227. We Ran 3 Dogs in a NAVHDA Utility Test… Here’s What Happened

Welcome to Standing Stone Kennels! In this episode, we break down the most recent NAVHDA Utility Test held at Alta Soul Ranch, running three dogs (Doc, Thunder, and East) through every phase of the scorecard. East made history with a Utility Prize I and completed his Master Hunter title in Texas the same weekend. Thunder posted a near-perfect 200 Prize II with fours across the board, held back only by duck search. Doc had one of his most unusual testing days on record.We walk through the full utility scorecard structure, including duck search indexing, multipliers, field search, steadiness phases, remain by blind, drag, and water work, and we explain what each score means for prize eligibility. We also get into the practical training lessons: the marble theory of handling at tests, how time and distance erode control, why duck search independence is the hardest skill to build, and how handler decisions in the moment can be the difference between a Prize I and a Prize II.If you're training for NAVHDA Utility or just want to understand what it takes to compete at the highest level, this episode is packed with real field insight from a trainer who has put dogs over 200 points in Utility.Chapters0:00 Intro & East's Big Announcement1:40 Breaking Down the Utility Scorecard8:20 Doc's Test Recap — Duck Search Score & Weird Day29:00 Remain by Blind Explained & Doc's Handling Situation33:00 The Marble Theory — Time, Distance & Eroding Control45:00 Thunder's Test Recap — 200 Prize II With One Issue55:00 East's Test Recap — Utility Prize I & 201 Score57:00 Duck Retrieve Decision-Making in the Moment1:01:00 Training Plans Going Forward & Closing ThoughtsSend Us Mail5919 W Pleasant Valley RdPretty Prairie, KS 67570LinksStep-By-Step Dog Training Course: https://www.standingstonesupply.com/coursesJoin our Patreon Community - https://bit.ly/SSK-PatreonOur Store - https://bit.ly/SSK-StoreSocial MediaFacebook: www.facebook.com/StandingStoneKennelsInstagram: www.instagram.com/standingstonekennels/Website: www.standingstonekennels.comEthan and Kat Pippitt are the proud owners of Standing Stone Kennels. They breed German Shorthaired pointers and train all types of dogs for the hunt and the home. Their training strategies are easy to follow and are flexible to meet the needs of individual dogs. They are avid outdoorsmen and when they aren't training dogs they spend their free time hunting all kinds of game across the United States.We use affiliate links to help support the channel. If you would like to support Standing Stone content, we appreciate you using the links in the description of this video.Subscribe to our channel here: http://bit.ly/2Dyy9DW