WHAT IS an AKC JUNIOR HUNT TEST? ~ Learn what to expect and prepare for. ~The Retriever Nation

Learn what an AKC Junior Hunt test is all about. We cover test details, judge's expectations, the four criteria of judgement, as well as some pointers to help your walk to the line be more successful! This video will show what you can expect and prepare for in an AKC Junior Hunt Test.
#AKCJuniorHuntTest
#AKCHuntTest
#LakeCountryRetrieverClub

[@lonedog6687]

Really nice to see a JR dog trained above the level it's running ! Really nice job by dog and handler. Test had a little meat to make a lesser trained team nervous. Compliments to the judges on a fair, honest, straight forward test. Enjoyed it all !

[@TheRetrieverNation]

Thanks for the comment! The judges did an outstanding job at this test. The junior level is important in getting new handlers into the sport. Nala was in fact running derbys at this point. You can watch her in action in our "What is an AKC Derby". Thanks for watching!

[@adampatrick4917]

Can’t thank you enough for putting this video together! I’ve watched it probably four times now, and will be taking my dog through her first JH test in less than two weeks!

[@TheRetrieverNation]

Thank you! We're glad it has helped. Our goal with this video was to show what a junior hunt test is in hopes of giving people confidence to jump in, so we are glad to hear you are doing just that! You'll be able to experience how rewarding it is and your dog will just love it! Good luck at your test! And keep us posted!!

[@mathteacher112]

Very well done video... Congrats Nala and Teri... there are great expectations for this little Code Keeper!!!

[@DoggyU]

Thank you so much for this excellent video! Looking to get my first gun dog and this was a perfect intro to the hunt test. Many thanks!

[@TheRetrieverNation]

If you decide to do this I can guarantee you'll love it, and the bond created between you and your dog is priceless. Thank you for watching!

[@adamw4469]

Great video, thank you for the show and explanation of the sport/title!

[@TheRetrieverNation]

Thank you for watching and for the positive feedback.

[@agraham03011986]

Great Job!

[@zford33]

Incredible video. Gives great insight as to what this sport/competition is.

[@TheRetrieverNation]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it, and thank you for watching.

[@hibiscus09]

Thank you. My Golden Retriever, Logan, and I have been training for this and are getting close. So much fun! It’s nice to have a detailed explanation. I have not used a whistle, but that looks helpful for the reason given.

[@TheRetrieverNation]

Wonderful! I agree, it is very fun! Thank you for watching and the kind words and best of luck in the upcoming season!

[@valeriewolf6750]

Thank you for making this video! I came on KZbin to find junior hunt test fails to reassure me not everyone passes, but this is what I needed even more. My husband is the hunter in the family, but I do all of the training. And I am the one that wants to put a hunt test title on our dog. Of course, I choose to do this with the most challenging dog we have ever owned. But I feel much better prepared now!

[@TheRetrieverNation]

I'm so glad you found this video helpful! You can do it! And that it's your most challenging dog will make those passes all the sweeter. Remember that everyone there is rooting for you and the judges truly want it to be a great experience. Good luck! Keep us posted! And thank you for watching!

[@planetcurly380]

This is one of the best channels on KZbin for hunt test enthusiasts! I am going to start recommending it all over. :-) Would love for the narrator to slow down just a little and speak a bit more slowly. Great job to y'all!

[@TheRetrieverNation]

Well thank you so much! We are so glad you like our videos. And thank you for the constructive criticism, my husband would fully agree with you. ;) I'll definitely work on improving that. We appreciate your support so much and thank you for such kind words.

[@user-sg1gq6pk3y]

Abbie and I entered our first AKC Junior hunt test last fall. It would have been nice for us to view this video first to have a good idea of what takes place. But we did however pass both days. This is a great and real presentation of what takes place. Two important things to remember; don't talk to your dog after you signal you are ready and do not touch your dog until after you take the bird from her mouth. We will be going again soon and hopefully will have good results. It's good experience. You will be nervous and that's ok. Take your time and enjoy the experience with your partner (your dog)

[@TheRetrieverNation]

Congratulations on the two passes! Thank you for the kind words and additional great advice. Enjoy the experience is right, what a blessing to be able to have this kind of relationship with a canine, truly man's best friend. Good luck in your upcoming tests - that title ribbon will soon be earned!

[@MeghanBrowning-cy3tm]

I'm running my Airedale Terrier bitch for the first time next month!

[@TheRetrieverNation]

Let us know how she does! Thanks for watching!

[@jamesdoerr4318]

I am a Doberman person myself. I think my girl would have done all of what your dog did. However, there would have been one difference, she would never release food. She will hunt hers up and you will hunt yours up. Oh and what you don't eat of your would then be hers. This was so fun watching. Thanks a bunch.

[@TheRetrieverNation]

Our neighbors have Doberman's. They are great dogs too! So stoic and smart! Having any breed of dog is a blessing and fills our homes with love and purpose. Thanks for sharing, and thanks for watching!

[@labguy303]

Great video. Thanks for posting

[@TheRetrieverNation]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@labguy303]

@@TheRetrieverNation where are you located? I saw several pics with a lot of snow. I’m down in Texas.

[@TheRetrieverNation]

Oh you are so lucky. We are located in southern MN. Summers are good but winters are terrible. We are hoping to travel to southern Texas in March to get dogs in water early. Our water will be frozen/too cold until late April.

[@pim1234]

Good dog !

[@mattriner1538]

Really enjoyed your video, and your pup did great! Stumbled upon this video because I’m looking at trying to get into the hunt tests with my young lab, although he has a ways to go before he’s ready; he’s not even 5 months old yet. Did you train your dog yourself or was he/she sent off to be trained?

[@TheRetrieverNation]

Hi Matt. I'm glad you enjoyed the video. We train all our 100% our self, including puppy basics, formal training foundations like force fetch, force to pile, etc. We work during the day and train during the evenings on land 45 minutes away that has water. I would suggest watching some of our training videos as well and encourage you to join a club. The access to technical water and the support from friends doing the same thing, as well as people to train with is priceless. Thanks for watching! Months 0-6: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gXzUiIKenZlomqc Months 6-12: kzbin.info/www/bejne/p3rLg2OZipmYnpY Swim-by: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oKe0mZuZeduHZ6c

[@averyluttropp1289]

this was super helpful! is a whistle recall necessary for a JH and future higher level hunt tests? i am confident in my dog current retrieving ability and hunt training but he doesn't know a whistle recall.

[@TheRetrieverNation]

I'm glad you found it helpful, thank you! A whistle recall is not required but it was helpful in the water series to stay "watery" rather than cheat and run back on land. But if you don't have problem with that more power to you, that's awesome! Thanks for the question!

[@jbn8055]

Nice video. Clear explanation and excellent working dog demo. How old was Nala during this test? She appeared to be trained well beyond JH!

[@TheRetrieverNation]

Thank you! Nala was almost 15 months in that video. It was her debut into the competitive dog world. She is a great dog and also ran the National Derby Championship at 19 months. Thank you for watching!

[@jbn8055]

@@TheRetrieverNation National Derby! That is awesome! My guy was that age when he earned his Senior Hunter, but I don't think he'd be competitive in Derby.

[@katieweinstock9741]

This is so helpful, thank you! I have one question- does the dog need to return to heel before bringing bird to hand, or is that just bonus style points? In other words, does it matter in what order the dog brings the bird to hand and returns to heel?

[@katieweinstock9741]

Another question… is the whistle involved in scoring? If the dog immediately and promptly returns on genetics alone is it fine to not use a whistle?

[@TheRetrieverNation]

Hi Katie, thanks for the questions. Yes, returning to heel before delivering to hand is bonus "style" or "trainability" points. As long as the dog returns and delivers to hand, you are good. As far as the whistle is concerned, no you do not need to recall with the whistle. Both are great questions. Thank you for watching.

[@Shifty_Mist]

Hello!!! My family and I have watched your Whelping a Litter of Puppies playlist! It was very helpful so thanks for posting all that! We have a question though. One pup out of our litter of 6 absolutely hates have ENS done to them. She screams like it’s traumatizing her. How should we go about this? Should we do it more often? Stop doing it? We figured we could try and ask since you have more experience! :)

[@TheRetrieverNation]

Hello. Thanks for the question. Do not do it more often than the once per day. These sessions are not to get them "used to" something. Sometimes puppies will cry during this but as long as it's just from discomfort (a few moments on a cold washcloth, a few seconds of foot tickling, etc.) and not pain it's okay. Maybe revisit the video to make sure all methods are being done correctly and if you are confident with that, continue. Remember the purpose, as this will cause moments of stress to build that recovery mechanism, but again should not be pain. I'm sure your answer to that is no, because just questioning the situation shows your level of care and concern. I hope that is helpful.

[@Shifty_Mist]

@@TheRetrieverNation Thank you! We just wanted to be sure because of one our puppies in our litter. Ens is probably her least favorite part of the day haha. Thanks again! Very helpful and I’ll recheck the video too just to double check! These guys are so precious

[@TheRetrieverNation]

They are precious, that's for sure. 🐾💕

[@toriwade8073]

How do I train for this? I want to do hunt tests but have no idea how to get started.

[@TheRetrieverNation]

If you don't have a training partner (or even if you do), I would suggest finding a local Retriever training club and joining! Also purchase and training program like Bill Hillmann's "Training a Retriever Puppy" or Mike Lardy's "Total Retriever Training". This is an excellent way to get the ball rolling! Also go to some events and watch! You can find them online at Entry Express.

[@Acal51]

Are these events open to the public or club only? I live maybe 40 mins from PL. I just sent the deposit for a litter being born Nov 23. Hoping to run some of these with this new dog.

[@TheRetrieverNation]

Absolutely! You can find these events by joining Entry Express online. They give a list of events across the nation and their corresponding dates. How exciting to be getting a new puppy!

[@Acal51]

@@TheRetrieverNation Super excited. It’s an excellent lab litter. Sire is a GRHRCH UH MH and dam is a GRHRCH MNH. Born on thanksgiving. I do have a 4yr old lab I was going to try some test with but Covid put a wrench in the plans.

[@TheRetrieverNation]

Sounds like a great breading. You should have a lot of fun with that little pup!

[@jamesturner7728]

what a load of bollocks why hide the dog do you hide the dog on a day out shooting

[@TheRetrieverNation]

Hi James, thanks for watching. The reason the dog is hidden in the holding blind is so that they don't see the birds go down until it's their turn. When it is their turn and they are at the line, there is no holding blind so it is like a day out hunting. You can imagine how well each dog would do if they watched as they approached the line. I hope this helped to explain things more clearly. Let me know if you have any other questions.

[@jamesturner7728]

@@TheRetrieverNation is that not where training comes in get the dog to sit or stay you would not last 5 minuets in the uk

[@TheRetrieverNation]

Hi again James. You are 100 percent correct that this is where training comes in to play. The reason we don't allow them to see where the birds go down until it's their turn is because that would make it way too easy for them. Challenge them. How well do they mark the first time they see the bird, instead of how well they sit while they watch birds for other dogs go down. As for teaching them to sit and stay, we don't even use the command stay. We expect the dog to sit until given another command, the stay command is more for city folk. Let's be nice, the dogs at the Junior level in this video are very, very young, some only just a year, and doing quite well considering. This is verified by future performance; this particular dog made it to the National Derby Championship. Here, in the U.S. that is quite a big deal. Thank you for watching, James.

[@RetrieverTrainingAlone]

Excellent! One way to remind yourself you cant talk to the dog after signaling the judges is to put your tongue between your teeth in training every time you signal for the mark. Also note the team could fail if the handler yells "NO!" and the judge interprets this as intimidation. Downloadable podcast on why Jr sometimes fail: missskeeter.podbean.com/e/single-marks-and-the-akc-junior-retriever-hunting-test/

[@TheRetrieverNation]

Great trick! Very smart. And yes, thank you for the additional point on yelling "NO!" and what the judge could interpret as intimidation. Appreciate your comments.