Bob Farris and Bill Athens had been discussing the need for an alliance of breeders, and that conversation had stemmed from a trip they had made overseas to visit Pudelpointer Kennels in Germany, Austria and The Czech Republic.  They had stayed with Jiri Hbrek in the Czech Republic and Jiri drove them from kennel to kennel in the three countries they visited.  While in a pub in Germany one evening, and after several warm beers, the plan unfolded to create an alliance once they returned home.  Before the alliance held that first meeting in McCall, Idaho in 2002, Bob and Bill had purchased a plane ticket to include Jiri in this Alliance meeting.  Both Bob and Bill had Pudelpointer imports from Jiri's Ze Strazistskych Lesu kennel (Hery Ze Strazistskych Lesu and Heidi Ze Strazistskych Lesu) and the dogs were from the same litter and four years old when imported.  Both dogs had been tested in The Czech Republic earning six different Prize 1 classifications.

              The initial idea was to group the top Pudelpointer Breeders in North America into an Alliance where a breeding  standard would help guarantee success for the breed for years to come as atop/proven hunting dog.  NAVHDA testing would be the driving force to insure the breed continue as a sound hunting dog bred from performance standards.

              Once both Bob and Bill returned home they began inviting other breeders to attend a meeting in Idaho to discuss the proposed Alliance.  The success in filling the meeting with enthusiastic breeders was instantaneous, and hence, NAPPA was formed.  There would be breeding requirements to insure only the best of the breed would be used for breeding.   Also, a very favorable relationship amongst the group evolved and many cooperative breedings resulted; meeting one another face-to-face and sharing an adult beverage in the evening or eating breakfast together helped seal these relationships.  Bob housed 6 of the breeders at his cabin and a neighbor housed four others at his cabin with several staying at a local motel.

               One of the highlights of the inaugural NAPPA meeting was a demonstration by Jiri Hrbek with the dog Hery he had sold to Bob.  It had been years since Jiri and Hery had seen each other and an obedience training demonstration using only Czech for commands saw a perfect connection between dog and handler. The other highlight was having meetings at a private board room on Blackhawk Lake with all the Idaho mountains in the background.

                 Jiri stayed longer in Idaho with Bob for several weeks following these meetings.  Showing Jiri the vastness of the terrain Bob hunted chukar on led to a breeding in The Czech Republic where Jiri used a much larger running dog that was from Austria.  Four of the pups from this litter were sent to the U.S. and one was Lord Ze Strazistskych Lesu who has sired many of the top Pudelpointers of today.  Also, Bill Athens imported Chajra Ze Strazistskych Lesu from Jiri and after Bill bred Chajra to Bob's male Cedarwoods First Offense, one of the breeds most dynamic litter of pups was produced.  The breeding connection Bob and Bill made with Jiri was one of the best gifts the Pudelpointer has witnessed. in 2019 Jiri sent four young male pups to the U.S. and only in the hands of NAPPA breeders.  There are plans of another one of Jiri's females to be sent to the U.S. pregnant and Bill Athens will be purchasing the pregnant female with her whelped pups going only to NAPPA breeders.