Colorado Parks and Wildlife is proposing to change regulations involving dog training. These changes will be discussed at the September Parks and Wildlife Commission meeting in Steamboat and would be finalized at the Commission meeting in Yuma in November.

The key changes appear to be:

• You will need to be actively training your dog for hunting. “Exercising” and “conditioning” will not qualify as training. The language of the regulation does not specify whether training for “search” and “range” is covered.
• Permits will be issued on an individual basis, though permit holders may train with up to 9 friends. “Subpermittees” are eliminated. If you will be releasing birds on your own, you’ll need to have your own permit.
• The annual reporting requirement is dropped.

  I’ve posted below the letter from CPW outlining the proposed changes, and the actual language in Chapter 8 of state wildlife regs.

  While the changes may appear to be minor, it’s unfortunate CPW did not reach out to us or to any other dog club that I’ve spoken with in the past few months to notify us about potential changes to dog training rules, let alone solicit input.

  We will seek to get some clarity from CPW on the impact of these regulations. In order that the RMC chapter can best represent our shared interests, let’s please get information before we respond to CPW or the Commission, and we’ll take it from there.

  Thanks and stay tuned,

  Theo Stein
  President
  RMC NAVHDA
  Dogs with Altitude

  Chapter W-8 Letter

  REDLINE CHPTR08

All
Due to recent churn in the test roster, the Rocky Mountain Chapter has a very few Fall Test slots available.

• Two NA slots are available for Friday August 18.
• One UT slot available for Saturday August 19.

Don’t wait! Contact Testing Director Phil Goodwin: [email protected]

Theo Stein
RMC President

RMC members

RMC tests usually have a long wait list. So as you may have heard by now, the RMC Board decided this year to expand our fall test to 3 days – to give our members a better chance to test their hunting companion close to home. With our final training day now behind us, it’s time to get ready for our test.

Test days are Friday Aug 18, Sat Aug 19 and Sunday Aug 20 at Cobb Lake State Wildlife Area in Wellington.

Our chapter is known for hosting smooth-running tests, but these three days will test us, for a change. Friday is all Natural Ability. Saturday has a mix of NA and utility dogs, so we will need to set up and support the maximum number of test events. Sunday is all UT, so it will feature the maximum run time.

We need help setting up and packing up, bird planters, pheasant runners, someone to manage lunch for judges and volunteers and good-will ambassadors who can make sure handers’ questions get answered quickly. In short, we need your help.

For those who have volunteered before – please see if you can pitch in on at least one day. If you are testing with us in two weeks, please consider volunteering on days you are not running. If you have not volunteered before, here are several reasons to come out and help.

• Volunteering gives you a great opportunity to watch other dogs and learn from other handlers.
• You’ll hang out with experienced chapter members – and pick up valuable observations about dog behavior and tips on handling skills while you build friendships with fellow chapter members that you’ll be training with in the years to come.
• By watching dogs in the field and later hearing their scores, you’ll better understand judging criteria.
• Chapter events you’ve participated in have been run by volunteers. Pay it forward.

If you’ve volunteered before, please indicate your experience. Don’t worry if you haven’t volunteered before – you can learn on assignment!

Click on the Signup Genius link to help us give a bunch of handlers just like you a day they’ll always remember.

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/409044fa4aa2ba5f85-call

Thanks and hope to see you there!

Theo Stein
RMC President

Director of Testing Phil Goodwin waits with Milburn Markle and his Pudelpointer Levon before the NA water event.

Running a volunteer organization like the Rocky Mountain Chapter of NAVHDA takes – you guessed it – volunteers who are willing to give their time and their energy to help others succeed in training the hunting dog and companion that will be with them for years in the field, and give them memories for a lifetime.

RMC NAVHDA’s tests are always full. We feel a responsibility to run NAVHDA tests that take the pressure off handlers and give their dogs the best chance to perform. And we could not do it without the selfless help of volunteers. So thank you Rick Huber, Dan Sprague, Jake & Sara Heesacker, Don Andrews, Michael Autrey, Ross Sibley, Andrew Hoezel, boatman Allen Kidd and Tom Swezey.

Judges prepare the drag event for Sunday’s UT handlers with the snowy Front Range foothills in the background.

A special thanks to:

• Test Secretary Phil Goodwin, for doing all the hard work behind the scenes that make a test run smoothly,
• Colin Hornbeck, for taking photos on Saturday and
• Sheryl Dierenfield, for throwing down two absolutely scrumptious lunches for the judges and volunteers.

And a puppy picture, just because.

Ridiculously adorable German wirehaired pointer.

Here are the results of the Rocky Mountain Chapter’s Spring Test. Our thanks to the handlers who presented their dogs and the judges who assessed their performance.