09/20/2025
NAVHDA fumbled the football on this one!
NAVHDA is an organization whose sole purpose is to promote, improve, and support
the classification of dogs known as Versatiles to be utilized for what they were originally
developed for. The recent introduction of the Gundog Test and dumping of the UPT is a major
fumble on NAVHDA’s behalf. Please read on and let me explain my point of view. Please know
this is not intended to be contentious and it is my opinion, having belonged to NAVHDA for 30
years.
NAVHDA recently dropped the Utility Preparatory Test (UPT) and replaced it with the
Gundog Test (GDT). The UPT was designed to be a stepping stone from the Natural Ability Test
(NA) to the final goal of testing and finishing your dog in the Utility Test (UT). The GDT
eliminated the duck search portion of the test. Why did NAVHDA drop the duck search in the
GDT? Let’s take a closer look.
#1 “I don’t duck hunt, so why should I train for the duck search?”
This reason amazes me the most, and not when I hear it from new NAVHDA members who
might not fully understand the scope and purpose of NAVHDA, but when I hear a judge or
breeder who agrees with this change and new standard.
The Duck Search has very little, if anything, to do with duck hunting, and has everything
to do with evaluating the dog’s Desire, Search, Independence, and Perseverance and
reveals those characteristics more than any other part of the test. Aspects of the test can
not be separated, because in reality, they are all a part of the bigger picture of a Versatile as a
whole. The duck search evaluation is very much connected to a dog’s ability in the field portion
of the test and the overall picture of the dog, even if you don’t “duck hunt”!
I have many clients who do very little upland hunting and mostly hunt waterfowl. How about we
create a Water Dog Test (WDT), where we drop the field work and just keep the duck search,
mark, retrieve by drag, and evaluate the steadiness at the blind and the remain.
The Marked Retrieve, which is still part of the GDT, has more to do with duck hunting than the
duck search. Accomplished Lab trainers understand the mark portion of the UT, but are often
perplexed by the purpose of the duck search. Once it’s explained that the purpose is to reveal
qualities in the dog that carry over to other aspects of the test and the field work and what we
are looking for in a hunting dog, they comprehend the purpose of the duck search. My guess is
that the mark was kept in the test to somewhat keep the flavor of versatility in the test and save
face of our unique testing system. Again, the duck search is not about duck hunting. It’s about
the over picture of the dog.
#2 It will encourage members to test beyond the NA.
With the impressive designation of “Gun Dog Qualified”, will that really encourage advancement
to a UT test?. I don’t think so. In fact, it will discourage it. Keep in mind, the old test was called a
“preparatory” test. Preparatory for what? For the UT. Why advance to a UT with a Prize 1 Gun
Dog? It doesn’t get much better than that outside of the NAVHDA circle. If someone does intend
to move on to a UT, then NAVHDA has just done them a great disservice by promoting a test
without the duck search, which is core to the UT. The importance of training for the duck search
is to build independence prior to steady work, and especially the marked retrieve, which cannot
be overstated. The GDT throws quality training principles out the window with this new system
of testing.
A Prize 1 Gun Dog qualification sounds pretty impressive and will pull in more people to test. It
looks to me like numbers, membership, and dumbed down testing participation is more
important than the integrity of our versatile breeds and time honored system of evaluating
versatile dogs. Does lowering the standards so more people will test really benefit our versatile
breeds?
To those who have already tested GDT, this is not to disparage you or take away from your
dog’s success at all. You have done more than many who have only run NA, and it took
honest work on your part. This is about the integrity of NAVHDA ’s scope and purpose, not a
statement about your success and hard work.
#3 Judge Requalification
NAVHDA judges have to handle a dog in a NA test every 4 years and either a UPT, UT, or IT
dog every 8 years in order to keep their judging status. If the GDT replaces the UPT, do you
mean to tell me that a judge can ride out his or her judging career having never actually trained
or handled a dog to a duck search in the very minimum standard set forth in the old UPT? I
hope this is not the case, and I hope my assumption is wrong.
This is one of several reasons I will be voting for Jake Bartells for NAVHDA president, and I
encourage everyone, especially breeders, to support Jake, who will uphold the highest
standards of our test and the scope and purpose of NAVHDA. You can visit his web page at
www.jakebartellsfornavhdapresident.com.
