Took the boys and myself on their first Ruffed Grouse trip in the UP. Had some down time with work and it was only 7 hours away. A learning experience for all three of us. They were chopped by the end of the third day. I usually only hunt them solo but I let them both run the third day since it was cooler. They put 4 birds in the air but it was ugly. Never fired a shot. I think one more day and they would have pieced the puzzle.

Started snowing on us while we were hunting in the Allagash. End of day 2 at Red River Camps near DeBouille Pond. 1 bird each so far. With my b-i-l and his LMs Zammie & Charlie.

I find myself fortunate enough to head back to the Dakotas for the second time this year. We chased Sharptail Grouse and Huns in ND and now we will be chasing ditch chickens through SD in late November .

What species should we chase next year? (With the exception of Bobs, that’s the one bird we have in Florida)

Hey y’all,

I’m curious if anyone here has had any luck starting a middle-aged dog on upland bird dog training?

Last year, my wife and I took in my sister’s 5-year-old goldador mix, Gordito. He didn’t have much training but we do daily off leash walks with my older dogs by our house near Salt Lake City. He has taken pretty well to e-collar training. His range needs quite a bit of work since his ‘happy-distance’ is much too far for a bird dog (like 50-100+ yards), but recall and heel have improved dramatically in the past year when he has the collar.

I recently went on my first hunt (pheasants in southern Montana) and had so much fun that I want to get more into it, especially if I can go with Gordito. The connection and shared activity with the dogs on my hunt was so cool to see. I don’t plan to do more than a few hunts a year, but wanted to try and train Gordito to go with me.

There seem to be good resources on this sub, as well as others (like r/huntingdogs or r/gundogs), but I was specifically curious if anyone here has had luck with starting an older dog on bird dog training? And if there are any things you might do differently in training for the casual/beginner upland bird hunter like me vs a seasoned hunter?

Any tips, input, or resources would be appreciated!

Thanks!

Pic of good boi attached

What a morning solo with my GWP! Central ND.

Spent a week in the U.P. Decent bird numbers, didn’t put a lot in the bag, but got some good dog work, and had a great time

our sweet 11 year old gsp is dealing with a recurring hematoma. currently under veterinary treatment addressing the root cause, she's had a drain, steroids, antibiotics, ear wash, and now a prescription diet.

the drain was a disaster and ended up falling out and getting infected, despite our constant efforts to clean it/ keep her ears wrapped.

once it was out, she healed within a week and the ear was nice and flat. we made the mistake of freeing her from the cone & wraps, and within a few days, the hematoma was back.

vet wants to drain again but we don't want to put her through it again - it was awful for her and us. i've heard that this can be a never ending cycle.

having to keep her ears wrapped has turned into just watching her constantly because none of the wraps we've purchased stay put. maybe it's just the shape of her head. the "no flap ear wrap" is not working for us. right now we're just doing soft cone and a tube wrap but have to adjust it all day.

we are considering asking for the button surgery.

we are also considering letting it heal on it's own, but we know that will cause the ear to shrivel up/ cauliflower ear.

would love some advice

Question for you guys. I feed my dog only once per day around 4-5pm. I’ve been hunting early to beat the heat. Dog usually hunts for about 1.5 hours (he’s only 7 months old) and we are home by 11am. I don’t feed him until his regular meal time at 4-5pm.

Do you guys feed your dogs soon after the hunt, or do you wait until your typical time later in the day? Part of me thinks I should feed him sooner after the hunt, knowing he’s expended so much energy - but the other side of me thinks it’s important his body stays accustomed to eating at a schedule time. Thoughts?

The dogs wouldn’t cooperate (for the photo), but the birds sure did.

My dog got his first ducks this morning and was thinking about mounting the pair of a Drake and hen woodie. Any good mounts to use as inspiration for mounting my dogs first ducks

This is my first bird dog and dog in general. Just curious what y’all think of her and if I should be doing anything differently.

I am currently single and work full time. I currently work 40 hours a week and was looking for suggestions for breeds that would be more mellow in the home for longer periods when left alone. I do have a large fenced in backyard and If needed I would hire a dog walker while at work for the day. Im mainly looking for a pointing variety. Ive heard wirehaired griffons may be a good breed. Thanks in advance.

I think I’d need some popcorn and a net. In twenty minutes I’d have half a dozen in my cardboard box and then go to the field with my dog.

I’m having a little trouble with my pup and wanted to see if anyone else has dealt with this.

He’s honestly a really obedient dog. He listens extremely well, does great off leash, and overall seems like he’s getting ready to bird hunt.

The problem is retrieving. At home in the backyard, he’ll retrieve pretty much anything I throw—bumpers, plastic doves/ducks, etc. But once we get to a big park or somewhere outdoors with more distractions, he has almost zero interest in retrieving the bumpers or training birds.

The weird part is, if I throw a bone, he’ll go get it every time. 😂 So I know he understands the concept and will retrieve, he just doesn’t seem interested in the training stuff once we leave the backyard.

Has anyone dealt with this with a young bird dog? Is this something that usually improves with age and repetition, or is there something I should be doing differently to build his drive for the bumper/birds outside the backyard?
First bird dog, so any advice is appreciated!

I have a 5 month old GWP, she is 50/50 inside outside due to work and no one home to let her out of the crate. She has a 12x12 dog run. The issue is I let her and my other bird dog out when I get home to run and do some training for 20-30 minutes every night. When we come in the pup goes straight to the water bowl and drinks like she hasn’t had water all day. Then for the next 45-60 minutes I’m cleaning up pee either in the crate or floor. No warning just let it go. I understand her stomach is probably over full on water but I’ll take her out side, no pee. Come inside with in 5 minutes she’s peed. This isn’t an issue on weekends when I’m home with her most of the day. The water in her dog run is drained and filled every morning. But she won’t touch it.. I get her little stomach and bladder cant handle that amount of water but idk what to do for her, but I can’t keep cleaning pee up every 10 minutes. If she’d stay hydrated through out the day I don’t feel like this would be an issue.