Locating A Good Grouse Covert

How fortunate we are to have the “king of game birds” available in thirty-eight states...and all Canadian Provinces.  Ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) provide the ultimate challenge for the pointing dog and upland hunter.  It’s a hunter’s desire to locate good grouse cover, be given a solid point and then rewarded with a straightaway shot after the flush.  

The chances this fall of experiencing the above scenario can be greatly increased with pre-season scouting.  You may have some reliable coverts you visit every year; however, grouse coverts mature and at some point in time are no longer productive.  Pre-season scouting should be performed to add two or three new coverts each year to your inventory.

Grouse are territorial.  They pick a territory according to available habitat.  The habitat must have a year around food supply, good cover and water.  All three ingredients must be present.

I still search for new grouse cover the old fashioned way.  During non-hunting season, I drive the back roads looking for likely grouse habitat.  There are two things I look for initially; (1) a ridge of hardwoods with (2) stands of conifers just below the hardwoods.  If you’re really lucky, you might find hardwood growth in different stages with conifers interspersed.  Working from the top of the ridge down, we start with a hardwood stand such as birch, aspen, or oaks, then stands of conifers, then aspen or birch in the 7-15 year stage and then alders.  Somewhere in this mix we want water.  We could have a nice seep higher up with a trickle down to a small stream.

Let’s examine each habitat ingredient.  Conifers provide much needed cover.  Avian predators have a difficult time penetrating conifer trees plus the conifer provides much needed protection during storms. You won’t find grouse unless there are conifers present.  The hardwoods both above and below the conifers provide winter food; they feed on the catkins and buds of these trees.  As we work down the ridge past the conifer stands and the aspens and birch , but before we come to the alders, we should look for a myriad of food sources.  A couple of trees we don’t often look for but offer outstanding grouse food are the black cherry and the hophornbeam.  Black cherry buds provide more protein and carbs than any of the more recognized budding trees such as the aspen or birch.  The hophornbeam catkin is second only to the black cherry in carbs.  

We mentioned that good grouse cover contains a year round food supply.  Buds and catkins are late season and winter food.  How about summer and early hunting season?  Well, as we navigate down are grouse ridge and approach the bottom, we’re looking for thick and thorny cover.  For grouse, the thicker and thornier, the better.  Near or even mixed- in, we look for low berry producing shrubs.  These will typically be found in damp soil such as a seep or near a small brook.  Due to the wide distribution of grouse, listing wetland indigenous shrubs for your specific area would be difficult.  You may have blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, cranberries, bunch berries, strawberries, winterberry and on and on.  Study which berries are available in your area and learn to identify them.  Grouse feed heavily on berries until the berries are gone in late fall.

Here’s an important tip.  Grouse are territorial and typically stay within their territory (10-20 acres).  If, however, there is an abundant supply of berries in a certain location, grouse will make a long journey to join the feast.  Don’t ask me how they know about the feast…they just do.  I know a grouse guide in Ontario, Canada, who takes his hunters to wild cranberry bogs.  The bogs are along a river.  When the cranberry crop is good, he’ll often have 50 flushes in 100 yards.  When there are no cranberries, there are no grouse.

Grouse prefer a ridge that gets an early sun and that means facing the east.  If there has been a frost, they’ll hangout under their conifer roost until the sun thaws the frost.  They’ll then start their journey down the ridge.  They’re in no hurry unless there is a berry feast waiting.  A berry feast often results in an all day feeding binge.  If feeding on buds, however, a typical day means wandering down the ridge, finding a nice sunny spot to linger, then moving on to the budding trees for an early afternoon feed. After “budding” as the old-timers call it, they’ll head back to their roosting area.

Of course, an exact pattern cannot be predicted.  Here’s an interesting behavior worthy of discussion.  Many grouse hunters feel you only see grouse on the gravel roads in late afternoon; after they’ve been “budding”.  The opinion is that they only look for gravel for their crop after they’ve eaten.  I can’t subscribe to that.  I’ve seen grouse picking up gravel as early as 9:00 am.  Have they already fed?  I would be surprised.  

The ideal grouse ridge I’ve described above is located in the big woods; however, what about old abandoned apple orchards?  Well, if you have one located on your GPS, congratulations!  Old abandoned apple trees provide grouse ice cream.  I hunt an old abandoned farmyard in Maine that has three apple trees on a woods lot corner.  Abutting the apple trees is a stand of white pine.  Beyond the white pine are aspens.  There is always at least one grouse under or around those apple trees.  Everything they need is within a 50-yard circumference.  

A good friend was hunting Upstate New York last fall.  He discovered an old abandoned apple orchard.  The first apple tree he approached produced a nine- bird flush.  Wouldn’t we all like to have about a dozen of these special areas in our GPS!  

Grouse hunting will be more fun and productive if you’ve conditioned your legs, heart and lungs.  So, with strong legs, heart and lungs, good luck finding those very special coverts that will produce good dog work, plentiful shooting and the finest wild table fare provided by nature.

Paul Fuller is host of Bird Dogs Afield TV.  For more information on Bird Dogs Afield, go to www.birddogsafield.com.

Feeding & Conditioning Your Dog

Your best friend needs your support to ensure he’s ready for the hunting season.  Has he been a couch dog all winter and spring?  If so, you need to execute a conditioning plan immediately.  A hunting dog’s desire is often greater than his heart or lung capability.  If not conditioned properly, this desire can lead to serious injury or death.

Let’s begin with the fuel that runs the engine.  There are many dog foods on the market today which are advertised to the sporting dog owner. Most dog foods have the basic nutrient groups, i.e., water, carbs, fat, vitamins and minerals; however, it’s the level and quality of each nutrient that separates Native from the other brands.

Native Performance Dog Food excels in quality ingredients.  Native uses only the highest quality natural meats and grains with no corn, wheat or soy and no by-products.  The Native aim is to deliver to your dog the most bio-available ingredients to ensure maximum nutrient digestibility with low stool volume and a long and quality life.

The two ingredients typically listed at the top of every dog food ingredient label are protein and fat.  Protein is usually listed first and has a higher content than fat.  What is the purpose of protein?  Protein is important to every single cell in a dog’s body (and your body).  It is an important building block for healthy bones, muscles, cartilage, skin and blood. When your dog is working hard, tissue is being broken down and needs to be continuously repaired. Protein is responsible for this repair work.  Protein is a macronutrient; along with fat and carbohydrates.  A body, however, does not store protein as it does fat and carbs.  This means a body needs a large and steady supply since there is no back-up supply to draw from.  Thus, protein must have a high content level in your dog food.

Protein can be obtained from both animal matter and vegetable matter. For my dogs, I personally like getting the high protein source from chicken.  Animal matter delivers protein more efficiently than vegetable matter.

The second ingredient listed on a dog food label is fat.  Fat is what delivers energy.  The formula is simple: fat equals calories and calories equal energy. Also, fat has over twice the calories of carbohydrates or protein per gram which makes fat very important (since it results in energy) for the canine athlete.  As with protein, chicken is a very efficient provider of fat.  

Native is the only dog food that provides a level system of protein and fat to meet the exercise and stress demands for year-round feeding.  If you’ve been using the old fashioned system of feeding your dog less during off-season and feeding more just prior to hunting season, then you need to look at Native.  The change in quantity of food is not good for your dog’s digestive system.

Here’s how the Native system works.  There are four levels.  Each level has the same ingredients.  What changes with each level is the protein/fat level.  Therefore, you don’t change the quantity of food to achieve greater protein/fat content, you simply change the level.  Level 1 has a 24/14 protein/fat content and is formulated for the dog getting only 2-3 days of exercise per week.  Level 2 has a 26/16 protein/fat content and is for the dog getting 2-3 days of vigorous activity per week.  I use Level 2 as a maintenance dog food for off-season.  Level 3 provides the magic 30/20 protein/fat content that satisfies most of our bird dog hunting season requirements.  Level 4 offers 35/25 protein/fat content and is used by many professional guides who run their dogs several days each week.  Again, with the Native level system, you do not need to upset the digestive system of your dog by changing the quantity or by changing brands and content.  Check out Native and locate a dealer at www.nativedogfood.com.

There is more to a good feeding program than just ensuring your dog gets a high quality food.  Research by dog food scientists show that it takes at least eight weeks for the beneficial change in protein/fat level to be effective.  Therefore, if your hunting season begins October 1^st, you need to make the change August 1^st.

We’ve covered the fuel that runs the engine, now let’s put the engine to work.  The heart and lungs are the key parts in that engine.  And those parts are inter-related.  The heart muscles feed off oxygenated blood from the lungs.  Both the heart and the lungs must be in excellent condition before the beginning of the season. 

I exercise my dogs almost every day of the year.  It may only be one mile of walking for me (three for dogs), but we hardly ever miss a day of exercise.  That program is stepped-up in mid to late July.  Since July and August are hot months, we exercise in the morning before either of us have breakfast.  By mid-August, we’re doing three miles (nine for the dogs) per day and by mid-September, we’re shooting for five miles (15 for the dogs) per day.  This puts both of us in prime shape for an October 1^st opener. 

You, the hunter, must look at yourself in the same manner we’ve looked at the feeding and conditioning of your dog.  You want to enjoy the hunt and that enjoyment will be greater if you’re also eating well and have conditioned your heart, lungs and legs.  If you haven’t studied human nutrition, make an appointment with a nutritionist.  It’s not about eating a candy bar mid-morning…it’s about a solid foundation of proper food.

Be sure that both you and your dog have a well conditioned heart and lungs before the season begins and you’ll find the hunt to be much more enjoyable…and safe.

Paul Fuller is the host of Bird Dogs Afield TV.  Go to www.birddogsafield.com for more information on Paul's TV program.

Using Bird Launchers

Prior to World War II, bird dog training was done on wild birds. Birds were plentiful and easily accessed by most trainers. With millions of soldiers returning home after the War, housing was in great demand. Forests were cut for lumber to build homes, suburban sprawl gobbled up habitat and wild game birds retreated to distant cover. And the pen-raised game bird was invented.

The pen-raised game bird provided, and still does, unlimited opportunity to train bird dogs. Unfortunately, however, they don’t fly like a wild bird. And, sometimes, they don’t fly...period. Now we’re faced with many potential problems...creeping, chasing, sight-pointing and much more.

Early on, pro-trainers began developing methods for getting the bird in the air. This was the beginning of the bird launcher. Early home-made launchers were crudely made of wire mesh and a spring. Whatever would get the bird in the air was considered an advancement in training tools.

Today, there are numerous commercially-made launchers to fit any budget. There are foot activated launchers, string activated launchers and electric launchers. Without question, the most practical and effective launcher is the electric version. Through the use of a remote, the electric launcher allows the trainer to precisely control the flush of the bird. The advantage over a hand-planted bird is huge. The dog trainer is in control of the entire process which is not the case with a hand-planted bird.

There are many applications for the bird launcher. Teaching a dog to be staunch on point is one application. You know the bird isn’t going to run away and tempt the dog to break point. If you’re teaching steady to wing and shot, you’re in control. There is plenty of time to work a check cord before the bird is launched. The electric launcher is an outstanding tool for teaching a dog to stop on a wild flush. Or to stop on multiple flushes using multiple launchers.

Electric launchers are also ideal for teaching backing. You have time to handle the dogs properly prior to the flush.  

Launchers come in different sizes to accommodate different size birds; from quail to pheasant, there is a size just right for your birds. Your author uses the DT Natural Flush Bird Launcher; however, there are many excellent brands on the market.  

Dog trainers using launchers will soon discover many uses for their new training tool and ask “how did I get along without this training aid?”

Paul Fuller is the host of Bird Dogs Afield TV.  Go to www.birddogsafield.com for more information on Paul’s TV program.

Transitioning to a New Dog Food

By Steve Ries

As we talk to people about Native® Performance Dog Food, one of the questions we are often asked is how to safely switch your dog to a new food. This is a really good question because of the nature of a high performance food. Since performance foods are very nutrient dense, they do not feed quite the same as many of the traditional products on the market. Performance foods are generally higher in calories and do not contain many of the “filler” type ingredients like corn, wheat, soy and by-products. They are formulated to enhance the performance of a very active dog, but they leave fewer margins for error with regard to feeding quantity. The following are a few important points to keep in mind when considering a switch to a performance food.

Change Should Be Gradual
Because dogs are consistently fed the same diet, it can be hard on their digestive system to change foods too suddenly. When you make a change to your dog's diet, you should do it gradually by mixing progressively smaller quantities of the current food with larger quantities of the new food. We generally recommend mixing about 20% of the new food with 80% of the old food for the first three days and increasing that by an additional 20% every 3 days after that. This type of schedule has you feeding 100% of the new food by day thirteen and will generally allow your dog's system to adjust to the new diet without indigestion. You’ll want to make sure you have enough of your old food on hand to last through the transition, so be sure you have six full days of the old food on hand.

Don’t Overfeed
Many dogs have large appetites and will eat as much food as you give them, so you need to be careful not to over feed. Obesity, particularly at a young age, can cause serious health issues later in life. We recommend a performance food because your dog will be healthier and perform better, but these foods do have higher calories, so you’ll want to limit feed. While all foods have feeding guidelines on the package, these are really just a starting point. The best way to determine how much food your dog needs is to keep a close eye on body condition. If he or she looks too thin, feed him a little more. If he or she looks like they are carrying too much weight, scale them back a little bit at a time. Your dog may act hungry, but their body condition will tell you different.

Wait for the Payoff
One final thing to keep in mind is that it usually takes anywhere from four to eight weeks to really see the impact of a new food in your dog. Normal signs of improvement like smaller, firmer stools should happen pretty quickly, yet the improvements in skin, coat and endurance take a little longer. You’ll want to give your new food at least a couple of months to see the full effects, however, they’ll be worth it when you and your dog hit the field.

To learn more about Steve Ries and his training methods, visit www.topgungsps.com.

Initial Bonding with Your New Puppy

By Jason Givens

Puppies Need Structure
The first few weeks you spend with your new puppy can be the hardest. He’s been taken away from his siblings and familiar surroundings and is now surrounded by new people, new smells, and a new routine. Dogs, especially puppies, have a need for routine. They like knowing what’s coming next. It’s your job to set up a consistent and predictable schedule to get your pup in his comfort zone. Then you can start to teach him the rules of his new home.

Before you start teaching the rules, here are a few things you should keep in mind:

1. Puppies don’t know English. They’ll learn that single words indicate a desired action but they don’t really know what the words mean.
2. Puppies like to make noise when they want something. They don’t really have any other way of getting your attention.
3. Puppies like to chew on things. This is just part of their instinct and they don’t mean any harm.
4. Puppies do not understand they have to potty outside. They’re not being bad if they go inside the house––they just don’t know any better.

Knowing these rules in advance should help you stay patient with your pup. It should also have you better prepared to deal with these situations when they arise.

Keep It Simple and Consistent
When initially bonding with your puppy, one main thing to remember is to keep things simple and to be consistent. If you’re going to teach a command, make it a single word (preferably one syllable), and say it the same way all the time. For example, if you want your pup to come to you, a short word like “here” is perfect. Say “here” every time. Don’t say “over here” or “come here” or “here boy”. Just say “here”. Say the same word every time and make sure the rest of the family does too. Your pup will learn faster and it will be more firmly reinforced if your word choice is consistent.

Be the Pack Leader
To close, I’ll just remind you that dogs are pack animals and your pup will be looking for a leader in his pack. If he learns you are the leader, he will learn to follow. He’ll follow a lot more readily if you make it fun for him and don’t work him too hard or too long. If you keep it fun, keep it simple and stay consistent, your pup will be following your lead reliably in no time.

To learn more about Jason Givens and his training methods, visit www.lighthouselkennels.com.

Feeding and Hydration Management Considerations for Your Canine Athlete

By Jason Givens

The following are several management practices and tools to consider when maximizing your dog’s conditioning and genetic programs to reach optimum performance levels.

Reaching the winners circle involves a good deal of time, effort and talent. Based on my learning from successful competitors and bird hunting enthusiasts from many different venues of canine performance events, several things are consistent:

• Begin with quality genetics with selection traits focused on the game they enjoy most
• Feed a quality dog food which provides maximum performance potential and quick recovery
• Gain a sound understanding of the importance of quality and quantity of hydration needed to succeed
• There are no shortcuts to be at the top of your game year after year!

Our canine athletes are made up of 80% water. To put that into perspective, a 50 lb. animal has 5 gallons of water in his body. Every day a dog loses hydration through urine, feces, breathing and sweat. The amount lost varies based on environment, exercise and diet. A dog can lose 6% of its body fluids (6 cups) before it will stop to drink. If a dog loses 10% (8 cups) of its body fluids, it could become fatal.

Because of that, water is the single most important nutrient in terms of survivability. Dogs can survive for weeks without food, using their own body fat and muscle for energy production. Yet water is vital for many important body parts and functions––including removing toxins from the body. Younger and leaner animals have higher water content than older dogs or less desirable body conditions.

It is crucial to our dogs’ performance that we understand the volume of water consumption and use when managing canine performance animals.

• Respiration water loss = 23% in inactive dog while increases to 40% with exercise.
• Feces water loss = 7% in inactive dog while decreases to 5% with exercise. (stress stools 80-90% water loss)
• Urine water loss = 70% in inactive dog while decreases to 55% with exercise.

*Normal feces in chart above are calculated from normal stool. Stress stools created from exercise induced stress without empty digestive track can create 80-90% water loss in stool percent. Prevention of feeding animals 10-12 hours prior to exercise will support a sound hydration plan.

Signs of Dehydration

There are three important signs to check on to assure your dog is not lacking water:

• Beginning Signs – Visibly tired, slowed pace/less animation, act more “warm”, excessive panting etc.
• Intermediate Signs – Skin will become less elastic if you pinch the skin on their back, it will be slow to return to normal shape; Slow gum capillary refill- if you press firmly on their gums and release, the time it takes for the gum to refill with color will be slow; Gums and tongue become darker in color, Rectal temperature remains > 105° F
• Final Signs – Weak in the hind end and wobbly and unsteady on feet

Dehydration can come from unexpected places as well. Cold temperatures can increase respiratory losses by 10-20 times. With each breath, dogs inhale very dry air, but exhale about 6% water. The air temperature results in a difference of 2-4 quarts of water per day.

A general rule of water consumption: Water consumed per day should = 2.5 – 3 cups per cup of dry dog food consumed. Force-feeding water with dry food is a practice used by many performance handlers to achieve their hydration needs. It’s also important to always use a common source of water. Change of water source is no different than food source and affects the body with variable results.

Hyper-hydration with a good protein and electrolyte supplement prior to exercise is a good practice in managing the levels of body fluids.

Nutrition Program

Dry dog food should be viewed as an essential tool to provide proper growth and development, longevity, healthy, stamina, endurance and recovery during training and conditioning programs. Dog food provides the following nutrients needed to reach the goals listed above:

• Protein – Amino acids to build, repair and replace body proteins
• Carbohydrates – Energy source and body maintenance
• Fats – Energy, coats, structural functions and nervous system
• Vitamins – Growing, reproductive and immune system for all growth and life stages
• Minerals – Micro and macro forms

The term “you are what you eat” also applies to our canine performance animals! Different foods offer proteins from meats vs. grains, differing levels of ingredient digestibility, and different ways of reacting in the body. The feeding management practice we chose to provide can affect the results as much as the quality of food we select.

To maximize the metabolism and body fat composition or muscle structure, a consistent number of feedings per day must be established to help train the body to burn and not store nutrients. Two feedings per day is recommended. Food can be served post exercise with a 4 hour time period before the second feeding. Feeding post exercise – once the body is cooled down and rested – will support rebuilding of muscle tissue used during exercise while offering benefits to recovery. While spreading out the feedings is most beneficial, it is not always available. (For Example: Feeding post exercise and before bed is better than feeding once per day. It is also better than feeding pre exercise (stress stools/dehydration) and again later in the day.)

Dog foods are nothing more than a tool formulated for a large market share of the dog population. Finding the tool that works best with your program will often include supplementation of hydration and recovery products.

Best wishes to a successful season in pleasure, testing or trialing your canine athletes and companion animals.

To learn more about Jason Givens and his training methods, visit www.lighthousekennels.com

Steady or Not?

By Steve Ries

There is a long history of good arguments within all upland hunting breeds whether or not training to steadiness is important to their wild bird hunting situations. Some will argue the importance of being right behind the bird, as the natural survival instinct takes flight and success of one sharp shooter’s skill meet together. Others will argue the safety of their well-trained hunting companion is far more important than the risks of hunting with others in excitable moments during the hunt.

First of all, let’s have a better understanding of what “steady” really means as a training level.

Having a steady dog simply means a dog that will stand still, or sit at the flush, or shot of the game pursued. To pointing breeds, this is usually an inherited trait selected in breeding programs of importance and natural to the breed.

To the retrievers and flushers, steady simply means to sit still on command or cue developed in a training program. This trait is a training command, which is not inherited or natural as their instincts tell them to move the game from its next position.

Steadiness in hunting breeds can be developed with combining natural instincts and artificial situations of birds in launchers or planted birds used to create associations of distractions with commands already in place.

We first must teach a dog to stand still or sit and not move until we invite them to do so. Adding distraction of birds to this training will entice the movement from this command and allow us to train or re-enforce the commands used to steady them back up.

As we build an understanding of each command, we can further our levels of steadiness like a foundation on a building. First, you want a solid foundation to build from and cannot move forward with the rest of the training until we complete each level to support the next.

Steady to flush means a dog will stand still or sit until the bird is moved from its nesting position. The point or sit is released at the flush if this is the level or cue built into your training program and will give chase immediately with the flush.

More hunters are steadying their dogs through the flush until the shot to avoid any risk placed in their hunting companions. These versatile breeds will stay focused on the flight of the bird and released at the shot to narrow the distance from the harvested game and make a complete retrieve.

Regardless of your side of these beliefs, we all enjoy a well-trained hunting companion that will create a safe situation during an intense moment of the hunt.

Be safe and enjoy the great outdoors.

To learn more about Steve Ries and his training methods, visit www.topgungsps.com.