By Mike Roche

Monday was a day of change for me. It began at 8 a.m. when we pulled into Hedgerow Hunt Club in Royalston. By we, I mean my 2-year-old French Brittany Tessie and her neglectful owner. For a variety of reasons, my responsibilities as the owner of a bird dog had been on pause since the woodcock started to nest in spring. That work was the last running done by both Tessie and her older ‘sister’ Laney. Both dogs came from Sur le Delevan Kennel in Delavan, Illinois, and Laney’s brother is actually Tessie’s father. Laney, at 8, is a dependable bird dog and Tessie is a young dog with great potential.

Like all dogs, they are dependent on their owners to provide training, clear guidance and direction. Last week, my focus turned to getting these two dogs ready, with the priority being the young dog. That resulted in the appointment with Pat Perry, who is a master trainer and really knows how to get the most out of gun dogs of all breeds.

The session began with Pat putting out a chukar to see what Tessie would do after the long lay-off. Chukar or chukar partridge are a bird native to Asia that has established itself is parts of the western United States. It is similar in size to a ruffed grouse and makes a great bird to use in training pointing dogs. Tessie was really good during her initial season and exceeded my expectations for a first-year dog. After training three previous French Brittanys, two of which were used to guide hunters in New York in addition to being my gun dog, the breed has really suited my style of hunting as I try to get in as much upland hunting as possible each fall.

Pointing dog training involves working to get the dog to stop upon scenting a bird and holding steady as the hunter approaches to flush the bird for a shot. Training from that point on can differ, as some prefer to have the dog remain staunch on point when the bird flushes and remain steady when shots are fired, and then retrieve when commanded. Such a dog is said to be “steady to wing and shot.” That is a high level of refinement and takes time and repetitive training.

Because of my belief that in the thick covers where most of my hunting takes place it is easier for a dog to retrieve if they release on the shot, my dogs have not trained to be steady to wing and shot. With Tessie, her natural ability and Pat’s explanation of the pros and cons of steady to wing and shot led me to decide to take her training to the next level. Still a puppy, she did remarkably well in her “rookie” campaign but was not 100%.

Monday she was very slow and deliberate when set out to hunt that first planted chukar but solidly locked up on point. When the bird flushed, she stayed steady and after the shot and fall she remained solid. When sent, she found the bird and retrieved it back to hand. Pretty good after the long layoff. Pat noted that her plodding effort left much to be desired and certainly would not be acceptable in any kind of trial or field test. He next walked in front of her carrying and displaying a second bird and made it obvious that it was out there for her to find. When released, she again pointed solidly but broke on the shot. She returned to her spot-on command and again retrieved, but that was also sub-par.

That led us to a session on the bench with some force retrieve training. We were sent home with homework that involved establishing a pattern of predictable and consistent basic retrieving, starting with holding the training buck or dummy for extended periods. That will be the goal, and daily short training sessions will start the process which will be designed to make weekly progress towards a goal of getting Tessie to a point where she is doing the things she knows how to do consistently, each and every time. It is really more of a test of the trainer than the dog. If the time is invested, the results should be a reliable dog that understands her job and enjoys doing it.

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There was another change Monday when it was decided to head to northern Maine the first week of October to grouse hunt. After 25 years of spending most of each October at On the Wing Grouse Camp, things will be changing. The northern New York camp and the associated several hundred acres of managed grouse and woodcock habitat is being sold and the future is a question mark.

This season will be the same with the Ruffed Grouse and Woodcock Society New York State Hunt taking place the third weekend in October, but after Nov. 1, things will change. Northern Maine has some great grouse hunting, and it can be exceptional when the hatch is good. After traveling to northern Vermont for that state’s upland opener on Sept. 28, the plan is to drive another six hours to northern Maine and spend a few days at a camp and chase grouse and woodcock before heading back to Massachusetts for a brief time to hunt locally before heading to New York for an extended period. That is all that is scripted at this time and my Maine camp roster is still not full but that is a work in progress. Change is good, right?

This may be an example of an old dog trying to learn new tricks.

Mike Roche is a retired teacher who has been involved in conservation and wildlife issues his entire life. He has written the Sportsman’s Corner since 1984 and has served as advisor to the Mahar Fish’N Game Club, counselor and director of the Massachusetts Conservation Camp, former Connecticut Valley District representative on the Massachusetts Fisheries and Wildlife Board, has been a Massachusetts Hunter Education Instructor and is a licensed New York hunting guide. He can be reached at mikeroche3@msn.com.