Show notes
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.Chapters