What's a hunt test?

A Hunt Test

The type of hunt test that our club puts on consists of three ability-based (not age) categories that the dogs may enter. In the HRC Tests, the categories Started, Seasoned and Finished are designed for beginning, intermediated and advanced stages of dog training and experience. All dogs are judged pass/fail against a "Hunting Standard". These events are great fun where everyone can root for each other’s dog and help each other with their training. The judges are experienced hunters and have passed HRC administered tests, apprenticed as judges, and have gun safety training. They have attended judging seminars, and must have handled and passed a dog in the category that they are judging. Good ‘Hunting-oriented’ judges are the key to having tests with hunting realism.

The tests are directly related to hunting with the retriever in the field for waterfowl and upland game. Unlike field trials, the bird throwers and any guns in the field are NOT exposed and dressed in white, but are hidden as in real hunting situations and dressed in appropriate hunting clothing.. The Handler must wear camouflaged or other hunting attire. Gallery members must also wear appropriate camouflaged or other hunting attire to avoid creating distractions for the working dog. In the two upper levels, the Handler handles the shotgun (firing blanks), and works his/her dog from a blind or perhaps a boat, and may be required to quarter the dog in a pheasant or quail field. Seasoned and Finished dog Handlers must direct their dogs to birds the dog did not see fall (a blind). HRC stresses actual ‘Hunting realism’ and ‘gun safety’ in the hunting tests.

The tests consist of various combinations of individual evaluations of “marking”, “handling”, “steadiness”, and in some cases “quartering” or “trailing”.

A patient Labrador waits

In marking tests, the dog watches one or more birds thrown from stations up to about 100 yards away. The dog is expected to remember and retrieve all of the birds. Most of these birds are freshly killed before the test. None of the birds are shot during the test. In general, no live ammunition is used during the test. Instead, for safety, primed shotgun shells are used to create a blank that is quiet enough to be fired from the “line” (the location of the dog) without ear damage and with no projectile. Safety is stressed throughout the test. A dog may be flunked for unsafe handling of the gun by the dog’s handler at any time.

In handling evaluations, a dead bird is hidden in the field without the dog's knowledge. The dog’s handler must then direct the dog to the bird using only a whistle and hand signals.

Steadiness is typically evaluated during the marking tests. The dog is exposed to a thrown dead bird and is expected to remain with the handler until the handler gives a command to retrieve. Typically we have used pigeons on land and ducks in water. These birds are the ultimate test of a retriever’s steadiness, this steadiness being desirable for safe hunting in the field during hunting season.

In the trailing tests, a dead bird is dragged in the field and the dog is expected to follow the trail.

In quartering tests, birds are planted “hidden” in a field and the dogs must find these birds and be steady to wing and shot.

New Mexico Hunting Retrievers

What's a hunt test?