gsp man

[pheasant maniac]

say i was just wondering how to go about getting my gsp field certified? i heard that it is resonably inexspensive to do, but have know idea on how to go about it and what it really intails. leave me a post if possible.

thanks pheasant maniac!

[gspman]

PhezManiac,

I'm not entirely sure what you mean by field certified.

If you mean putting a Field Championship i.e. FC on it that can get quite spendy unless you have the time and resources to do it all yourself. If you run in AKC or American Field trials you'll need your dog broke steady to wing and shot, stop to flush, and honoring a bracemates point. In AKC your dog may be required to retrieve to hand as well. That's a lot of training and potentially a lot of money. Then there's the choice of walking or horseback trials. Horses add to the expense as well.

If you are talking hunt test titles like Master Hunter, Senior Hunter, Junior Hunter then it may be a little less expensive. The dog still has to do the same things as far as steadiness, honoring, and retrieving to go for a Master Hunter I think. Junior Hunter to me doesn't mean much. Senior Hunter is a good accomplishment. Master Hunter is outstanding.

I think for the average person hunt tests and/or walking trials is an attractive way to go.

There's also NSTRA. I don't think your dog needs to be steady for NSTRA plus I think you get to shoot at the birds your dog points. This may be the another good route to go but I know next to nothing about NSTRA. Maybe someone else can chime in. I do know that there used to be a fair number of NSTRA trials in MN. I'll bet Terry Holzinger may be able to point you in the right direction there.

Setterguy may be able to give you better and more accurate info than I as he's more actively involved in trials than I currently am. You may wish to go to the trial his dog club is hosting in April. It'd be a great place to meet people and ask lots of questions. Don't let setterguy talk you into getting one of those shag's though . You could also evaluate the level of competition compared to your dog to see how far you need to go to be competitive with your pooch.

Good luck

gspman

[pheasant maniac]

thanks gspman i was refering to the hunt test. can you supply me with info ,or give me a site i can get info from?

i think my dog will fair pretty good, since i have been guiding him for 3 years. but would really like more info.

thanks in advance pheasant maniac.

[gspman]

Here's some info from the AKC on pointing breed hunt tests for you to research...

http://www.akc.org/events/hunting_tests/pointing_breeds/index.cfm

Here's the GSPCMN HSOforum - looks like they are having a hunt test on April 23 & 24. Call the breed secretary for more info. The secretary may also be able to give you contacts to people who are into hunt tests and can give you some advice/info.

http://gspcmn.netkennel.com/

My apologies to the moderators if the links are not allowed.