Here you will find answers to the questions we receive most frequently. If you are interested in joining a local NAVHDA Chapter, whether ours or another, then chances are that this page addresses many of the things you’ve been wondering.

If you still have questions after reading this page — or if you just want to talk NAVHDA with a real human being — send us an email via the “Contact” page on this website. The Chapter Secretary will get back to you soon.

MEMBERSHIP

“International NAVHDA organization” . . . “Treasure Valley NAVHDA Chapter” . . . what does it all mean?

NAVHDA stands for “North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association.”

The International NAVHDA organization (“NAVHDA International”) is an umbrella entity that maintains records about versatile dogs, sanctions hunt tests, and coordinates the efforts of approximately 90 local “chapters” through the United States and Canada.

The Treasure Valley NAVHDA Chapter is one of those local chapters. We primarily serve southwestern Idaho and southeastern Oregon.

What does annual membership in the Treasure Valley NAVHDA Chapter get me?

First and foremost, membership gets your dog access to training and resources that will help it thrive in the tasks it was born and bred to do!

Chapter membership also gets you a community of like-minded people, doing like-minded things with their versatile hunting dogs. You’ll be eligible for training days, preferred access to sign up for hunt tests, and occasional Chapter events like trap shoots or dinners. You’ll also have access to experienced versatile dog trainers and handlers, and the opportunity for their one-on-one guidance and assistance as you and your dog work toward your training goals.

Finally, you should know we issue our Chapter’s annual memberships on a household basis. That means that, if you join, you are welcome to bring your immediate family members to training days, hunt tests, and other Chapter events.

Do I really need to be a current member of NAVHDA International and a member of the local Chapter to participate in Chapter events?

Yes, and the reasons why boil down to insurance and liability. Third party liability insurance is included in the NAVHDA International membership, so if you do not have this insurance, then you are a liability, not only to yourself, but to our chapter and its members.

We do welcome people that want to come and observe to see if joining NAVHDA is something they would be interested in, but they will be required to sign the Release of Liability form referenced above.

For more information about the liability insurance and the Release of Liability form, see these documents from NAVHDA International:
Insurance FAQ
Release Agreement FAQ
Release of Liability Form

Does registering my dog with NAVHDA International make me a member of your Chapter?

No. Registering your dog does not make you a member of our Chapter. It also does not make you a member of NAVHDA International. You will have to do each of those things separately, by following the instructions here and here.

How do I join your Chapter?

You may join by clicking here, and following the instructions. Welcome!

How long will my membership last?

Your membership with NAVHDA International lasts for 12 months, beginning on your date of purchase.

Memberships in our Chapter run from April 1 of each year, to March 31 of the following year. We do apply this rule with a little bit of common sense and flexibility — for example, if you purchase a membership in February we will likely set it to expire in March of the following year (so it expires in one year rather than one month). With that said, you should generally expect an email from us reminding you to renew your membership each March.

How do I register my dog with NAVHDA? It seems confusing.

It seems confusing because it is confusing. Before doing anything you should touch base with your breeder, because he or she may have already done some of the following work for you.

Registering your dog with NAVHDA requires you to register in two different places. This is because NAVHDA does not maintain pedigrees itself — rather, it recognizes certain other established registries of pedigrees. Therefore, you must register with one of them first. Your options are the Canadian Kennel Club, the American Kennel Club, the Field Dog Stud Book, or the Federation Cynologique Internationale. Any of the foregoing will work, but most people we know choose to register with the Field Dog Stud Book.

After completing this first step, you will receive a pedigree for your dog and other pertinent registration information. These are the documents you will need to register with NAVHDA: submit a copy of the pedigree and other information to NAVHDA via the forms on this website. Once approved by NAVHDA, your dog will be registered and will receive a permanent registration number.

TRAINING DAYS

What are training days, and what happens there?

Training days are designed to give you and your dog the skills you need to make yourselves successful in a NAVHDA hunt test. We can’t emphasize enough that training days alone will not produce anything close to a prepared dog (or handler). Rather, they will give you the skills to work effectively with your dog on your own time. Put another way, semimonthly training days are no substitute for the time it takes to truly train a dog, but our hope is that the training days put you and your pup in a position to do quality work together on your own time.

Here is what to expect at a training day. You and your dog will be led through various sequences one-on-one by experienced trainers and handlers. For example, dogs preparing for the Natural Ability test will be taken through a field search, pointing drills, tracking, and introductions to water. The experienced trainers and handlers will evaluate you and your dog and provide feedback as to what is working, where to improve, and what you should be doing on your own in the interim period before the next training day.

Remember: these volunteers want you and your dog to succeed! All compliments are genuine and any criticism is constructive — our goal is to help you and your dog grow together, and often that means guiding the handler just as much as the dog. Many of the trainers will become personally invested in you and your dog so be sure to do your part between training days.

How often do you hold training days, and when?

We hold training days approximately every two weeks in the spring (before it gets blazing hot in the Treasure Valley) and intermittently throughout the summer. We generally do not hold training days in or after September — that’s hunting season.

Current members receive email notifications of upcoming training days, locations, and other pertinent information. We also post that information here.

Where do your training days take place?

Our training days take place on private property in the Parma, New Plymouth, and Weiser areas — all about 45-75 minutes West of Boise.

Do you use live birds at training days?

Yes. Homing pigeons are available for use at Training Days for $2.50 per bird, which covers the cost of their care and feeding. As tests get closer we will also expose your dog to chukar, ducks, and pheasants as available.

Where can I get live birds of my own?

We like Northwest Game Birds, in Caldwell, for pigeons, chukar, pheasants, and the like. Occasionally members of the Chapter also have barn pigeons available on an ad-hoc basis. We share that information via email to Chapter members.

How old does a dog have to be to attend a training day?

There is no bright-line rule or minimum age. However, we insist (in the strongest way possible) that your pup be fully-vaccinated before attending. Each year our training grounds see hundreds of dogs from a multi-state area. We have never had a problem but science says that deadly pathogens like parvovirus can live in the soil for as long as a year, and math says the sheer number of dogs on our training grounds increases the risk to unvaccinated dogs.

Our vaccination rule is not just about you and your pup: bringing an unvaccinated dog to a training day means that you could inadvertently bring a pathogen with you, exposing someone else (and their home, which may have puppies) to something nasty. Our insistence that your pup be vaccinated is just as much for the benefit of your fellow Chapter members and their hunting companions as it is for you and yours.

We also realize that everyone’s situation is different and we all deal with unexpected circumstances sometimes. If you are going through a tough time or if vaccination presents a financial hurdle to you or your family, please reach out to our Chapter Secretary privately. We will find a way to get you the vaccines you need, no questions asked.

What do I need to do with my dog to be ready for our first training day?

Come as you are. Be ready to improve.

What should I bring to a training day?

You’ll need a leash or lead line, water for you and your dog, and a place to put your dog up when the two of you are not working. Keep in mind that southwestern Idaho’s high-desert climate can be quite cold in the morning and quite hot as the day progresses: temperature swings of forty degrees are common. Dress accordingly. If you have them, hip or chest waders will make you a lot more comfortable as you help with things like introducing puppies to water work.

Are there any unspoken rules or etiquette I should know about?

Generally, the rules for training days and hunt tests are the same as the rules for polite society. Be respectful of your Chapter members, don’t say mean things about them, their children, or their dogs, and strive to be a constructive member of the community. We doubt this will be hard for anyone.

More specifically, your dog should remain leashed or kenneled while not actually working, and should not be permitted to cause a disturbance or interfere with others. You, on the other hand, should be willing and eager to jump in and help others train in any way you can.

Don’t discipline other people’s dogs, and be judicious with your own. We probably don’t have to say this, but if we determine — in our sole discretion — that your training style with respect to your own dog is abusive, dangerous, or just plain mean, we reserve the right to send you packing. The dog will be welcome to stay.

Finally, all of our training and testing grounds are private property. We enjoy access thanks to the good graces of some very generous landowners. Please help us stay on their good side: drive and park only on roads, pick up any trash you see (without regard to whether it is yours), leave things as you found them, and treat the land as well or better than you would treat your own. These little things matter more than they may seem.

TESTS

How do I sign up for a hunt test?

Signing up for a test is a three-step process:

1. Complete the NAVHDA Test Entry Form, which you may download by clicking here. Note that the form requires a NAVHDA registration number for your dog, and a NAVHDA International membership number for the owner/handler. See above for details on how to obtain each of those, if you don’t have them.

2. When your form is complete submit it to our chapter’s Test Secretary via email, here.

3. Navigate to the “Store” tab at the top of this page, select the hunt test you would like to enter, and pay the applicable fee by purchasing the test. We also require you to be a chapter member to test with us, so if you are not currently a member of our chapter, please add the Annual Chapter Membership to your cart as well.

Once our Test Secretary has received both of your test entry form and your test entry fee, we will send you an email confirming that you are fully-entered and we will reserve your place in line. Remember: you will not be enrolled or waitlisted for any test until you have completed both tasks. If you do not receive an email confirming that you are enrolled in the test, please reach out to our chapter’s Test Secretary via email here to ascertain your status.

Once you are enrolled in the test we will work hard to accommodate your preferred run day (this is not always possible), and update you as to test logistics and details. In the event that you have paid a test entry fee but the test has filled or we are otherwise unable to accommodate you, your fee will be refunded consistent with our policies and procedures.

Do your tests fill up? If so, when?

Our tests fill very quickly. Usually the spring and fall tests are both filled by the end of March.

Do not despair, however: life happens, and in the months leading up to a test some number of dogs will drop out or withdraw. We keep a waitlist and will fill empty slots by working down that list in the order names were received.

If I am waitlisted for a test and don’t make it in, do I forfeit my application fee?

No. You will be given the option to request a refund, or to roll your fee and application to a later test date.

If I am enrolled in a test, but pull my dog from that test, will you refund my fee?

Possibly. If you pull your dog more than 45 days before the test, we will refund your fee. If you pull your dog less than 45 days before the test we generally do not refund your fee but we are always willing to evaluate your situation on a case-by-case basis.

Remember: test slots are hard to come by and waiting until the last minute to pull your dog may deprive another dog and handler the opportunity to participate in something they love. If you determine that you will not be running your dog come test day, telling us early is always the classy thing to do.

I’m a bit of a nerd. Where can I download and read lengthy documents that describe NAVHDA hunt tests and your policies in more detail?

Here are two good places to start:

• NAVHDA’s Aims, Programs and Test Rules.

• Our Chapter’s Hunt Test Policies.

Everyone involved with NAVHDA should study these documents carefully at some point. We are thrilled you’re doing it now.