The other day our parakeet got out of it's cage and we couldn't find it anywhere. So I got my Am. water spanial( the nose with a dog attached) and let her in the house with the "find the bird" command. She found the bird in less than two minutes....good dog. Great off season training.pak

Did you then practice your "Fetch" command? I'll bet little tweeky didn't like that!

Boise, while my dog is not hard mouthed she doesn't bring back live birds. I had her sit and I picked up the tweety. This dog while I don't consider her particulary smart the girl can hunt. Spots birds in trees even. She is about the sweetest dog I've been around.pak

pak - Hope my attempt at humor wasn't offensive. Guess I watched too many cartons as a child. All that came to mind was Tweedy bird getting carried around in your pups mouth and saying, "I thought I saw a puddy tat?" <P>I can relate your intelligence comment, my GWP is not the brightest but is a true joy to hunt over. Off season training is tough here in Boise, Idaho because all of the deer and elk are on the winter range and everything else is covered with snow. She is very good about not chasing deer but if they jump up with in a few yards she chases for a short distance. <P>I've taken to carrying a Model 7 in .243 for coyotes but have yet to shoot one with the dog along. It will be interesting to see how she reacts to a "trained" coyote. She has pointed one before but it was out of range for the scatter gun. <P>I'm always looking for training ideas if your willing to share. Boise

Boise, I do not know much about pointers although I have hunted ptarmigan over english setters once. Pointers sure work hard. I've owned chesapeaks and water spanials. Spanials work harder than retrievers, on upland birds, and pointers work harder than spanials. Last fall I had the occasion to hunt chuckers over a GSP, in Nevada. I like bird hunting the most and I hunt ptarmigan most often...great fun.pak

The Idaho chukar season closes Jan. 15 but Nevada's runs until the end of the month. I'm already planning on heading across the boarder next year in order to extend my season. $15 the first day and $5 for each day after makes the opportunity affordable.<P>Ptarmigan is a bird I have never hunted but understand they hold well to point. How many do you see in a day of hunting? Are they good to eat? <P>BTW, a hunting partner runs a pair of Springer Spaniels. They are a joy to watch but I remain partial to my GWP and feel strongly that she out hunts them and out retrieves them. Of course she is my dog and I think all dog owners feel their dog is the best!

Ptarmigan are very cyclic and the population can vary a lot from place to place. Close to towns where there are a lot of snow machines you usually don't see too many. In the fly in areas you can see hundreds and maybe more. These birds baffle me with their behavior. Sometimes you can walk right up on them, within a few feet, and other times you can't get within 100 yards. As a result I take a .22 and my double 20ga. In the winter it is too tough to take dogs and you are hunting on snowshoes. Fall time is birddog heaven. Sometimes you can work your ass off and get zip, but it is fun all the same. Yes they are good to eat.pak