Titles which Labrador retrievers may receive - AKC, CKC, HRC, NAHRA, Pointing Labradors, Agility, Tracking, etc..

 

**Written by Melody Robinson of Trinity Labrador Retrievers and used with permission**

Field Trial titles are the highest competitive AKC test for a hunting retrieving dog. They simulate difficult hunting situations often at long distances requiring excellent marking, trainability and drive from the dog. Dogs retrieve multiple land/water marks at the higher levels and are handled with whistle commands to retrieve birds that the dog has not seen fall (blinds). Points are awarded for placements and the dog needs at least one win and enough points to title. Points are assigned for placements. Only the best dogs title. There are different divisions for amateur handlers, young dogs and an Open division which is open to all, including professional trainers. Each year a National test is held for the Amateur and Open divisions for qualified dogs. The winner of that test is essentially the American retrieving dog of the year. All Field trial titles appear before the dogs official AKC name.
FC=Field Champion to earn this title a dog needs at least 10 point with at least one win in the Open division. 5 points are awarded for a 1st place, 3 for second, 1 for third and 1/2 point for 4th place. This test can be run by either an amateur handler or a professional and the division is called the "Open".
NFC= National Field Champion Only 1 dog per year earns this title. It is the highest AKC retrieving title.
AFC=Amateur Field Champion. The amateur refers to the status of the person handling the dog. A total of 15 points plus a win are required to earn this title.
NAFC=National Amateur Field Champion. Only 1 dog per year earns this title and is handled by a person with an amateur status (not a professional that received money for training).
C in front of the title= Canadian title (CFC-CNFC-CAFC-CNAFC). This is how most Americans note the titles, they will not appear on AKC papers since they only keep track of American titles.
AAQ- All Age Qualified= the dog won in a qualifying division Field Trial and is now able to compete in the Open and Amateur divisions.
DERBY= division for dogs under 2 years of age. Points are accumulated and a derby dog of the year is noted with the highest points. Generally those with 10 or more points will make the annual Derby list.

Titles appearing after a dog's name
JH - Junior Hunter
SH - Senior Hunter
MH - Master Hunter
These titles indicate that the retriever has passed a required series of retrieving and hunting exercises in a field situation at AKC regulation meets. Real hunting situations are closely simulated. Although not competitive, the dogs are tested thoroughly on land and water and must do blind retrieves responding to hand signals.  Briefly the Hunt test titles appear after the name of the dog. These are titles given to a dog for achieving a standard of simulated hunting performance. Any dog that meets the required level in a Hunt Test will earn a ribbon as opposed to only 1 dog in the Field Championships taking a 1st place. Hunt test titles do not differentiate whether a professional or amateur handler runs the dog.
JH = Junior Hunter. Requires basic retrieves of singles (one shot bird) to hand.
SH = Senior Hunter. Requires dog be steady to shot, retrieves double marks to hand, capable of running blinds to retrieve birds the dog has not seen fall by taking commands and hand signals, ability to handle diversion shot birds, hidden guns.
MH = Master Hunter. Requires ability to handle multiple shot birds at once as well as all of the Senior Hunter requirements. Generally the tests will set up much more difficult situations than the Senior.
MHR = For dogs that earn 5 Master tests in a year they are able to run the Master National Test. If a dog passes a Master National test at least 2 times, it earns the MHR title

AX - Agility Excellent
MX - Master Agility Excellent
NA - Novice Agility
OA - Open Agility
CD - Companion Dog
CDX - Companion Dog Excellent
TD - Tracking Dog
TDX - Tracking Dog Excellent
UD - Utility Dog
UDX - Utility Dog Excellent
VST - Variable Surface Tracker
Obedience and Tracking titles appear as suffixes, and are earned by performing and passing a required set of trained exercises at official AKC meets. They indicate that the dog is very trainable and intelligent but not necessarily birdy.

POINTING LABRADORS

There has been some movement toward establishing versatile dogs with a pointing quality. It is my belief that one still needs a good all around dog which would include the AKC titling and health certification. If one can pull in the pointing quality and still maintain a well bred Field Dog then it only adds to the great nature of the Labrador. We would encourage you to look at the full pedigree and performance of a dog, not just the pointing quality, when you make your choice for your dog. Here is some information about the Pointing Lab Associations.
 

AMERICAN POINTING LABRADOR ASSOCIATION TITLES
CP=Certified Pointer
MP=Master Pointer
GMPR=Grand Master Pointing Retriever
Information from their site: The American Pointing Labrador Association was founded on April 10th 1991 It is a volunteer, nonprofit organization created to pursue the development of the most versatile hunting dog ever: the Pointing Labrador Retriever.

The association is governed by a set of by-laws, elected officers and an elected Board of Directors. The goal of the American Pointing Labrador Association is to enhance the Pointing Labrador's upland game skills while maintaining their water and retrieving abilities. The APLA was created by Labrador owners across the United States who had a common interest in developing and improving the Labrador as an all purpose hunting dog.

Through the practice of certification trials, the APLA will strive to identify those dogs possessing natural pointing instincts as well as the traditional retriever traits. To become certified, the dog must meet the minimum standards for pointing and retrieving on land and water.

The APLA offers the opportunity for those dogs holding the title of CERTIFIED POINTER to earn the title of MASTER POINTING RETRIEVER. The Master Pointing Retriever format is designed to test dogs on a noncompetitive basis for reliability in pointing, retrieving, hunting, nose, stamina, desire, cooperation and obedience. The test will be challenging, but representative of true hunting conditions.

By achieving at least two prize category finishes, with one of those being a Prize One category finish, that Retriever can also earn the designation as Grand Master Pointing Retriever. Dogs performing at this level are outstanding performers.

The APLA also offers hunting trials for those dog holding the title of Certified Pointer. A team consisting of one dog and two hunting participants compete in a trial with various game birds planted. The dogs are scored on pointing ability, retrieving and efficiency. Prizes are awarded, based on a point system of the dogs performance in the competition with the other participants. These test are designed to be "fun hunts" for members of the organization.

International Pointing Labrador Association Titles
RP=Reported Pointer
NP=Novice Pointer
CP=Certified Pointer
DP=Dual Purpose 

Agility Association of Canada (AAC)

• AADC - Advanced Agility Dog of Canada
• ADC - Agility Dog of Canada
• ATChC - Agility Trial Champion of Canada
• MADC - Master Agility Dog of Canada
• MGDC - Masters Gamblers Dog of Canada
• MJDC - Masters Jumpers Dog of Canada
• MSDC - Masters Snooker Dog of Canada
• MTRDC - Masters Team Relay Dog of Canada
• SAADC - Special Advanced Agility Dog of Canada
• SADC - Special Agility Dog of Canada
• SATChC - Special Agility Trial Champion of Canada
• SMADC - Special Masters Agility Dog of Canada
• SMGDC - Special Masters Dog of Canada
• SMJDC - Special Masters Jumpers Dog of Canada
• SMSDC - Special Masters Snooker Dog of Canada
• SMTRDC - Special Masters Team Relay Dog of Canada
• VAADC - Veteran Advanced Agility of Canada
• VADC - Veteran Agility Dog of Canada
• VATChC - Veteran Agility Trial Champion of Canada
• VMADC - Veteran Masters Agility Dog of Canada
• VMGDC - Veteran Masters Gamblers Champion of Canada
• VMJDC - Veteran Masters Jumpers Dog of Canada
• VMSDC - Veteran Masters Snooker Dog of Canada
• VMTRDC - Veteran Masters Team Relay Dog of Canada

Canadian Kennel Club (CKC)

• AFTCH - Amateur Field Trial Champion
• AGI - Agility Intermediate
• AGMX - Agility Master Excellent
• AGN - Agility Novice
• AGX - Agility Excellent
• CD - Companion Dog
• CDX - Companion Dog Excellent
• CGN - Canine Good Neighbour
• CH - Bench or Show Champion
• FCH - Field Champion
• FCHX - Field Champion Excellent
• FTCH - Field Trial Champion
• GMOTCH - Grand Master Obedience Trial Champion
• JH - Junior Hunter
• MH - Master Hunter
• MOTCH - Master Obedience Trial Champion
• NFTCH - National Field Trial Champion
• OTCH - Obedience Trial Champion
• OTCHX - Obedience Trial Champion Excellent
• SH - Senior Hunter
• SHDX - Scent Hurdle Dog Excellent
• TD - Tracking Dog
• TDX - Tracking Dog Excellent
• UD - Utility Dog
• UTD - Utility Dog Tracker
• WC - Working Certificate
• WCI - Working Certificate Intermediate
• WCX - Working Certificate Excellent
• WRD - Water Rescue Dog
• WRDX - Water Rescue Dog Excellent

North American Hunting Retriever (NAHRA)

• GMHR - Grand Master Hunting Retriever
• MHR - Master Hunting Retriever
• SR - Started Retriever
• WR - Working Retriever

HRC is affiliated with the United Kennel Club, Inc., Kalamazoo, MI, who carries the registry for the HRC. The UKC offers 5 coveted titles to the HRC program:

• Started Hunting Retriever (SHR)
• Hunting Retriever (HR)
• Hunting Retriever Champion (HRCH)
• Grand Hunting Retriever Champion (GRHRCH)
• Upland Hunter (UH).  In keeping with the philosophy of HRC, titles earned are awarded as a prefix to the dogs name on its pedigree as opposed to a suffix to the name. The United Kennel Club, Inc., established in 1898, is the second largest all breed dog registry in the United States, registers over 250,000 dogs each year and licenses 10,000 challenging, fun, relaxed, family-oriented events annually.
      HRC maintains its common sense, hunting realism in testing Hunting retrievers. There are five ability-based (not age) categories that the dogs may enter in the HRC Tests: Started, Seasoned, Finished, Grand and Upland. Unlike field trials, these are not competitive 1st, 2nd and 3rd place events, but tests where all dogs are judged pass/fail against a "Hunting Standard". These are events that are great fun where everyone can root for the other person’s dog and help each other with their training. The judges must be experienced Hunters and must pass HRC administered tests, apprentice as judges, have gun safety training, attend judging seminars, have handled and passed a dog in the category that they are judging and meet other HRC requirements. Good ‘Hunting-oriented’ judges are the key to having tests with Hunting realism.
      The tests are directly related to hunting the retriever in the field for waterfowl and upland game. Unlike field trials, the bird throwers and guns in the field are not exposed and dressed in white, but are hidden as in real hunting situations and dressed in appropriate hunting clothing.. The Handler must wear camouflaged or other hunting attire. Gallery members must also wear appropriate camouflaged or other hunting attire due to creating distractions for the working dog. In the three upper levels, the Handler handles the shotgun (firing blanks), and works his/her dog from a blind or perhaps a boat, and may be required to quarter the dog in a pheasant or quail field. Seasoned, Finished and Grand dog Handlers must direct their dogs to birds the dog did not see fall (a blind). HRC stresses actual ‘Hunting realism’ and ‘gun safety’ in the hunting tests.
      The Grand Hunting Tests are held twice a year and are open only to those retrievers that have attained their Hunting Retriever Championship title. While there are over 4,500 Hunting Retriever Champions, there are only 333 Grand Hunting Retriever Champions (GRHRCH). These Grand tests are considered the ‘Retrievers Super-bowl’.
      In 1996, a new Upland Hunt Test program was added to the HRC/UKC hunting program. The Upland test consists of a simulated walk-up with a subsequent quartering or tracking test. The Upland dog is required to honor another dog, be steady to wing and shot and will be presented with a minimum of two birds to flush in the quartering test. Successful completion of each test earns the dog ten points. Upon attainment of 40 points an Upland Hunter (UH) title is awarded.