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last updated on March 15, 2026 by Sheila Schmutz
Sports and Leisure Show, Saskatoon
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On March 6 and 7, the Saskatoon Gun Dog Club shared a display booth with the River City Branch of the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation at the 73rd Sports & Leisure Show at Prairieland Park in Saskatoon. Eleven dog-club members brought their dogs, of five versatile/pointing breeds: English Pointer, German Wire-haired Pointer, Large Munsterlander, Picardy Spaniel, Small Munsterlander and Vizsla. To illustrate the versatile breeds' forté of tracking, we laid a trail by dragging a dead pigeon. In the photo, Sunnynook's Gannet has just started the track of a frozen pigeon she had not seen. She followed it by scent with a perfect U-turn around the curtain and into the cordoned-off area to retrieve the hidden bird. She loves this kind of work and gladly shows it off with an obedient sitting delivery. |
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While bird hunters may have been rare in this largely motorized-recreation vehicale audience, there were many dog lovers. Some dogs prefer to deal with visitors one on one, others think a pet can come from anyone and is totally appreciated. In the photo, Four Point’s Winchester “Winnie” and Sunnynook’s Lady Remington “Remi” brought their owners Trish and Shannon to the event, and they all had fun! |
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Occasionally, owners brought their own dog along to the show. There was even a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, an under-appreciated breed of pure Canadian origin.
There was a popular exhibit by Trailrunner Kennel showing well trained retrievers doing the marked retrieves Their display area had bleachers for the audience to sit on and was well attended.
We intend to participate again in next year’s 74th annual event. Like the Saskatchewan Falconry Association who had a booth, we believe it’s important to keep the hunting craft alive and show its positive side to any willing audience.
9 March 2026
Hunters make diverse demands of their dogs, especially those hunters pursuing upland birds, waterfowl and possibly big game. Such a wide range of uses is possible because versatile dogs have been selected for a greater range of behavioural responses than any other type of dog. VHDF tests have been designed as a tool to help breeders maintain this exemplary range of performance in their breed.
Three levels of Field Tests are offered:
Detailed information about these tests is available on a separate webpage.
Since the beginning of VHDF in 2007, there has been an annual fall test in Saskatchewan, north of Saskatoon. In 2010, there was also a one day puppy test in June.
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Big game hunters outnumber bird hunters, and many hunters pursue both types of game. By encouraging hunters to use their dogs of virtually any breed or mix, and by offering blood-tracking workshops, the use of dogs for hunting and game conservation can be increased. The enormous benefit of dogs for tracking crippled big game was not widely recognized in North America when game laws were written. Hence, dogs were frequently excluded from big game hunting. Increasingly, this inadvertent oversight is being corrected in Canada and the U.S. In Ontario, the hunting regulations have been changed to enable the use of dogs for tracking, through the efforts of the Big Game Blood Trackers Ontario and other hunters. Our hope is that by providing workshops and a proven method of testing other provinces may follow suit. A blood tracking test has been offered as an add-on to the VHDF-US Performance Evaluation (see #6 in those rules). A similar version is now offered separately by VHDF-Canada. The date for the next test has not been set yet, but is planned for 2021 in Alvena, SK. Brent Grabowski is organizing this. ~ VHDF-Canada Blood Tracking Test Scores ~ Blood Tracking Tests, as separate tests, were offered beginning in fall 2015. The tests involves a 450 m trail laid in an S curve a few hours before the dog is allowed to track on leash with its handler. The time limit to complete the track and find the "mammalian game" at the end is 45 minutes. A separate webpage contains more information about training as well as details for laying a track. |
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VHDF-Canada approves two types of judges. |
More detailed information and a list of approved Judges is available on a separate linked page.
VHDF-Canada membership is open to anyone interested in running a dog in a field test or blood tracking test. People who are interested in training versatile hunting dogs or in training dogs for blood tracking big game are also welcome to join.
Most dogs used for field tests are purebred dogs of one of the versatile breeds such as Brittany Spaniel, German Shorthair, German Wirehair, Griffon, Large Munsterlander, Pudelpointer, Viszla, etc. However dogs used for blood tracking can be of any breed or cross.
See How to Join or Renew Membership for more information.
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For more information on the U.S. VHDF, visit Versatile Hunting Dog Federation
For more information on VHDF tests held in Canada from 2007-2021, visit VHDF Tests in Saskatchewan
