Types of events

Less formal training & get together, sometimes organized via the Lone Star Chapter, at other times organized by individual members. The day or weekend may be dedicated to a specific training technique or may be just a general get together dedicated to the areas that the participants wish to cover.

If you are a Lone Star member and would like to be the lead organizer of a training clinic or day, just let us know. You may have a training site already or if you need some information on training sites we can give you some ideas. Perhaps you just want to let other members know where and when you are going to be out in the field.

You just tell us what you want to do and we will post the information and help you anyway we can.

An educational tool to help dog owners and handlers understand the testing system.  The clinics are conducted by designated trained leaders; all of whom are NAVHDA Senior Judges.  During the two day clinic weekend, participants experience all aspects of a Natural Ability, Utility Preparatory, and Utility Test.  The first few hours of each day is devoted to informal classroom instruction. There is discussion of Test mechanics, the scoring system and NAVHDA philosophy.  The group then goes out to the field to judge and score dogs being run in the actual Test process.  After each dog has run and been scored, there is a discussion of performance and scoring as observed by the participants and the clinic leader.  The discussion includes strengths or weaknesses of training and handling observed in the demonstrations, and how they may have affected the dog's inherited skills.

Who Should Attend?

• People with their first pup see how other dogs work and gain insight into what their pup is doing and why. This helps them to develop their pup's talents and improve performance in weak areas.
• Novice handlers learn how NAVHDA evaluates versatile dogs, and are better prepared to handle their dogs in a test.
• Experienced handlers gain a deeper, more technical knowledge, of how the team of dog and handler are judged.
• Breeders learn what to look for in their breeding stock and their progeny, and how to use NAVHDA records obtained through the Test Information Service in selective breeding.

For aspiring NAVHDA Judges, attending a Handler Clinic is one of the first steps in our Apprentice Judge Program