In the 1980s hunters with good retrievers, but without the resources, or time, to be able to be competitive in field trials were anxious to have an avenue to test their dogs for hunting abilities. The Qualifying and then Hunting Dog stake at field trials satisfied that need for a while, but did not offer titles. Thus something more was desired.
The North American Hunting Retriever Association (NAHRA) was formed to satisfy this need. AKC and NAHRA worked together for a while developing a joint hunting test for retrievers. After a time AKC and NAHRA went their separate ways. At this point AKC began it's own Hunting Test for Retrievers program with titles offered for Junior Hunter, Senior Hunter and Master Hunter. Today, GPLRC has many AKC judges and participants to help you get started or advance your progress. Our
waterfowl training days
are designed to prepare you and your dog for hunt testing.
Lots of hunting dog owners, especially newbies, aren’t sure what the difference is between a field trial and a hunt test. While both are great things to do in the offseason to keep us and our dogs in shape, training, and having fun, it can be confusing to figure out what’s right for you and your dog.
Basically, field trials are competitions and hunt tests are not competitive. In a field trial, one dog wins, or depending on the structure of the trial, one dog in each division wins. In a hunt test, each dog is judged individually, not in comparison to other dogs, and is awarded a score based on its performance. At the end of a hunt test, there may be several dogs with perfect scores, several not passing, and all possible combinations in between. The objective of a field trial is to pick a winner; the objective of a hunt test is to assess each dog independently.
In addition to AKC hunt tests there are other organizations that offer their own hunt test programs: UKC and NAHRA. These tests can vary significantly from AKC style tests. For more information on these tests please visit the local clubs that offer these by clicking below.