Tag Archives: Grouse

Wordy Wednesday–12-12-12

Posted in dog training, Fun, Puppies, Snow by

The date has little to do with my post, but I couldn’t resist.  :)

Freighter did a little hunting for grouse while we walked through the snowy forest last weekend.  Unfortunately there were no grouse to be found.  There were no other birds either, (except for a couple of crows flying over and squawking at us when we were almost home).  There was little wind and the forest was very quiet.  We saw a few deer and bunny tracks, but not as many as we would have expected with the new fallen snow.

Part of our walk took us down an access road lined with snowy trees.  It was beautiful.

Snowy Forest

Snowy Forest

Freighter seemed unimpressed with the beauty of the forest.  He had more important things to think about.

Looking For Some Grouse

Looking For Grouse

Smells Like A Bird Was Here

Smells Like A Bird Was Here

Where Are Those Birds

Where Are Those Birds?

Maybe Over Here?

Maybe Over Here?

Branches In The Way

These Branches Are In My Way

I Give Up

I Give Up

This ‘N That Thursday

Posted in Hunting, This 'N That Thursday by

This ‘N That Thursday is for those times when you want to post about unrelated topics or each topic isn’t quite long enough to make up a whole post.  It can be anything you want, so feel free to grab the button and join us!

This 'N That 3

Firearm deer season closed on November 30th.  Grouse reopened on December 1.  Storm got out for a little hunting last weekend, but did not even have a flush.  Grouse have been scare this season.  Of course the weather did not help.  It was another damp foggy day.  It is better to have dry weather to hunt grouse.

Sorry No Birds

Sorry No Birds

We lost all of the snow up north which is why there was fog.  Fog and rain.  I tried to get out to take a few pictures but the weather was so bad that I didn’t end up with many.

What Happened To The Snow?

What Happened To The Snow?

This time of year I don’t have many pictures because the days are so short.  Any training is done before I get home from work because it is dark by the time I get home.  Our Saturday training sessions are on hold right now because our trainer is still having some health issues.  Get well soon Darrin!  The dogs are working on some obedience in the basement, but that doesn’t make for interesting pictures.

With hunt test training is on hold, Freighter is working on being a show dog.  He is learning how to be stacked and to stand still.  His breeder has offered to help work with him.  Thank you Cindy!  He also needs lots of practice letting people checking his bite.  That part is not a favorite for him.

We have scheduled the surgery to remove Freighter’s stubborn dew claw for the week before New Year’s.  The recovery time should not be too long.  There will probably be a couple of stitches so a couple of weeks maybe.

I am sure it won’t keep Freighter from being mischievous too long.

At Least My Back Legs Are On The Ground

At Least My Back Legs Are On The Ground

 

Where Are They?

Posted in Hunting by

Since our training session was cancelled, Storm had an opportunity to get out and do something that she loves…grouse hunt.  Unfortunately the grouse are a bit harder to find this year.  They don’t seem to be in the area where we can usually count on finding them.  This may be because over the DNR replaced a bridge and temporarily pushed them to a different area.  Storm went out two days and had one flush.  A shot was not available, so no retrieve.  Still Storm had fun and worked hard.  She is a good girl.

With the last-minute change in plans, we forgot the pocket camera.  These are some pictures of her working from last season and from a couple of weekends ago.

Hunting The Grass
Maybe They Are Back This Way?
Here Birdie, Birdie, Birdie!
On The Trail
Follow Your Nose

Follow-up Friday

Posted in dog training, Follow-up Friday, Hunting by

Follow-up Friday hosted by Heart Like A Dog and Brown Dog CBR.

You know sometimes you post about something and you need an update but it doesn’t warrant a whole blog. Or sometimes someone made a comment that really resonated with you. Yup, Follow-Up Friday baby!

First thank you to everyone who asked to sign Thunder’s cast.  I have my Sharpies and I plan to do it first thing tomorrow morning.  I will post a picture next week.  He is excited.  :)

Monday Mischief–The Joke

Jodi asked if we have this picture framed somewhere.

Thunder Opening Day 2010

Not this one.  But we do have several others including this one.

Jim and Thunder

Freighter Gets His Duck

I mentioned that the river was kind of cold for a puppy.  Doggy’s Style commented that a neoprene suit would keep him warm.  Actually Thunder and Storm both have neoprene hunting vests for the cold water.

Thunder and Storm Modeling Their Vests

We are hoping that Storm’s vest fits Freighter for this season because we would like to wait until he is full-grown before buying one for him.  Of course we forgot to bring it along last weekend.

Many dog owner hunters poo-poo the vests, but if you are hunting in cold water the idea is to preserve the dog’s core body temperature.  Many times a dog will be in and out of the water and then just sitting for hours in a boat or on a stand.  It is important to guard against hypothermia.  Keeping the dog’s core temperature up is also supposed to help prevent cold water or limp tail.

I came across this podcast on the AKC Canine Health Foundation’s website: Hunting Dog Health Concerns and Staying Safe in the Great Outdoors.  (If you do not know about this resource, you should take a look.  There are a lot of podcasts and video discussions about a wide variety of general canine health and research.)  The guest for this podcast was Dr. Joe Spoo, a recognized expert in canine athlete conditioning, a practicing veterinarian of small animal medicine, and a hunter.  Among other things, he recommended the use of a vest when hunting in cold water conditions.

The draw back of a vest is that if you are hunting in water with a lot of sticks, you have to be careful that the dog doesn’t get hung up on them.

Nearly Wordless Wednesday–Freighter’s First Try At Grouse

I guess Freighter’s collar looks red in the pictures?  A few of you commented on it.

Freighter

The little camera takes good pictures, but I guess the color is not true.  That collar is actually blaze orange which is the color you want to wear when out in the woods hunting.  Both hunter and dog wear blaze orange.  The collar is actually Storm’s collar and Storm’s tags.  We don’t have a set for Freighter yet because no doubt whatever we buy this year will not fit him next year.  We feel it is important that the dogs have some ID on them while hunting so Freighter borrowed Storm’s stuff.  No wonder she was giving us dirty looks.

This Is So Unfair

Jen commented that she doesn’t think she knows what a grouse looks like.  Storm is actually the most awesome grouse hunting dog.  She can dig them out of the thickest cover and she is fearless.  This picture is from a couple of years ago.  The bird on the far right is a woodcock, but the rest are grouse.

Storm Grouse Hunting 10-30-2010

English: Ruffed Grouse

English: Ruffed Grouse (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Grouse are excellent table fare.  They are probably my favorite of all the upland birds.  In case anyone is wondering, we eat all the birds that taken during the season.  If we only get one or two, they are cleaned and put in the freezer until we have enough for a meal.

The grouse population is cyclical and unfortunately it is coming off a ten-year high so they may not be a plentiful this year, but hopefully Freighter will find a few.

Have a great weekend!