OK maybe this year?

[bullseye]

This starts the 3rd year we are waiting for a pup. Almost had one last year but the eye specialist recommended she not be bred so we passed.

We are now first in line for a female. Breeder has dropped from 2 litters to 1 per year because of the economy.

The female was bred two weekends ago so hopefully this is our year. It took us a long time to find a breeder that I trusted among the field trial people. I am going to stick it out.

If everything goes our way we should be picking up the new pup on Memorial Day weekend.

[nulle]

What breed you getting ?

[jabba]

The BEST breed there is...

ie... (What he already has)



Jabba

[bullseye]

A field bred Springer Spaniel, like Jabba said, a duplicate of what I have. ;D There are show line springers and field line Springers. The only ones in the area that have the blood lines that I am interested in are the field trial breeders. I don't want to train my dog for field trials but that is where I have to get what I want. Their dogs are not cheap but in many instances you get what you pay for too.

[nulle]

Guess being knew on this site I am not aware of what everybody has. Anyway that should work well for you. When I lived in Colorado there was a guy that had Springers and they were fantastic little dogs for land and water.

[bounce]

Just in case it would iterest anyone? Jeff has a male & female GPS and I think this last weekend he likely has let them hook up, if so about 62 days he will have pups to get rid of in about another 8 weeks.

[bullseye]

Don't worry about being new nulle. Some guys change dogs too. Jabba was just having a little fun with you!!! While our Panda loves the water, Springers don't have the cold water coat that dogs like labs do. So in our neck of the woods Springers are pretty much upland bird dogs. While most use theirs for pheasants, Panda is primarily ruffed grouse/woodcock with maybe only one pheasant outing a year.

When looking for a breeder a couple years ago I visited one that had no clue what a grouse woods looked like. When watching how Panda worked he did not take into account that she was trained for grouse and not pheasants. She was supposed to work like his field trial dogs and dogs trained to pheasants. Panda was trained by me to work the way I hunt period. I want her to stay close, use her nose to find birds, and most times I can't even see her. The thing I key on is the sound of a flushing grouse. After spending 4 hours with him I realized that his main goal was to sell me a pup that I would pay him to train! I didn't want a field trial trained dog. I finally found a breeder that thinks the way I do, that doesn't have a whole lot of repect for the other guy and was interested in selling me a pup not training her.
She also lives in the grouse country part of the state!!!

[jabba]

I was TRYING to have fun with Bullseye, not you Nulle. I remember you from the other site. I am a GSP guy. I get both of mine from a breeded in Michigan that breeds for close working GSP's, with the ability to NAVHDA. Mine LOVE the water, and will do water retrieves. Although I don't use them for that as they don't handle the cold very well.

Jabba

[bullseye]

I remember you also as a GSP guy. See in the end I had fun with you!!! I remember the one you lost too. It is good that you have had better luck with the 2 you have now. The coats of Springers and GSPs are very similar with no real warming undercoat. Panda will hit the water every chance she gets but she is also not a cold water dog. So far I have had only one water retrieve of a woodcock and she didn't hesitate to go in after it. Another excuse to swim. When hunting on warm days I take every advantage to go near a lake or creek to cool her off if one is available.

It sounds like you have found a breeder you feel comfortable with too.

I did have to look up NAVHDA. I see it is targeting pointers. So my springer wouldn't pass any of their tests and is not even a recognized breed by them!!!

For the way I hunt and where I hunt I will take my flusher over a pointer every time. Good thing that there are different breeds of dogs so we can each get one that fits us.

[jabba]

Yeah... our grouse woods have gone to hell. There are a few around still, but the IDNR is on a push to re-establish their habitat. Which I have been pushing for for a long time, as I think it helps the other critters too.

I'd like a springer too I think... for some things... but I HATE long haired dogs. I like the GSP's because their hair is so much shorter, and less annoying in the house. My dogs are 99% pets, and only 1% hunting dogs. I hunt with them... but most of their time is spent laying around the house.

I have never killed a grouse with mine... but I am SURE we've been close a few times. I have killed woodcocks, and some wild pheasants. And loads of put and take birds. Mine will swim at any opportunity too. Often just for the thrill of it. I usually have to call him out of a pond in the summer.

Jabba

[nulle]

We have hunted upland birds all my life but in my neck of the woods (State) I have only seen one woodcock in my life. I wouldn't have a clue how to hunt, find or shoot those littel buggers but I bet it is a challange to say the least.

[bullseye]

We have a local population and northern flights that come down usually in early October. Season starts late September, a week after grouse, so local bird are gone shortly after that.

Their flush starts out very erratic and are difficult to hit. Deputy Don should have some comments about that. When I hunted with him I think he shot at least a dozen times before finally hitting one. The one he did get though was a straight away shot down the trail!!!

[Jack]

Woodcock, with that long bill, eat worms, so look for them on soft ground. Here in the east, we find them along stream beds, which are usually choked with alders. I believe an eastern alder is different than the western tree. Our alder trees grow to about 30 feet max, and never branch out much- they're more like a big weed. They like soft ground, and grow every which way, and thickly. So, you find woodcock in real thick tangles.
They are migratory- they can't feed when the ground freezes, so they come through our area in late September/early October. It's very boom or bust- if you hit the right day, you might see 50, 2 days later, you'll see 3. Two days after that, they may be all gone.
BTW, I believe you need a Federal migratory bird stamp to hunt them, as well as your state license.

[jimiowa]

Like Nulle, I live in a part of Iowa where we hut all upland.
There are Grouse in NE Iowa but I have never hunted them.
As a kid I had hunting Beagles, and the only " bird dog" owned was a Brittney Spaniel. If I ever get retired and have time to work a dog I would get another. At one time I worked with 4 guys who bred Brittanies.

[bullseye]

Jack, a federal migratory bird stamp is not required in WI to hunt woodcock. I would imagine it is the same across the US. That is not something they have done.....yet. While soft ground is the key, there are times when the northern flocks come that that is not a requirement. The local birds are soft ground but the northern flocks fly at night. You are right that they can be all over one day and gone the next. During migration they only spend one day in an area before heading south at last light of the day.

Jim, I decided if I was going to buy a dog I was going to commit 30-45 minutes a day working with it.....every day. While when out of town this is not possible for me, the wife does a shorter period daily. Panda lives to retrieve so it is easy to give her a workout. I think these two times of the day are what she looks forward to the most. I work with her the last thing before I leave for work and the first thing when I get home. She doesn't let me forget it either.