Hunting/Field

Hunting/Field Poodles

Poodles are a very old hunting breed and many still possess the instinct to hunt. A trained hunting dog is indispensable to the bird hunter. The dog participates in locating game and retrieves downed birds on both land and water. The dog plays a very important conservation role by preventing the loss of crippled birds. Some pheasant clubs, in fact, require hunters to use a dog for this reason.

Hunt tests attempt to duplicate real hunting situations. Gunners stationed out in the field shoot the birds. The dog relies on his sense of sight and smell to find his retrieve. Dogs must not be gun-shy and are expected to swim through decoys and cover such as reeds. In advanced tests, the dog may be required to stay with his handler in duck blinds, get into and out of boats, or run through heavy brush and gullies. The more advanced dogs are also given hand and whistle signals for direction to unseen birds by their handlers. The hunt test provides a way to determine hunting ability in breeding stock, encourages owners to develop their dogs’ working abilities, and showcases impressive dog work for the interested public.

Hunt tests are conducted by four organizations in North America: the North American Hunting Retriever Association (NAHRA), the United Kennel Club (UKC), the Canadian Kennel Club (CKC), and the American Kennel Club (AKC). The four hunt test programs are similar to each other in that the dogs are tested against a standard and do not compete for placements. Also, each program offers several levels of tests of increasing difficulty. Standard and Miniature Poodles may compete in hunt tests offered by each of these groups. At this time, only dogs included in the Sporting Group can compete in the AKC competitive field trials.

Hunt Tests: The purpose of hunt tests is to gauge a dog’s natural abilities in actual hunting conditions.  Poodles can participate in the AKC’s waterfowl Retriever and upland Spaniel tests.  Both are non-competitive.  The Retriever tests are designed to assess the ability of the dog to mark the location of fallen ducks on land and water; at advanced tests, they must take direction to find and retrieve a hidden bird.  The Spaniel tests assess the ability of the dog to find a bird in the field, flush it, and then retrieve it once shot.  There is also a short water retrieve.  Spaniel hunt titles are distinguished from Retriever titles by a “U” at the end.  The UKC Hunting Retriever Clubs (HRC) also offer an upland test.

In June, 1993, the Poodle Club of America (PCA) approved the awarding of a Working Certificate (WC) title to Poodles for passing scores attained in any recognized Retriever Working Test; approval of a Working Certificate Excellent (WCX) followed several years later. While the tests differ somewhat between different breed clubs, many local retrieving breed clubs allow Poodles to participate in their tests, often adapting the setup for Poodles to meet PCA requirements.

In February 2014, PCA approved an upland test series with 3 titles.  They are the UIC (upland instinct certificate), UWC (upland working certificate) and UWX (upland working excellent).  They are earned by finding, flushing and retrieving birds on land.  There is no water retrieve as that is included in the retriever test. These follow the traditional style of hunting done by the Spaniels.  PCA recognizes Poodles with the Hunting Poodle Certificate (HPC and HPCX) for Poodles with titles in both areas.   The PCA rules for the WC/X and UIC/UWX are available at https://www.poodleclubofamerica.org/all-about-poodles/activities-for-you-your-poodle/field-events.