Arlette of Sunshine Kennel
I watched Dash’s pheasant track from a distance with Trevor’s family. We saw Trevor walk over to the spot the pheasant was released and turn Dash loose. Not long after that Trevor ran into the field and leashed him up again. As Trevor was walking out of the field I thought out loud that there was only one reason a track would be over that fast – Dash must have found the bird! Dash’s bird ran straight toward the tree line and hunkered down in the cover. It took Dash less than a minute to unravel the trail and pin down the bird.
The only thing we had left was the reading of the scores. Arlette’s scores were read as follows:
| Points (out of 4) | Multiplier | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nose | 4 | 6 | 24 |
| Search | 3 | 5 | 15 |
| Water | 4 | 5 | 20 |
| Pointing | 4 | 4 | 16 |
| Tracking | 4 | 2 | 8 |
| Desire to Work | 4 | 4 | 16 |
| Cooperation | 4 | 2 | 8 |
| Final Score | 107 points, Prize II | ||
Success! Any Prize in a NAVHDA test is worthy of being proud of. A Prize II is a sign of a great performance.
As the third dog’s scores and the fourth dog’s scores were read I glanced at Trevor and thought about the Dash’s excellent performance. Dash’s scores were read as follows:
| Points (out of 4) | Multiplier | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nose | 4 | 6 | 24 |
| Search | 4 | 5 | 20 |
| Water | 4 | 5 | 20 |
| Pointing | 4 | 4 | 16 |
| Tracking | 4 | 2 | 8 |
| Desire to Work | 4 | 4 | 16 |
| Cooperation | 4 | 2 | 8 |
| Final Score | 112 points, Prize I | ||
A perfect score of 112 points and a Prize I! An outstanding performance!
I felt extremely proud as I shook hands Trevor and Hank. What a great day. Between the weather and the uncooperative birds it was a day I’ll never forget. The pups did a great job and I am just as proud of the pups as I am of my own dogs. Probably a little bit more because all together, more work went into those pups than my own dogs individually. This day was the culmination of a road I started down in 2003 when I crouched down in the Atlanta airport, peeked into a small kennel, and saw for the first time a little French import we now call Ronny.
