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Natural Ability Test

Volunteering at a NAVHDA Test

NAVHDA Training

Volunteering at a NAVHDA Test

What Makes NAVHDA Training Different? Heeling portion of the NAVHDA Utility Test

Heeling portion of the NAVHDA Utility Test

Bird Dog NAVHDA

What Makes NAVHDA Training Different?

Popular Blog Posts

Is Pet Insurance Worth It? Updated 2024 February 7, 2024
Product Review: FieldKing Game Steward’s Bird Bag February 9, 2024
Product Review: Ruffland Water Hole October 20, 2023
Rehabbing An Injury December 13, 2023

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Lanka had a fun weekend playing with her new frien

Lanka had a fun weekend playing with her new friend Kiwi (6 month old vizsla) and getting to see pigeons again!
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#vizsla #vizslapuppy #puppyspam #birddogtraining #navhda #fieldtrialdog
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🎥 by @hlw_outdoors
Training vest by @dogsunlimitedgear

On Monday, Zara was released from rehab. Her iliop

On Monday, Zara was released from rehab. Her iliopsoas muscles have healed!

Of course I’m excited, but after 5.5 months of rehab and 7 months of restricted exercise, it almost feels too good to be true.

This process took a huge toll on my mental health and Zara’s. Having to be so strict and specific about everything this year has been rough. The worst part was when she would look at me and her eyes would seem to say, “why are you doing this to me? Why can’t I run? Why do I have to be in an X-pen?” I hated having to restrict her so much. Zara has always been such a joyful dog, and that joy has not been very prevalent this year. If you look at some of the photos from the past 7 months, you can see she doesn’t look happy.

We went through 3+ bottles of Trazodone - she was sedated daily for nearly 4 months. Frozen Kongs, treat balls, and scent work all helped make it through.

She’s lost a fair amount of muscle mass in her rear, so now we begin the process of reconditioning her and gradually ramping up her exercise over the next 2 months. Of course, trying to be careful and prevent future injury is at the front of my mind. Our vet swears by a 15 minute walk warmup before any faster exercise, so we will do that from now on. Although I wish I didn’t have to go through this experience, it’s made me SO much more aware about warming up, cooling down, and being more conscious about activities that are likely to cause injury. Hopefully this knowledge will pay off with Lanka.

I’ll probably write a more detailed blog post about this process at some point, because I think it would be helpful for other people going through the same thing. But if anyone is going through something similar with their dog, feel free to reach out so I can commiserate with you. Talking to a few people who had gone through similar injuries with their dogs really helped.

If everything goes well, she should be ready for hunting season 😊.
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#iliopsoasstrain #dogrehab #vizsla #injuryprone

New podcast episode! 🎙 Dealing with Failure. I

New podcast episode! 🎙 Dealing with Failure.

If you're participate in hunting events long enough with your bird dog, "failure" is inevitable – meaning, not passing a test, earning a placement, or failing to meet your expectations. In this episode, I talk about some failures I've experienced and how I dealt with them. Realizing how to learn from failure and using it to make you and your dog better is important.

Hopefully this episode will provide some useful tips for the next time you're dealing with some disappointment after competing with your dog.

The photo is from Zara and I's first "failure" at the NAVHDA Utility Test in 2019. Photo by @horizonretrievers
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The Accidental Bird Dog Podcast is sponsored by @onxhunt and @bossshotshells. We are part of the @herupland podcast network.

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#accidentalbirddogpodcast #dogpodcast #dogsports #akcfieldtrials #fieldtrialdog #hunttests #navhda #nstra #huntingdog #birddog #ukcfieldtrials #jghv #ufta

Lanka, 3 months old. 🐾 While Chris and I were

Lanka, 3 months old. 🐾

While Chris and I were at the beach last week, Lanka spent the week with Emily of @horizonretrievers. We planned this trip months ago, before Lanka was born, but I knew that there was a high probability we’d have a 12 week old vizsla puppy during this time. I also knew I had no desire to take a 12 week old vizsla puppy to the beach for a week lol.

Once we booked the trip, I immediately reached out to Emily to see if she’d be willing to watch our puppy. There are relatively few people I’d trust to watch a 12 week old puppy, even less who may actually enjoy it. Emily has a lot of experience raising and training puppies and I knew I could trust her to keep our puppy safe.

Lanka had a great week with Emily, getting to meet multiple other dogs, go on adventure, and continue house training and crate training in a new environment. And we had a relaxing trip without having to stress about Lanka peeing in a rental house or consuming everything in her path on the beach. 😂
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#vizslapuppy #vizsla #babybirddog #birddogoftheday #lankalikesphotos
📸 by @bassetandbracco

Until next time, Outer Banks! 🌊 — #obx #dogf

Until next time, Outer Banks! 🌊

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#obx #dogfriendly #vizsla #beachvibes #vacation

Zara loves the beach. ⛱️ Her injury rehab con

Zara loves the beach. ⛱️

Her injury rehab continues to progress. She now gets 40 minutes of exercise in the afternoons (15 mins leashed walk + 25 mins of off-leash time) in addition to her morning runs/walks. Her life is still very structured though. We go back to the rehab vet in 4 days and I’m REALLY hoping she will be released. 🤞🏽🤞🏽🤞🏽
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#vizsla #beach #beachgirl #rehabsucks

Last night, we exposed 11 week old Lanka to pigeon

Last night, we exposed 11 week old Lanka to pigeons in electronic launchers for the first time. I brought her close to the launchers to see if she’d acknowledge the scent and possibly point. There was no wind so I’m not surprised that she didn’t. Instead, I just launched the birds when she was looking toward the launchers. She was definitely interested after the birds flew off.

Even though it didn’t feel quite right to be out in the training field without Zara, it was fun to see the spark beginning to be lit in Lanka. Hopefully they can be out training together soon.
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#firstbirds #pigeons #birddogtraining #vizsla #vizslapuppy #fieldtrialdog
🎥 @hlw_outdoors

New podcast episode! 🎙 The Versatile Hunting Do

New podcast episode! 🎙 The Versatile Hunting Dog Federation: Test Details.

This episode is part 2 about the VHDF. Kyle Hough chats with me about the three levels of testing and what is required at each level. If you have a versatile dog, these tests are worth considering!

You can contact Kyle through the Northeast chapter of the VHDF. Visit https://northeastvhdf.wildapricot.org.

The Accidental Bird Dog Podcast is sponsored by @onxhunt and @bossshotshells. We are part of the @herupland Podcast Network.
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#accidentalbirddogpodcast #dogpodcast #dogsports #akcfieldtrials #fieldtrialdog #hunttests #navhda #nstra #huntingdog #birddog #ukcfieldtrials #americanfield #aftca #vhdf

Writing and publishing a book has been a dream of

Writing and publishing a book has been a dream of mine for a long time. Putting your writing out into the world for the first time is scary, though. You never know how it will be perceived. I really appreciate all the positive comments this week. Thank you to everyone who has purchased a book, shared my post, or written a review. It means a lot.

If you haven’t gotten your copy yet, search for “The Accidental Bird Dog” on Amazon or go to accidentalbirddog.com/shop.
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📸 @tobewildandwonderful
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#thankful #booklaunch #theaccidentalbirddogbook #bookstagram #vizsla #birddog #birddogtraining #memoir

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