Storm and Thunder went out grouse hunting this weekend. The weather was just about perfect for hunting…hard freezes at night, and warm sunny days. Storm drew the late morning slot and had a terrific number of flushes, around 15, including flushing 6 at once that were tucked under a log. However, she was not a good hunting partner. She would flush the birds and then chase the birds. A big no-no while hunting. Once she took off after some birds and failed to return when called. Another big no-no while hunting. Hunting with a dog that is not under control just leads to missed birds because the hunter has to worry about where the dog is before shooting at birds or stop and wait for the dog to come back after it has run off chasing a bird. Storm knows what she is expected of her, so she got a refresher course on her role while upland hunting. In the end she got one bird, but probably should have had more.
I tried to get a picture of her with her bird, but she was not cooperating.
Thunder drew the late afternoon slot and had a few flushes, but there were no shots. There just never seems to be as many birds in the afternoon as in the morning. Thunder worked hard and quartered nice and close. If you don’t know what quartering is, it is when the dog uses its nose and works an area looking for birds. The dog basically zigzags out in front of the hunter trying to find the birds. You want the dog to work fairly close because if the dog flushes a bird too far out, the hunter will not be able to make the shot. Thunder did a good job flushing the birds but they were just not in a position for a safe shot. Drat!
The next morning Storm went out again. This time she was the perfect hunting partner which made for a much more enjoyable time. She had a lot of flushes and unfortunately there were a few missed shots. Some of the birds flushed too close to the ground and others were into the cover (which is still very heavy). Just bad luck and not Storm’s fault. There were also a couple of cripples that they looked and looked for, but could not find. They ended up with one bird and had a great time. Good job Storm!
Storm was even more cooperative posing for pictures.
While getting the items together to clean the bird, we put it on the woodpile. Of course that attracted attention.
Tonight will be grouse for supper (people supper that is ;)).
Gorgeous Chessies! Don’t you just love how brown dogs always take amazing photos in the autumn?
I love the photo of storm holding her bird where you can’t see her face. It made me LOL. =D
Storm is a character for sure.
I so saw Delilah in that first picture of Storm….LOL I am going to do it MY way.
Dogs are like people I guess, anyone can have a bad day but she made up for it the next day.
They are really beautiful dogs.
When you write about Delilah, sometimes she does sound like Storm…lol.
Sounds like a good time and perfect weather…we are still sweating here in Texas 🙂
Sweet Thunder some days we just have our off days!
I actually had to put the heat on tonight. 🙂
Look at those poses! I would be distracted by the large wood pile too! How was dinner??
Dinner was tasty!
Hey Storm,
Were you getting up to a little bit of mischief this weekend? Tee Hee
Glad you all had fun,
Your buddy Snoopy 🙂
Storm is usually causing mischief…lol.
Sometimes you have to cave and just pose for us crazy humans
Stop on by for a visit
Kari
http://dogisgodinreverse.com
Storm says she will pose, but she’ll make it as tough as possible. 🙂
Good job, Miss Storm!! We’re very impressed that anyone WANTS to work!!
-Bart and Ruby
Storm says she’ll work all day for a bird! 😆
What beautiful pictures! They look so good out there in the fall foilage!
So what does grouse taste like? I am curious:)
Jen
MyBrownNewfies
It is like cornish game hen, but milder and nit gamey at all. Really yummy.
All these pictures are terrific but I love the one of Storm with the bird in her mouth where her face doesn’t show. Hugs and nose kisses
That is one of my favorite pictures, which I didn’t realize that you could only see the tip of her nose until after I put it on my computer. 😆
That bird looks like a tasty dog toy. If my person tried to take a picture of me with it I’d be jumping all over her with the bird in my mouth. -Bongo
Don’t think Storm didn’t try that first. 🙂
Hi Y’all,
Hey Storm, sounds like day one was like my “gettin’ even” day! Too much pent up energy!
Y’all come back now,
Hawk aka BrownDog
Could have been getting even, plus the 6 birds at once was like doggie speed. 😆
Great shots of the 2 brown dawgs. I guess one bird is better than no birds. They look pretty good size, do they have a lot of meat on them?
Liking the new look, I am still trying to figure out that darn CSS.
You’ll get CSS. Just keep messing with it. 🙂
Oh Geez! Gretel would never be a good hunting dog. She can’t hear a thing when she zeros in on a bird. She loves chasing them. Glad you finally got one.
Storm decided chasing was good too…lol…but she knows better.
I love all the pictures, but those two of Storm looking at the bird and then holding it up so you can’t see her face really made me chuckle! What a personality she has – ya gotta love it! 😀 Glad you had a good time.
Storm does have a personality. There are times I know I should be cross with her, but then she makes me laugh and I forget all about what she has done wrong.