do Av classes count towards coming out of Novice ? for example if I won an AV gundog class at an open show would this count as one of my 3 wins to take me out of Novice ?

Yes any classes except puppy classes.

If you win in the AV's but not the breed then it takes you out of the AV novice
classes. Win's in varieties don't count in breed classes. But you must count wins in the breed
when entering the variety classes.
So if you've never won in a breed class you can still enter in the breed novice class
if that makes sense?? :)
It's normally described in the definitions of classes bit in the show schedules.
Hope this helps.

Yes I looked int he scedule but it wasnt clear.  I think I understand, as long as winning an AV class doesnt take us out of Novice in the breed class then thats ok :)