Jim Moe and the Wisconsin River Chapter (WRC) NAVHDA
By Mike Murray
In June 2021 I talked with Jim Moe to learn about the early days of our Chapter, and gain insight on Jim’s perception of how handlers, dogs and the NAVHDA testing system has evolved during his time as a judge.
Jim’s $15 Brittany from Rice Lake Wisconsin started his deep dive into the world of hunting dogs. Jim and a core group of handlers began to coalesce around the idea of training according to the NAVHDA system in the 1970’s. Back then, only three NAVHDA chapters were holding regular events: the North Central Chapter in the Stevens Point area, the Wisconsin Chapter on the eastern part of the state and the by the Tristate Chapter near La Crosse. Traveling around the state to train dogs with the different chapters became the routine.
Eventually, Jim and others began training at the Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources grounds along the Lower Wisconsin Riverway near Mazomanie. An alternating training schedule the rotated weekends between the Wisconsin Chapter grounds in eastern Wisconsin and Mazomanie grounds near Madison in southern Wisconsin began to be a regular thing. Interest in forming a NAVHDA chapter near the Madison area grew as the local handlers realized the benefits of more frequent training opportunities together at the Mazomanie grounds.
Jim helped form the Wisconsin River Chapter (WRC) with Jerry Schenk, Brian White, Bobby Applegate, Donna Cochenet, Don Reece and others. Jim credits Vic Conners as the driving force behind the formation of the WRC. Vic had both the dream of forming a NAVHDA chapter and the ability to get people involved in local training. Under Vic’s leadership this dedicated group created the chapter. Like today, people joined because they wanted local help learning to train their dogs. People who showed up were given jobs. The ability to get people to participate in chapter events allowed the WRC to begin holding events under its own name. Successfully involving members propelled the WRC forward. Brian White was also tremendous president. Regular training days were established, followed by hosting tests. The WRC even grew to the point where it hosted the National NAVHDA annual meeting.
Success of the WRC did not diminish actions at nearby chapters. At the same time WRC was getting off the ground, the Wisconsin, La Crosse and North Central chapters were flourishing. The Milwaukee Brew City Chapter and the Kettle Moraine Chapter soon got started as well. Today all these chapter are viable organizations because of their ability to involve members.
Despite a bias towards Brittanys Jim noticed over time how German dogs started to dominate the testing scene. That’s when Wirehairs became a part of his life. A series of good dogs followed this decision. So did terrible battles of will between his Brittany and Wirehair males. It wasn’t always so fun to have pairs that couldn’t be run together, but it certainly kept him busy as a trainer.
In 2020 Jim decided to retire from his role as a NAVHDA judge for health reasons. Between his start as a judge in 1994 and today Jim evaluated over 2,300 dogs. Jim’s tenure judging convinced him that NAVHDA tests are not getting easier despite the year after year trend in higher scores. The deciding factor in Jim’s mind is that people train better. Dogs come better prepared for the test then they did years ago because of training focused on the tasks being judged. This applies to most handlers too. Handlers without knowledge of the test criteria often get more upset than handlers who know the system. Jim will not miss explaining criteria to those who don’t understand. Training for the different test components is ultimately a good thing because it leads to a dog you want to take into the field hunting.
One concept Jim kept in the forefront while judging is to measure dogs against the standard and not each other. Another key was to only judge what you saw, not what you think you saw. For example, a dog in heavy cover is doing something when you can see it, and when you can’t. Performance ultimately is driven by exposure and training. Handlers can’t expect a dog that never saw water before the test to rank high, nor should we expect the dog that retrieves six decoys before the duck to get a qualifying score.
When asked about future prospects of WRC and the NAVHDA system, Jim responded that learning from each other and working together can only make things better. The best thing a handler can do is train with someone whose dog successfully does the job. A 112 prize I becomes obtainable when you show up at training days, remain calm and asks questions about what to do. People that take his advice and work on it reap the benefits to themselves and their dog. In Jim’s mind the largest benefit of the having a group of chapter members to train with is exposure to a variety of methods used. There are many ways to get good results. Dogs will respond to training with the right exposure, repetition and more repetition.
Generally, dogs do what they are told. Jim understands dogs also key into a handler’s state of mind. Keep relaxed and the dogs do what they are trained to do. Get to nervous they screw up. Trusting your dog is important. Jim knows this from his experiences both judging and testing his own dogs. He has run dogs at every level of NAVHDA testing and can related to how his nervousness impacted the dog’s performance. He related how tough it can be getting a poor test score or seeing his dog freeze during the blind retrieve. Most handlers don’t realize it is their fault. If a handler can reflect on what they were doing it is possible or see how they influenced the dog’s behavior, knowingly or not. To gain insight on this Jim suggests training with a set of chapter members who can help you identify how your style might be adjusted for the better.
The joy of seeing people succeed at training and testing kept Jim active in NAVHDA year after year. Being surprised by a three legged dog that limped at heel than ran hard enough to earn the Versatile Champion title at the invitational, watching a minister’s wife get a prize I after training an Irish setter she got at the pound and so many similar stories solidify what he thinks is the best part of NAVHDA: seeing people work together and succeed. This article is too short to cover all the details of Jim’s astonishing time with NAVHDA, or to mention all the people along the way who helped contribute to the success of the organization.
The main message from Jim is to know that the more you expose the dogs the better the results. And lastly, never underestimate the benefit of training, and always trust your dog.