Home Forums Birds & Dogs Upland Game 2018 Upland Hunts

For the grouse opener I am going to spend five days in the BWCA. I was up there this summer and found some sweet areas loaded with great habitat and a lot of drumming going on. My trusty GWP died last spring so I'm dogless for the first time in ages. I've never done a pack in canoe upland hunt and figured this would be a good way to get out hunting without him. I'm really looking forward to it.

We usually leave the weeds in the field.

Hopefully, the "collateral damage" doesn't include any skunks! Nor porcupines if any are found in the areas you hunt.

Sharpness on fur was my main gripe with the versatile breeds, A skunked dog can make for uncomfortable living for quite a while as the skunk essence wears off. Pulling porcupine quills can be hazardous and/or costly if one needs to take the dog to a vet.

Raccoons can be a problem too but I've only had one fracas with them that needed a trip to the vet. A few of the others had the dog put up until the staples came out but that typically was a week to ten days.

A suggestion for a skunked dog if your dog gets skunked. There are a few products that can help lessen the time needed for the odor to go away but tomato juice is most definitely not one of them. Nor is water at first, the hairs of the dog will draw in water and with it some of the essence. That makes for a longer time for the scent to wear off.

The very first step for a skunked dog is to rub the oils off with dry weeds, towels, etc. I go against the grain and lift the hairaway from the skin to lessen areas of contact. I also pat dry as much of the sprayed area as possible. I then apply something to counter act the odor. The best and easiest to acquire product is womens' douche', it seems to be the same thing as the skunk remover washes but at far less money. Thoroughly soak the sprayed area and let sit. Unlike tomato juice and other similar substances, douche' is hyper allergenic and will not cause a rash on the skin of some dogs. I'll repeat the douching several times before rinsing off. Some of the essence will be pulled into the hairs but hopefully so will enough douche' to make the odor bearable. The dog will stink after getting wet but it will go away in time. I give the dog a bath with strongly scented shampoo every couple of days when possible to hasten the odor break down. Even so, it can be several weeks until the dog smells normal.

And pray the dog does not get sprayed in the mouth. The oils are readily absorbed into the mucus membranes and there is no remedy to remove the odor. The odor can linger for months in such cases and your vet may not want to clean teeth in that time! Trial/test judges aren't too happy either though the most junior judge will be the least pleased unless there is an apprentice judge where the other judges will chuckle as the teeth are checked.

With one dog the odds are lessened for a negative contact and with some persuasion against chasing fur the odds can be reduced further still. There will always be chance encounters and times instinct kicks in over training but overall the odds are in your favor on any given day to not meet up with PePe, a quill pig, or other critter that could cause harm.

I am trying similar in October in the Adirondacks, St Regis Canoe area. There are some good log shelters around, many unused I am sure since deer are not open yet. Have never hunted ruffs. I will stay 2 weeks, and also hunt the waterfowl opener for black ducks.

Where do you like to put-in at BWCA?

Have been hunting around 3 days a week, for an hour so each time, because up until now the weather's been pretty warm. Have been finding Hungarian partridge pretty regularly, a big improvement over last year when they were very scarce. This was the first one, taken out of a covey flushed by Lena the Labrador in chest-high cover (to me), not unusual with Huns when the weather's warm. Have gotten some doves as well. Lena has also put up enough pheasants during the outings that it looks OK for them as well, despite last winter's snow and cold. She'll be much happier next week when I can legally shoot those damn roosters.

Headed to Kansas after voting on Tuesday. Stopping in OK to visit friends and then on to KS for a week or two. The pup is 2 this year and hoping for good things out of him. He had a good start last year. Now if we can only find some birds.

NIce pics Pointer. On the wild birds we've been after, when the pup starts getting birdy and working one, I close the distance very quickly. Most are flushing in shotgun range with the exception of CO roosters which love to run about 100 yards and flush. The quail have been holding nicely though. Hoping to pound a few more here soon.

Ran into goat head burs here in CO so bad that I felt guilty for the dog. Kept pulling them off him as we hunted but will mark that spot off moving forward. Found relatively few of those in Nebraska thankfully.

30338, what kind of dog is that. Good looking dog for sure.

Merlot had a breakout day....Bud and I put in 6 hours and Merlot must have put in the equivalent of 10. Something changed and he started going to his Birds head high and minimally fooling around with ground scent. It was a joy to watch. Birds were running strong and some flushed out of range, but a couple of these got up early or came back.

He is beat, tired, muddy and lost some of his hide for the effort. Great day....

Nice work Battue and Merlot! We spent the morning picking briar thorns and a tick or two out of Remi after a couple days chasing quail in NC. She seems to be really getting the hang of wild birds also putting up three covey's in two days along with a few stragglers that tried to hide out at the scene of the crime. Wish I had some Pheasant to chase down here!

Looks awesome. See any grouse?