I'm sure that many people here with more experience will be able to give you good answers, but there are a couple of questions I can answer.
When we took the HIT, we did not go through any club or organization. We found a local herding trainer, which was recommended to us through this board, and asked if she had any openings for testing, then set a date and met her for the test at her farm.
The place we go now is a place that was recommended to me by another person from Virginia Shepherd Rescue who herds there, after I told her we were looking for a place to do herding lessons. We also went through a herding test there before our first lesson, so the trainer could see how Abby did.
My dog was over 4 years old (almost 5) when we tested.
Dogs don't have to have any kind of experience to be tested, they don't even have to have been around any kind of livestock before. The test is to see whether your dog is interested (and stays interested) in the sheep and wants to "chase" them, and whether they will be directed / turned when they're focused on the sheep.
When we took the HIT, we did not go through any club or organization. We found a local herding trainer, which was recommended to us through this board, and asked if she had any openings for testing, then set a date and met her for the test at her farm.
The place we go now is a place that was recommended to me by another person from Virginia Shepherd Rescue who herds there, after I told her we were looking for a place to do herding lessons. We also went through a herding test there before our first lesson, so the trainer could see how Abby did.
My dog was over 4 years old (almost 5) when we tested.
Dogs don't have to have any kind of experience to be tested, they don't even have to have been around any kind of livestock before. The test is to see whether your dog is interested (and stays interested) in the sheep and wants to "chase" them, and whether they will be directed / turned when they're focused on the sheep.