What are all those letters before that Dogs name?

I’m often asked what all the letters before a dog’s name mean, and the answer is they are recognition for the work or level of work that the dog has completed to a standard. There a few organizations that test the dogs ability/trainability and the Hunting Retriever Club (HRC) is one of them.

The HRC bills the organization as “Conceived by hunters for hunters” and that is an accurate description. The HRC by far tries to replicate their testing scenarios as close to an actual hunting situation as possible and is the only testing organization that I know of that the handler handles a firearm during the test.

The following is a list of HRC Titles that are offered and a brief description of each.

HRC Titles

STARTED HUNTING RETRIEVER (SHR)

The Started Hunting Retriever (SHR) title is attained by earning four (4) passes in the Started category. Points/passes earned in a higher category do not count towards this title. A maximum of ten (10) Championship points can be earned in the Started category towards a higher degree. Once points are earned in a higher category, the retriever may not return to Started and earn the SHR title.

HUNTING RETRIEVER (HR)

The Hunting Retriever (HR) title is attained by earning forty (40) Championship Points. Points can be earned in Started, Seasoned or Finished. Dogs are not required to earn points in
Started and/or Seasoned to earn this title. If only five (5) points are earned in the Started category, then forty (40) points may be earned in the Seasoned and/or Finished categories. If ten (10) points are earned in the Started category, then thirty 30 points may be earned in the Seasoned and/or Finished category.

HUNTING RETRIEVER CHAMPION (HRCH)

The Hunting Retriever Champion (HRCH) title is attained by earning one hundred (100) Championship Points. Sixty (60) of the one hundred (100) points must be earned from the Finished category. Points can be earned in Started, Seasoned or Finished. Dogs are not required to earn points in Started and Seasoned to earn this title. A maximum of forty (40)

points can be earned in the Seasoned category towards the Hunting Retriever Champion (HRCH) title, unless ten (10)

Started Championship points were earned, then, a maximum of thirty (30) Seasoned Championship points can be earned toward the HRCH degree.

GRAND HUNTING RETRIEVER CHAMPION (GRHRCH)

The Grand Hunting Retriever Champion title is attained by earning two hundred (200) additional points in the Finished, Grand or Upland – forty (40) points max from Upland – categories after the HRCH title is earned for a total of three hundred (300) points. Eighty (80) of the additional two hundred (200) points, above the HRCH title, must be earned from passing two (2) Grand Hunts.

Joe Scarpy – Owner

HuntEmUp.com – Bull Valley Retrievers – Waterfowl Decals