We love all dogs, but it's a fact that specific breeds are naturally better at performing certain functions than others. Some purpose-bred dogs have innate skills as hunting companions; others assist in the herding of livestock; and others serve as guardians of people and property. When you and your dog participate in a performance sport [...]

Airedale Terrier American Water Spaniel Boykin Spaniel Chesapeake Bay Retriever Clumber Spaniel Cocker Spaniel Curly-Coated Retriever English Cocker Spaniel English Springer Spaniel Field Spaniel Flat-Coated Retriever Golden Retriever Irish Water Spaniel Labrador Retriever Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever Poodle Sussex Spaniel Welsh Springer Spaniel

You might think your sweet and affectionate spaniel was born just to be cuddled and adored by you, but you’d be wrong: Spaniels were actually first bred to be hunting companions! Their role was to hunt, find game, and then drive them out of their hiding places (also called “flushing”). Want to see those [...]

Not everyone will understand the importance of “rat catchers,” but if you live in the countryside, you sure do! “Rat catchers” rid farms of destructive vermin – and the hunting and teamwork skills required to do so are the foundation of the sport of Barn Hunt. Dogs and their handlers work as a team to locate [...]

Spaniel Hunting Test Newcomers Have Early Success! First Irish Water Spaniel Master Hunter Upland Airedales Earn Their First Field Titles  

You’ve played ball with your Retriever about a million times in your backyard or at the park, but do his fetching abilities automatically mean he’d make a good hunting companion? Not necessarily. The only way to really know is to participate in a Retriever Hunting Test. Ever since the first AKC retriever hunting [...]

 Pointing Breed Hunting tests are non-competitive pass/fail tests which assess each dog independently based attributes such as display of desire, boldness, independence, speed with a useful pattern of running across difficult or confusing scent patterns to pinpoint the location of birds. Other categories judges will score are; bird finding ability, pointing, trainability and in [...]

  A new Meet the Breeds in the Field Video is now available! New! Meet the Breeds in the Field Video A survey was recently conducted amongst dog owners who are active in the sport. Here were the findings: 2023 Survey Results Hunt Test Call Back Procedure

Event Service Fees (Jan 2013) Changes to Spaniel Hunting Test Regulations (Nov 2011) The AKC's Position Regarding Club Events Held on Private Property (June 2007) Event giving clubs often conduct their activities on private property. It is the joint responsibility of the Club and the land owner to reach a mutual understanding regarding the obligations of both parties [...]

Spaniels are flushing breeds. Their purpose is to hunt, find game, flush and retrieve birds in a please and efficient manner. The objective of the hunting test program is to help the hunter develop a useful hunting companion by providing a means to gauge a dog's ability against three standards of accomplishment-Junior Hunter, Senior Hunter [...]

DQ by Judges (Jan 2026) Score All Abilities / Master Dog / Awarding Ribbons (Jan 2026) Amateur Handler Limit / Handler and Judge Relation (May 2025) MNRC Entry Size and Resources (Jan 2025) Six Various Clarifications (Oct 2024) Talking to Dog in Junior (Jul 2023) English Springer Spaniels Eligible (Nov 2022) Clarifications -Amateurs / Blind Retrieves (Oct 2022) Wirehaired Vizsla Eligible / Two Hunt Tests Per Yr. for [...]

TITLE APPLICATIONS Advanced Title Application Lifetime Achievement Title Application   EVENT APPLICATION Spaniel Hunt Test Event Application

TITLE APPLICATIONS In addition to achieving the core Hunt Test titles of; Junior (JH), Senior (SH) and Master (MH), there are three additional certificate titles that are offered as mentioned in the Regulations & Guidelines for AKC Hunting Tests for Retrievers, Chapter 2, Section 6-7. Master Amateur Hunter Title Certificate Order Form (Fillable PDF) Master National [...]

The concept of the Spaniel Hunting Test began as a request for an AKC sanctioned event to be known as the "Spaniel Gun Dog Qualification." It had been recommended that AKC sanction Spaniel breed specialty clubs to hold these tests for the purpose of gauging a dog's natural abilities during demands of actual hunting conditions [...]

Title Recognition Program   As of April 1, 2013, the AKC recognizes titles earned in Association events. Owners may apply to have the titles recorded on their dogs' AKC records. titles then will be displayed on pedigrees and other AKC documents AKC Acknowledges Titles   AKC's Announcement Acknowledging Titles Holding in Conjunction with an AKC Event Title [...]

Holding Barn Hunt Events in Conjunction with AKC Events Barn Hunt events may be held in conjunction with AKC events provided they are held "separate and apart". Separate and apart means there must be a clear demarcation between the two events. The clear demarcation can be achieved in a number of ways --- Different times [...]

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has proposed changes to the General Regulations Relating to Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) and to Wildlife and Environmental Areas (WEAs).  The effect of the proposed changes will: (1) Allow dogs to be used for hunting non-protected birds during any period when at least one species of small game is [...]

Dogs and people have been living and working together for thousands of years. In fact, our canine companions were some of our earliest hunting partners. Over the years, we've developed many breeds to help us hunt, each of which has specific skills that can help us find and secure several types of game. These hardy [...]

Hunting with dogs is an exciting way to channel your dog's natural instincts. Learn some basics about how to safely hunt with your dog and how to train them to work in the field.

Here is the sequence of events for the TSA/ACS Hunt test. Remember, it should be done in the same order every time. 1. A walk to the site for Chase Retrieve (located near the site for the Hidden Grass test). 2. Chase Retrieve - Tease the dog with the scented rolled towel in a manner that [...]