Hunting Test for Pointing Breeds
Hunting tests are designed to evaluate the dog’s natural hunting abilities and training. As stated in the Regulations, the test were developed “to afford an opportunity for a person to demonstrate a dog’s ability to perform in a manner consistent with the demands of actual hunting conditions.”
There are no placements in hunting tests, only qualifying and non-qualifying scores. Scoring is based strictly on the written standards. There are three levels of accomplishment: the basic entry level of the Junior, the intermediate level of the Senior, and full refinement expected in the highest level, the Master hunting test. Participation in any of these levels offers the owner the fun of training and seeing their dog work, as well as the pride of accomplishment in the earning an AKC hunting title certification.
For a dog to earn a Qualifying score, it must receive an average score of 7 on the entire test, with no ability category scored below 5. You might compare the score of a 7 to a passing grade of a C. An 8 would be a B, a 9 am A and a 10 would be an A+.
For scoring purposes, the test is divided into four categories for Junior Hunter and six for Senior and Master Hunter. These categories provide a complete review of the dog’s total performance. They include Hunting, Birding Finding Ability, Pointing, Trainability, and in Senior and Master, Retrieving and Honoring.
Hunting:
The dog must demonstrate desire, boldness, independence, speed and a useful pattern of running. The dog and handler should present a picture of smooth and flowing teamwork, with the handler choosing general direction of the hunt and the dog responsive to the handler’s wishes, yet independent enough to maintain a good ground-cover pattern.Bird Finding Ability:
The dog must demonstrate the ability to hunt and find game.Pointing: Pointing is scored to reflect the style (intensity and staunchness) of the dog and its ability to pinpoint birds; especially with difficult or confusing scent patterns.
A Senior dog must point and must remain in position until the bird is shot or the dog is released. A Senior dog must be steady to flush, but not to shot.
A Master hunting dog must demonstrate steadiness to wing and shot on all birds and cannot receive a Qualifying score it if breads. The dog cannot be commanded to retrieve until positive steadiness has been demonstrated. A Handler may send his dog to retrieve after the bird has hit the ground and the dog is seen to remain in position. A dog may move or turn in to mark the fall of the bird.
Trainability: A dog is judged on its willingness to be handled, its obedience to commands and its gun response.
The Master level: The dog must be under control at all times, and handle kindly with an absolute minimum of noise and hacking by the handler.
Junior and Senior level: the dog must demonstrate reasonable obedience to commands and a willingness to be handled.
Retrieving: The retrieve category is only scored in the Senior and Master levels. A good retrieve is when the dog shows directness to the bird, quick location, prompt pick up, brisk and direct return to the handler with a tender delivery. The Senior dog is not required to retrieve to hand. The Master dog must retrieve “absolutely to hand.”
Honoring: Honoring is a requirement in Senior and Master.
A Master dog must honor through the entire flush, shot and retrieve. It may be heeled off and sent on if the retrieving dog takes overly long or does not make the retrieve.
Only blank pistols are permitted, except for the empty shotguns carried by the handlers in Master. All live shooting in Senior and Master is done only by Official Guns.
In the Master test, when a pointed bird is flushed, the handler must shoulder and empty shotgun with both hands and follow the flight of the bird as if he or she were planning to shoot the bird. The Official Gunners actually shoot the bird.
