DD, its a bad year. I have heard better reports on the grouse than I expected and I will be giving them a go here pretty soon. Pheasants are in pockets here and there but widespread disaster is the rule.
Agree totally on poorly trained dogs, no question about that. Dogs can be a handicap. There is no substitute for experience. Most peoples dogs will not do well in an unpicked cornfield or in a strip of cover with hundreds of birds in it. They don't have that experience.
For what it's worth, I would never allow my dog to (or watch anyone else's) circle "100 yards ahead" of me; that is going to accomplish nothing but blowing most all the birds out of a cover. Dogs need to stay close and learn when to apply pressure for the flush. Pups get lots of callbacks in my world. Once pup is 20 yards away, she better be circling back to me.
For what it is also worth, in my opinion any dog is better than no dog when it comes to finding a downed bird. Hunters without dogs will shoot some birds; my experience is that they'll also find fewer of them. A poorly trained dog is generally able to be taken to the spot where the bird was downed and be able to find it, even if he won't bring it to hand. If you have to shoot five a day to put three in your bag, well, you do the math. Days get harder and longer.
