Good for you. I am going to a game farm this Tuesday and to a national forest this weekend to get some grouse for my pup. If I can't get wild grouse, the game farm will have chukars.

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Get the smallest bird you can. A pheasant at that age will still look like a turkey to him. Last weekend a heron flushed from a ditch behind my dog. The heron - bigger than her - spooked her and she jump five feet, she looked back to see what made the sound, then gave chase.

I will be taking my .22 and .410 shotgun with me. She has been exposed to 20 ga at about 100' distance at a training seminar. First shot she ignored, second shot she looked at the direction of fire but again no reaction. When she flush a sparrow last weekend I fired the .22 and no reaction. This weekend my plan is; setting the chukar first and letting her find it by smell. Flush it and chase with no shots. The second and third will be shooting the .22. Then the forth will be the shotgun and see from there.

Getting a bumper with feathers can only help with retrieving. Just make sure she doesn't grab it and start tearing the feathers off.