FEATURED ARTICLES
CHECK OUT THESE RESOURCES FROM FELLOW TRAINERS
2021 Annual of Titlists - Now Accepting Applications
DId your Newf earn an NCA or AKC title during 2021? Celebrate their hard work (and your own) with a listing in the NCA Annual of Titlists. Published each year in conjunction with the 4th Quarter Issue of Newf Tide, your listing in the Annual will contain a picture along with details about your Newf. Let's celebrate the versatility of all the amazing things our Newfs are doing! Deadline for applications is March 31st, 2021.

Starting a Newfoundland Puppy in Water Work

It's always exciting when I have the opportunity to introduce a young Newfoundland to the water for the very first time. It's a time of great anticipation, as well as awesome responsibility, to lay the foundation for a working partnership that I...

Read more
pethelpful.com
Don't Miss Out!
It's your chance to shine under the big top! The National Specialty is right around the corner and entries are now open. Obedience, Rally, Draft, Specialty Carting, Canine Good Citizen, Trick Dog and don't forget to join us at the Working Dog Forum!

Take, Hold, Give - by Deanna Alko
Every new season of water work, I marvel and delight as friends, old and new, gather every weekend, rain or shine, with pups, brand spankin’ or well seasoned, to the water’s edge. They come with paraphernalia of all shapes and sizes for both themselves and their best mates. There is always a community table heaped with treats for all and to whatever purpose needed.  

We are fulfilling the first cardinal principle of water work, TAKE, taking the opportunity! 

Which evolves into a fusion of energy: human and canine (the occasional feline) enveloped in nature, under the sun and clouds frolicking in the aqueous medium of bodies of water and for once not just drool. OH, HAPPY DAY! We are collectively, laughing, crying, hugging, licking, petting, praising, learning, teaching, redefining, and clarifying. We are loving every minute of it! 

We are fulfilling the second cardinal principle of water work, HOLD, holding the bonds sacred! 

As the weeks roll on, we suddenly find ourselves engrossed in the preparations of conducting and participating in water trials, near and far, with our best mates by our sides. Individuals generously submit themselves to volunteer for a host of duties and roles. The collective embrace an endeavor that is more grand and nourishing to the spirit unlike any other. We give our all to be sure everyone has the best experience possible. There is cheering, rejoicing, comforting and copious amounts of licking and petting. As a result, like the sun reflecting off the ripples of water, every dog sparkles and shines! 

We are fulfilling the third cardinal principle of water work, GIVE, giving praise and love liberally! 

So, get out there, train that retrieve. It will take you and your best mate on the greatest journey! 
Welcome Aboard
Leap Into Spring
Send your best jumping photos of your newf! Whatever sport or fun photo, if your Newf likes to jump, we want to see them! Submitted photos will have a chance to be used as a collage in Newf Tide.

Regional Club Test Committees
As we start the new year and plans are developing for your Regional Working events for the coming year please note these important reminders

Test applications MUST be mailed a minimum of 4 months in advance in hard copy form to
Patti Pigeon, draft tests
Dwight Gorsuch, water tests

Those addresses are always available in the member portal. We apologize for the inconvenience that looking them up requires, but it is best practice not to publish volunteer personal information on our website.  

Online entry is always available for your events! Your club must have a Stripe account to accept online fees. Karrie Cook (for draft tests) and Heidi Peterson (for water tests)  are the committee members that help coordinate online entry set-up for your club. Event premiums are required too. Please reach out to them if you are doing online entry so they can assist you with the process for setting up your event on the online entry system. Secretaries, even if you do not use online entry for accepting entries, you can ask to be set up to use the online system for generating record forms and catalog pages. Ask us how!

Committees, please refer to the event regulations for what items must be included in your premiums. Section Two of both water and draft regulations specifies what needs to be in premiums.  

TRAC and the WDC have put together electronic versions of these forms! Links can be used for all events. Test secretaries can now email entrants a copy of this link for completion. Paper copies are still available for printing too. Paper copies should be sent to:  
Water test exhibitor evaluations: Cindi Kursner
Draft test exhibitor evaluations: Sue Zientara

Committees should follow all local and state guidelines regarding gatherings and COVID. Member safety is always most important.

The email link on the website for the Working Dog Committee goes to Sue Raney as the WDC chairperson. Some routing issues have happened in the past, although TRAC has corrected that. Please if you send an email regarding WDC items and do not get a reply that we have received your email within 48 hours, you can always call Sue at the phone number listed in the membership portal to follow up. Please do NOT email test applications to this email address.

The WDC has been flexible due to the difficulties about COVID and parks and local gathering sizes, but as areas are lifting many guidelines, returning to the proper process should become easier. Please make sure the application includes all components, and photos and test layout areas of sites if they are new, and please put the packets in the mail in time for the 4 month deadline.

Signed acceptance forms from Judges and committee members and Regional Board of Directors are required.

ALL committee members for draft and water tests must be NCA Members. If you have new people who have applied to be NCA members on your committee, your club will want to appoint NCA members to share those roles, both to mentor them as well as be the NCA members of record for your tests.

Please make sure you are using all the most current forms from the NCA website, as well as the entry form and event agreement online.   

Test Committees have lots of resources available! Please visit the website to review the toolkit links on the Working Dog site as well as the regulations themselves so your club is meeting all expectations of events.
Please let us know what else
we can do to support you!
Judges & Exhibitors Please Note
GPS Tracker collars such as the FI brand pictured here are not approved for use in water or draft competition.
RESOURCE
GUIDE
Need help getting started with a working event? Check out these tools for Regional Clubs!
Judge's Corner
Please get acceptance forms to committees as soon as you can so they can submit paperwork in a timely manner.

We want to see your smiles! Judges, please upload a current picture to your NCA member profile. The NCA is working on moving those photos out to the judges lists so please upload those soon. 

If you need to update your judges qualifications record and move to a different judging level, please reach out to Benita Edds with your updated information at: [email protected]

• Please send your test evaluations, provisional judge reports and observer judge reports as soon as your events conclude to the WDC.  
Judges Draft Test Evaluations go to: Sue Zientara
Judges Water Test evaluations go to: Cindi Kursner
Provisional Judge reports go to: Benita Edds
Observer Judge reports go to: John Jackman
Thanks to the members of the Working Dog Committee for sharing the great photos in this issue. If you would like to share photos of working dogs at work (and play), please send them in - we'd love to see them! Make sure you have permission from the photographer for us to use the photos for publication.