Sisters
We are now under two months from the start dates of the grouse and woodcock hunting seasons in both New Hampshire and Vermont. Time is marching on, and we have been going out to the woods, preparing for what is to come next, that is "when the weather allows". It has been getting hot and humid rather quickly lately, so our trips in to the grouse woods have been sparing - maybe twice a week at this point, but we have been making progress with all of the dogs in preparation for the upcoming season.
Millie (on the right in the image above) has been getting the most work, in the hopes that the "lightbulb" will come on for her. She has been progressing nicely, every day, as she gains confidence hunting in the incredibly thick grouse woods, checking in on me, and responding unflinchingly to my commands. The one area where I have not seen anything is in her pointing ability, but perhaps that says more about the bird numbers during her runs than about her. She bumped a woodcock this morning, but did not chase as she obeyed my whoa command. We'll keep trying to get her on birds, especially woodcock in the next six weeks.
Rosie (on the left), Millie's sister from the same litter, seems to be in top form already. She had an impressive 40-minute run this morning, as she pointed five grouse, a couple of which she had multiple points on. They were singles in a relatively close proximity, perhaps a family unit sharing a particularly horrible tangle of cover that grouse like to call home. We were also working on getting her steady to wing and shot today, and there's still some work to do there, but overall Rosie's season looks promising to say the least.
As for the "boys", Bode has been out twice a week lately and has worked hard but struggles a bit when the mid-morning warm up occurs. He had a decent run the other morning, encountering three grouse in about 30 minutes, with a good point on one of them. After a slothful winter and spring, he needs to drop a few to be running at his best this fall. And yes, he probably says the same about me.
Monty hasn't been out in the woods much this summer to preserve whatever tread is left on his tires, but I'm sure that he'll be good to go when the leaves start turning and the temperatures drop. You just can't keep an old dog down!
Millie (on the right in the image above) has been getting the most work, in the hopes that the "lightbulb" will come on for her. She has been progressing nicely, every day, as she gains confidence hunting in the incredibly thick grouse woods, checking in on me, and responding unflinchingly to my commands. The one area where I have not seen anything is in her pointing ability, but perhaps that says more about the bird numbers during her runs than about her. She bumped a woodcock this morning, but did not chase as she obeyed my whoa command. We'll keep trying to get her on birds, especially woodcock in the next six weeks.
Rosie (on the left), Millie's sister from the same litter, seems to be in top form already. She had an impressive 40-minute run this morning, as she pointed five grouse, a couple of which she had multiple points on. They were singles in a relatively close proximity, perhaps a family unit sharing a particularly horrible tangle of cover that grouse like to call home. We were also working on getting her steady to wing and shot today, and there's still some work to do there, but overall Rosie's season looks promising to say the least.
As for the "boys", Bode has been out twice a week lately and has worked hard but struggles a bit when the mid-morning warm up occurs. He had a decent run the other morning, encountering three grouse in about 30 minutes, with a good point on one of them. After a slothful winter and spring, he needs to drop a few to be running at his best this fall. And yes, he probably says the same about me.
Monty hasn't been out in the woods much this summer to preserve whatever tread is left on his tires, but I'm sure that he'll be good to go when the leaves start turning and the temperatures drop. You just can't keep an old dog down!
