Chapter Activities

Hunting

Greatland Chapter members are naturally inclined to be hunters. It's the fundamental purpose for raising and training versatile hunting dogs, and living in Alaska provides plenty of opportunity to pursue a variety of game. Membership in the chapter is a good way to share hunting experiences, learn new techniques, find areas well-suited to specific types of game, and make the transition with your dog from the training table and test event to the pursuit of wild game in its own habitat.   Chapter member Jay Parker and his German Shorthair Pointer, Fossil, after a point and retrieve.

Organized events

The Greatland Chapter plans to conduct a number of Tests and Clinics during 2010. Members are strongly encouraged to participate in these events, and to seek out other versatile hunting dog owners who have not yet joined the Chapter, and who would benefit from testing their dogs in Alaska rather than incurring the cost of traveling out of state.

Handler's Clinic:

We periodically conduct Handler's Clinics to provide chapter members with advice and guidance on training dogs in preparation for tests, and in handling their dogs during a future Test. These clinics are very informative and action-filled, and are well worth attending.

To reach the site where our clinics will be held, drive south out of Wasilla on the KGB Road. At about 14 miles, turn right (west) on Point Mackenzie Road Road, take it to where it dead ends just past the Pt Mackenzie Store, turn right and then an immediate left (headed west again), go about 1.5 miles to a road on the right with a sign for Carpenter Lake. Turn right (north) and go about a mile, past Carpenter Lake itself, to a hard turn to the left into Falcon Ridge. The clinic will start in the first group of buildings you see about 300 meters down the entry road.

Promotion

Chapter members staffed a vendor table at the Palmer Gun Show in March of this year to promote the Greatland Chapter and Versatile Hunting Dogs. There was signicant interest by ther attendees in the dogs we had at the event, and in the Chapter's activities. We sold raffle tickets for a couple of guns to be drawn in May, and we got contact information from around two dozen people who are considering acquiring VHD's and participating in Chapter activities.

In May, we'll conduct a demo with several dogs at the Sportman's Warehouse in Wasilla. Sportman's Warehouse has agreed to be a sponsor of the Chapter.

Natural Ability Test:

The Natural Ability Test is designed to assess the innate ability of a dog under 16 months of age to perform the basic hunting skills, and to assess the dog's willingness to work, water entry and retrieving instincts, gun shyness and other traits.

The Greatland Chapter conducts Natural Ability Tests in conjunction with Utility Preparatory and Utility Tests. The Tests are formally announced to NAVHDA International, which then makes the formal selection of judges coming up for these events.

Utility Preparatory Test:

We will run Utility Preparatory Tests for those dogs that will be ready for that "intermediate step" in their testing series. This is the normal progression for a dog that has passed a Natural Ability Test, but is not sufficiently trained for the Utility Test.

Utility Test:

The Greatland Chapter conducts Utility Tests in conjunction with Natural Ability tests. The Tests are formally announced to NAVHDA International, and appear on their web site.

Remember, if you and your dog want to participate,

• join the Greatland Chapter,

• join NAVHDA,

• register your dog with NAVHDA,

• sign up for the Test you want, and

• get started on your training.

Invitational Test:

NAVHDA International holds one Invitational Test each year for the entire country. Pease check the NAVHDA web site or your VHD magazine for information on qualifications (Prize I in the UT and a formal invitation), location and date.