sproulman

good info.what i have found hunting grouse here in pa. is they move where the food is.i saw berrries in one area and always flushed a grouse up until dec.then they disappeared. i found them up in 30 ft trees eating the buds off the tips of trees.i could not believe that they were in those open trees with winds of 20 mph.i feel that most grouse get up in highest trees in wind not on ground.some get into pines but i found most in open trees way up. we did not kill a grouse here this year,i dont like to kill them ,just shoot at them. i have about 10 on my privateland and i dont kill them but shoot at them.this way dogs are happy and so am i that i see grouse everytime i go out.take care.

Slowpitch

Up here in Western/Southern tier NY Grouse are Not as popular anymore , because of the small amounts & privately owned land.... But in the WMUnits ot state forest i find them, I hunt with a jack russel [&:]Believe me he can cover alot of ground , but worthless Bird dog !! Getting a lab & haveing him trained as a pointer/retriever/flush dog, besides labs are great family dogs as well But I need trained as well to keep him in proper form for year after year Bird hunting........ But for now I'll do the walking & flushing on my own, nothing more fustrateing than walking under a tree & 2' above your head a Grouse flush's what a rush & he's gone !!!!

sproulman

labs are greatall around but not best for grouse.labs are flushers.they were not bred to run with their nose to ground like a bird dog.they were bred to retrieve. you will get 2 times more birds with a bird dog than a lab.why, they keep their nose to ground.labs run right by a lot of birds because their nose is up high.brittanys are good ones and setters.problem with them if not trained proper is they hunt so far out in front .thats not good. it seems that lab always hunts close.i LIKE that more than a breed that has the better nose.no dog is all AROUND dog but the lab COULD be as close as you get to being one. my next dog will be LAB even tho they are not best for grouse.

Flairball

There is nothing wrong with a lab for grouse hunting,and many are great grouse dogs. What you need to decide is whether you want a flushing dog, like a Lab, or a pointing breed. I have both, and have come to perfer a close working flushing dog, like mySpringerfor grouse. Grouse hunting, however takes on many different forms, and takes one to many different places, so a pointer might work better for you. When I travel to N.H. and Maine I know I will spend a lot of time walking on logging roads. In this situation I find my Setter works better, as he covers more ground on either side of the road.

Also, the way a dog works, and scents may not be fully understood by some posters. A dog, regardless of breed, should run with it's head held high. This will allow it to better catch the body scent of the birds. Then when the dog starts to work a dog the dog may lower his head and ground track a bird. This is especially true if the grouse is running, which they always do. A pointing breed who keeps his nose to the ground too much may accidently bump birds, but this wont be a problem with a flushing dog.

sproulman

i also like dog for grouse that hunts close.many of the bird dogs hunt way out to far.i sen it in pheasant also. i lot of dogs hunt way to far out in front of owners.they are blowing whistles all day trying to get them back. the labs i have been out hunting with cover ground good on both sides of road.smaller built labs are better than the bigger ones for UPLAND. the big ones are for ducks.the thing i see tho, is they run with head up and look like they are using their eyes more than nose.then ,if they slowdown, they start using their nose more. the bird dogs seem to me, to pick up scent more than lab.local expert told me that labs were bred for RETRIEVING and bird dogs were for finding birds. he said its in nose. i saw many labs go by pheasants because they were running with nose up in air and using eyes. i saw bird dogs come behind them and flush birds that lab missed. trainer at kennel who sells labs also told me he will have 2 times more flushes with a bird dog over lab.yet, i like LAB the most because they seem to always keep you in their sight and dont roam off after deer or get to far out in front of you.those bird dogs i hunt with seenm to always be to far out in front and up goes grouse. grouse here in pa. dont stay put as they have been hunted hard and coyotes, bobcats. fox are always after them.put a bell on your dog here in pa. for grouse and all you will here,is wings going on grouse. they are very spooky which is why i like hunting grouse so much here. i am after a lab now to hunt with.i like lab very much as they seem to be always looking to see if you are within view, if not, they will come back for you. bird dogs we hunt with, hunt, they dont look for no one.i dont like that but they do flush more birds but most are to far to shoot or even see.i see hunters with those collars zapping dogs all day to try to keep them close. you never see those collars on a LAB,thats nice. take care and thanks for info.

ejpaul1

Well, I have a 2.5 year old golden that has never been bird hunting but I might just try to take her out next year. I have never even seen a grouse but would love to hunt them. I have hunted pheasant and quail but they arent exactly plentiful in colorado. Even with a walk in access permit. Any suggestions?

sproulman

take a .22 out with you and shoot to see if she is GUNSHY.my neighbor has golden and she also has never hunted but has a great nose.take it slow and stay on logging roads first.dont go out in spring or early fall as grass and woods is to thick.get TICK meds and a lyme shot if they have ticks in your area.they are real bad here in pa. i just pulled 2 off my dog as big as a peanut ,and this is winter,oh my.i like ADVANTIX the best for ticks.thats it, take it slow and dont rush things. also a orange collar is nice on dog.

Mite

If I were to hunt grouse again I would use a close working setter for these reasons. Thick heavy cover. Alot of blackberries bushes. I want enough time to get ready for the shot which a lab won't give you. Western WA has grouse but also somevery heavy cover (Eastern WA is more open). A dog five feet in front of you; you won't see. So a bell isalmost essential those cases.

Range is against you. If the dog is an independent hunter then you'll find yourself busting through the bush to keep up. That is why most hunting is done in pheasant release sites or they go to tree farms and the like or go over to the pass when hunting grouse. But there are places where it's open below the trees but I've never seen grouse in those places. It's always heavy bushes with berries and ferns and blackberries.

ejpaul1
For your goldie, my suggestion would be to introduce birds to her first. See if you can get access to some birds either a game farm or buy some pigeons. Clip the wing feathers so the bird won't can't fly far. Let the dog play with a couple. Next, shoot .22 blanks or if you have access to land where you can shoot then just .22 will be fine. But fire when the dog is just about the pick up the bird. It's all about association gunshot = bird. Fire the gun a few times with birds. Then you can fire a shotgun but only one shotgun until the dog is comfortable. That's a mistake some people make, the dog's not gunshy but the hunter puts it front of a line for the first time and a bird flushes; bang bang bang bang the dogs shies away.

It's exceptionally rare when a dog can go from being a house pet to being a hunting dog for the first time. I mean one that will hunt for you and that is well trained. A dog has to figure out whats it doing and why it's there. Most of us spend two seasons training a dog to get it started which is fine for most folks. A finished dog usually takes more time.

One good way is to run the dog with another flusher. She'll learn alot in a short time. The other dog will know what's it doing and search for birds while your dog will think it's just tagging along. But the first bird that flushes, it will see what the other dog is doing. Then it will compete trying to find birds before the other dog. But this should be done after intro to birds and shotgun and OB training.

sproulman

most dogs as you say will not hunt after being that old but if its in genes, they will.most dogs WILL not hunt with a strange dog.the trained dog will be nasty or other dog,or both.i would spend money take dog to a pheasant preserve on trained birds AFTER you do the pigeon thing first.if dog fails pigeon training dont waste money on preserve. if your dog has GOOD NOSE,you should know that by now around house etc.it can be done but you must get around birds.grouse are a tricky hard hunted bird. our dogs take as high as 4 years to become good grouse dogs.3rd year they come around real good and 4th the prime.BUT every dog is different. of all dogs i like LAB ,SMALL ONES the best but they are not the best for birds,but for all around dog, you cant beat the LAB. i am looking to get lab right now.i have 2 brittanys and they are great but my heart is with LABRADOR.take care.

Phil from Maine

I'm not sure what kind of grouse your talking about but, up here in Maine we hunt the rough grouse. And they love to run after being flushed. A
good bird dog is great to have with you if you plan on flushing again. Thats not to say you can't flush them again its just a lot easier. Also you will know when you are close to them.