We tested Scout on Sunday, the day he turned 16 months for NA, this was to be our one and only chance to test for NA. We had watched the dogs run UT and NA on Saturday and since it was our first event we used the time to get an idea of what to expect. Going into this test we've had no coaching or training and Scout was not "prepared" in any way. After watching the testing I was confident in his field abilities but I was extremely worried about tracking and water. We have had no exposure to water at all other than crossing some small creeks and I've never had him track anything. None of this seemed to bother Scout, but I was becoming a nervous wreck.
Sunday morning rolled up and Scout was first up for NA after the UT dogs ran. I had overheard on the radio that there would be two birds planted in each of two adjacent fields but of course had no idea where in the fields the birds would be.
Here we are getting ready to start the Field test;
As we worked our way into the field the gunner fired off two rounds separately, After the first shot Scout stopped and began looking around, when he did not see any birds going down he trotted over towards me and then he spotted the lone person with a shotgun and beelined towards him and stared at him. I told him that he was giving the gunner a stink eye for missing to which everyone had a good laugh.
As we were working the field I began to get worried since Scout had not gotten onto a bird and we were about 2/3 of the way through the field. As I was worrying that he had passed the birds he hit his first point, solid as a rock and picture perfect. After I flushed the bird he chased it for a bit until it got to the wood line, then circled back and began hunting again. On the second bird he locked up and when the bird flew he chased it through the hedgerow and into the next field. The judge I was standing next to kept mumbling for the bird to keep flying over and over. The bird set down about 150 yards away with Scout barely 20 yards behind it. Has the bird went to ground Scout caught it, got it in his mouth and promptly ran back depositing the still live Chukar at our feet. This won him praise from the judges, what I did not understand at the time was that if he had run off with the bird it would have cost points in "cooperation". But since he returned with the bird it actually increased his cooperation score. As we reached the end of the first field and were turning into the second field Scout had gone about 10 feet into the wood line and was circling an area around a tree. We stood there watching for a few minutes trying to figure out what he was doing when he jumped up to a tree and went into point. On the back side of the tree away from our view was pheasant that was left from the UT test. All in all Scout found and pointed 6 birds, and would get the praise of the judges at the end of the day for finding more birds in the field than any other dog that weekend.
The tracking test;
getting instructions from the Judge.The judge told me that the feathers were in a pile over there and to just get the dog on the scent and release him as I normally do. I looked ot the judge and told him we've never done this before, I do not have a clue as to what to do. The judge was great and took the time to explain to me how to set the dog and walk him onto the scent and release him. As it was I set Scout loose on the upwind side of the scent trail. Not knowing what to expect I really thought that we tanked the tracking test. Scout was back and forth across the field and had run to the fence row twice and even pointed one time after going into the brush. The judge simply told me to call my dog and collar him which made me think we did not do well.
At the end of the day I asked the Judge how he did on tracking and he told me he did perfect. He went on to explain some of the behavior that I thought was bad was just the dog using his nose to get his bearings and that where he went to the brush and pointed was exactly where the pheasant had gone.
The Water test;
I am not going to go into any detail here other than to say this was a total failure. Scout would not go into deep water and swim. He would get to his chest but has he host his footing he stopped. He would stretch for whatever was within reach and bring them back, but anything in deep water he would just not swim for. He ran back and forth on the shore whining and reaching, he walked out on a small downed limb in the water and even fell off of it and had to swim back to shore. But he would not retrieve a dummy.
He received a no score for the water which resulted in a total score of 89 and no prize. The water cost him points in Cooperation and desire as well as the water itself.
I am not disappointed in Scout at all, instead I am disappointed FOR him. This was our only opportunity for a NA test and I fear he will be judged wrongly because of it since no one will really know how exceptionally well he did on the rest of the tests.
I'll need to consider whether we work towards a UT test of possibly change direction all together.
Sounds like the test was a good experience and has given you some food for thought going forward. Use the NA experience and how you felt when you heard the scores to motivate you for the next time, whatever that may be. From your description, Scout sounds like a very nice dog, good luck and have fun with whatever direction you choose to go.
I told them it's no secret. We never force puppies/young dogs in the water. We wait until the weather is warm and make it a fun thing. The best method for me is to have another dog(s) that already loves the water with you. As you're throwing bumpers or birds for that dog, let the young one just run around and get excited and watch the other dog - no restrictions. Most of the time, the young one will just follow the older dog in and start swimming. If the weather cool, be sure and don't let the young dog stay in the water too long. Get him/her out and running around. Dry the dog off completely so that they never "think" the water is cold. Once it's in their young head, it stays - good or bad. Many years ago a couple bought a lab puppy from us. They lived on a lake and couldn't wait for their pup to go swimming. So, they threw her in the cold northwest Washington lake. Last I heard from those people, she still hated the water and wouldn't go swimming.
She would go up to her chest and Jonz would run past her, grab the bumper from the water and swim to the other side of the small slough. He "flipped" the bumper around and around on the other shore, teasing Ruby until I called him back. He did this over and over. We tried on several occasions at different times until I actually thought we may have a dog that won't swim. 
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