Home Forums Birds & Dogs Hunting Dogs Meet and greet Merlow the new English Cocker

He and Toby will be on the way to Mich tomorrow for a Grouse/Woodcock training camp.

FBEC have a reputation for having a mischievous/independent nature and two of the three I've had fit the definition.
To paraphrase a quote from Keith Erlandson: "When the devil comes to earth to do a little gunning, he brings with him two jet black cockers with burning coals for eyes." He also said something along the line of, "They will pick your pocket while smiling into your face."

Toby on the other hand was the easiest Dog to train. A little repetition along with a raised voice when needed and it was pretty much over. He is a big boned/heavily muscled Cocker and can take some serious cold. Merlot, while being insane fast, has a thin coat and looks like he will be much leaner. I'm not yet sure how he will handle cold.

Hey Battue,

You can get a neoprene vest for an English Cocker, if you didn't know.

You boys have a great hunt. I lived in Michigan in the late 80s, and back then, the northern part of the state was covered up with Grouse and Woodcock. I hope it still is. Let us know how you do.

Have considered that. Will see just how much he fills out and decide.

Not sure if they are still covered up, but last year they were into enough to make it worthwhile. One guy backed out, so it's just the two of us and 7 Dogs. Should be interesting if nothing else. 😀

Bags are packed, camera is charged, will see what the week brings. Doubt if we will have reliable internet service, so don't hold your breath. 👍

Hey battue,

Great Minds run along the very same tracks.

My longtime bird hunting partner and I, along with our respective War Departments, are leaving for 'da UP @ 0 Dark Thirty next Tuesday morning. It will be a little bird hunting/ color tours/antiquing/ restaurant visiting vacation for us. We are both firmly in the seasoned citizen camp nowadays, so probably won't be hunting 10 hrs a day. Dog power will be provided by my brace of FBECS, Scout and Rocky, nine and ten YO nowadays.

There is a Spaniel Camp ongoing right now in 'da Western UP. Reliable reports from the field are that "wc are down a little, and grouse about the same" as last year. We are right at the bottom of the grouse cycle. The weather here in Michigan was horrible, which is to say very rainy and cold, during the grouse hatching time frame this spring. Leaf fall is two + weeks late this year. Sorry. OTOH, the long term weather projections for next week, look excellent for bird hunting.

LUV the quotes from Keith Erlandson. Here's another one: "You can tell a Springer what to do, but you have to ask a Cocker." You definately need a good sense of humor if you are owned by a hunting Cocker.

Good Luck in Michigan. I will file a report if anything exciting happens this time around.

NB

Nat, you put a curse on me.

Final loading up of the truck and I let him out. Up until now Deer were something to bark at. Not this AM, one look and he took off. Found him in 30minutes or so on his way back out of the wood. Covered in briers, soaking wet and I think kinda glad to see me. Either that or there is a dead Deer down there.

Something else I have to work on.

Sorry, sorry, so sorry............ Geeeeze........

GLAD you got the little bugger back from his morning run unscathed. As you know, no doubt, field Cockers are uuummmmmm......... "impulsive." Ya' need a real good sense of humor.

Hope all else goes swimmingly. SAFE TRAVELS to Meeeechigan.

NB

The Michigan trip is history and a pretty fine week it was.

Hot the first two days, but each day produced 30plus Woodcock flushes and points along with a few Grouse. Third night a cold front moved in and the Woodcock with it, which gave way to a 50plus count. Next day they were still there and again 40plus. Stayed cool and some of the Birds headed south on Thursday, but still good for 30plus. Friday was a repeat, but with high winds that made hearing Birds difficult and with the thick cover you would often only have a quick glimpse and they were gone. Actually most times that was all you got. Saturday was a half days hunt before heading home and still produced 20 plus Woodcock along with 10 Grouse flushes.

Altogether over 200 Woodcock flushes and around 15 for Grouse. As mentioned it was a training hunt for the Dogs so we didn't shoot all that much. Planned on shooting a bunch on Friday, but the high winds made hearing them get up difficult and you would most times see them too late to get on target.

Merlot got a lot of work and switched off between covers with Toby. He ran out of gas on Wednesday and had a day off Thursday, but was back on for Friday and Saturday.

Some highlights:

Arrived late on Saturday night and spent the night in the truck at this location off the beaten path. It was a long cramped night. The morning chain gang.



Toby and Merlot casing the joint.



An inside look.

To prove we did actually do some shooting. Merlot's first Woodcock and moving out of the minors; his first Grouse.
Found them and made a couple short retrieves.





Another Woodcock he worked on Friday.



Ran into this girl and pretty nice Bull with a bunch of other ladies he was herding around with a lot of bellowing.



A really great week that seemed to go by much too fast.

Sound advice.

A few posts up I see you said you now feed him before hunting.

Please don't take this the wrong way, but I thought you weren't supposed to feed them right before hunting/running them. Simply asking because this was what I was taught and have read elsewhere. Has the flipped/inverted stomach thing been debunked?

Congratulations on the grouse; never a bad day afield with dog and bird in hand.

Will have to let one of the Vets comment on the inverted stomach problem. When hunting I definitely give them a good feed in the evening. As far as the morning goes I give them a little. I know I do better if I have something to eat before going out. I also give them a little something during the middle of the day.

Both Dogs were burning up the calories during the hunt. Toby just bulls his way thru the cover. "Hey that looks like a place a Bird should be. Let's crash his party." The little guy is quick and fast, but squirms his way over, under and around.

Would be interested in any Vets knowledge on feeding.

battue, just caught up on this thread.. Great photos from your Mich. trip. Looks like the 28 got some use!!
Did you go to the UP? My wife is from the straits area, but south of the bridge.. I have hunted grouse there a bit.. As I get older I like hunting the prairies more than heavy cover.. Looks like you have an awesome brace of pals there.. Have a good fall.. Things should just be kicking of in Pa. We are plotting a little trip to Idaho for birds.. Just to see what we can find.. Will miss some elk season, but birds and dogs are 10 times more fun than elk..
Plus We still have elk and moose from last fall.. Looking forward to more stories and pics.. Have a good one..

Hazen,

First off, congrats on the new pup. Wishing the two of you the best of times together along with good luck in Idaho.

No, we were in the LP around Atlanta and while it is flat it certainly is thick. We had more than a little wind for all days but two and the Dogs would either flush or point birds and you couldn't hear them all that often. Many came out of your peripheral and were gone.

I did use the Model 12 16Ga on the Grouse, but the Ithaca 37 28Ga is so much quicker in the thick.

A little gear review. To the consternation of the Cabela's Mendel haters I picked up a pair of their Ultralight hunting boots. Wore them for 6 days straight and they may be the most comfortable upland/early season Deer boot I've ever had. Best buy a second pair before they are discontinued. As you know that country is wet and they sucked it up for the entire trip, but none made it inside.



Second would be a "Mud River" handlers bag. Guy I went with not only hunts but is a serious field trailer and had one. You can get a considerable amount of gear in this bag and it has a lot of side pockets. Nice to have and keep in the truck to keep a lot of things in one place. Right now it is filled with light rain gear, extra socks, electronic collars, 2 boxes of shells, extra shirt, alcohol wipes, extra gloves, flashlight, batteries and there is room for more along with empty pockets for more.

They make quality gear. I have one of their back seat blankets that hang from the headrests for the Dogs. It has taken a beating and is none the worse.



Had a coupon for the boots and they gave me another that I used on the bag.

Please keep us up to date on your hunts.

Thanks will do.. I believe you mentioned Atlanta before now that I think of it..

Looks like some good gear there.. Good stuff that suits ones needs is tough to find, and as you say they will quit making it almost immediately..

I have been packing my 28 for a bit, but no shots so far..

Have a good one...

Yeah Battue, I always load them up with calories day before I will be Hu ting. I read from a gun writer article years ago in either field and stream or outdoor life can't remember and it was the samething I heard from an old timer from my neck of the woods.

I too would like to hear a vets take on it. Hell, I'll have my wife call ours from back home in Pa. Tomorrow. I would like to hear from other vets as well. More input the better

All this talk about 28 and I might have to take the plunge. I've been kicking the idea around between these ears for awhile now. I love the veloce for ruffs though.

On Grouse and Woodcock the 28 seems to work as well as the larger choices. Have also used it on stocked Pheasants and again it does fine. Never had the opportunity to use it on wild birds.

battue,

so nice to see you, Toby, and Merlot are off to a wonderful season in the woods.

Thanks for keeping us up to date.

Geno

Battue, my wife basically told me to pound salt in a not so direct kinda way. Told me to call her and I was swamped all day at work and will be all week. Maybe somebody in the know will comment here.

Today:

Started off with going out for an afternoon hunt. Half way down the steps the little guy ran between my feet with the expected result. Got the hands out and did an off kilter front roll. Wonderful eh. Only smiling because everything was intact at the bottom. Knee took a thump, but it should be all right.

Then hunted 3 hours without a flush. No so wonderful. But eh, all arrived home intact. Could have been better or it could have been worse. Good day I'm thinking.

Looked around and found this.

http://www.gundogsonline.com/Article/feeding-the-hardworking-hunting-dog-Page1.htm

Better luck next hunt!