedigree. AKC is becoming more and more a show dog venue, imo.

Good luck with your goals.

HillHaven Kennels is in Wisconsin Stradivarius is the son of DC Hill Haven's Hustler.

I am not against Navhda, my issue is this... Navhda is 40 years old AKC is 125 years old. AKC titles are well documented and accepted in every record keeping organization that I am aware of, NAVHDA is not.

Are Navhda titles attached to the pedigree to show a documented history of bloodline accomplishments? I am under the impression it is not and it is solely an individual accomplishment not a pedigree accomplishment which to me doesn't incite the impression of confidence and validiy of an AKC 3 or more generation pedigree displaying that specific bloodlines accomplishments. I wish AKC would recognize Navhda titles and include their designation after the dog's registered name on the pedigree.
Let me re-emphasize I am not opposed to Navhda just wondering if it would be as beneficial to me and my goals. I do not like the clique type atmosphere I have seen at AKC events among judges judging each others dogs. I like the way Navhda tests are designed and how the judging is based off a standard as long as that standard remains rigid and precise without lowering it for a "friend" whose dog isn't deserving of the passing score. Most people who know about AKC know nothing about these qualifying tests and what takes place at them but nonetheless they will accept an AKC paper over a NAVHDA paper not that one is truly better than another it's is just that one is more recognized.

Thanks for the info on those other bloodlines, I will look them up. I will see what I have planned for that NAVHDA test in Pa during late Sept. I hope to make it out to see how things are run.

All NAVHDA test scores are listed on the NAVHDA pedigree.

However, like AKC, there are no enforced standards for breeding, but the community is much smaller which makes it much more difficult to cheat the system. AKC is so big and political that it has become more about helping the AKC and less about helping the dog breeds themselves. I have seen more than one case where DNA samples taken from pups did not match the parents on the pedigree and nothing is done to penalize this. I don't believe this kind of thing could happen at NAVHDA; not because the system couldn't be tricked; but because the community is small and dedicated enough that it wouldn't tolerate such behavior.

Also there is far more emphasis by NAVHDA breeders to only breed dogs that have successfully completed tests than in AKC. Personally, I am happy that AKC doesn't recognize NAVHDA test scores. AKC is an everything for everybody type organization. NAVHDA caters only to hunters.

There are great dogs in both systems, but I would argue the level of consistency is substantially higher in pups whelped by a NAVHDA breeder than an AKC breeder.

I agree with you on all your points. What you wrote is very true. I will have to come out to the next Navhda event in Pa. Now that I know about the NAVHDA Pedigree I am more interested and will almost certainly run my dog in Navhda and see how I like it. Thanks Again!

Want to find out more about NAVHDA pedigrees call the central office and ask for Jim.

I see many in NAVHDA over the years run dogs in both venues.

And because of this I have witnessed the versatile breeds just getting better.

I don't care what venue to you do as each you are working the dog the result is you end up with a much better tool out in the field. Watching a well trained dog is a beauty to witness pure and simple.

JW

Nothing like watching a dog in a dead sprint catch wind of a bird and lock up instantly bending him/herself in a v to point the bird. I like all hunting breeds but a pointer that points well is second to none in my opinion.

My dog is half English Pointer and half GSP. Could I still participate in NAVHDA?

Yes you could participate at the Chapter level but unfortunatley could not enter a test because the cross breed is not recognized.

However,

Testing is just an evaluation of where your training is anyhow.

I is at the chapter level where other chapter members help train you to train your own versatile pointing dog on both land and water before the shot.

A well trained dog is a valuable tool out of both land and water! That part you could particiapte in.

JW

Thank you. I reached out to two chapters and no one ever returned my e-mail. Is it best just to show up?

Give me the chapters you tried to contact and maybe I know someone.

JW

Anybody can join the NAVHDA organization. Whether your local chapter will allow you to join is up to them. Some chapters are hunting dog clubs that are open to any breeds or mixes. Some are just a group of people that come together to test their dogs. Some chapters are even breed specific.

Most chapters have some kind of web presence where you can find out test dates and site information. I think the best thing to do would be to go out to a test or training day and watch what the folks are doing. If it is something that interests you, find someone from the club and talk to him about joining up.

As long as you aren't going to a breed specific chapter, and there aren't many of them, you should have no problem at least getting on board.

Good luck.