Training a lab for grouse?

[redhooks]

I've heard that sometimes grouse will flush way ahead of a dog and it may be better to just leave the dog at home. We just got a lab pup and are moving up to the northshore so I know I want to hunt w/ the dog and am wondering if it would be better to train her to flush or be a nonslip retriever? Ant tips in training for grouse in thick cover? Thanks,

redhooks

[jbdragon17]

Yes.. Get a setter .

[gspman]

Just train the dog to stay very close while hunting and I think you'll have a good time with it. You could try to train it to point as well. If it doesn't work out you can keep it at heel the whole time which might be a chore and kind of defeats the purpose of having a hunting dog. The other option is to get a pointing dog from proven grouse lines.

[ewirz]

I hunt the north shore area quite a bit with a lab. Depends a little on how much pressure an area gets but work on keeping him/her within 15-20 yards and you should be ok.

[jbdragon17]

Im just busting your chops...But I would also think a lab would be ok if you can keep it close!!

[Johnny_Namakan]

I agree with ewirz. It depends on the pressure of an area. In the Fall, I hunt the snowmobile trails by Laurentian Divide everyday after work. You can't get within 100 yards of those birds before they flush. Then on the weekends I hunt up at the shack near Orr, and there you could almost step on them before they'll get up. So I think the Lab isn't the issue. I have a yellow lab myself, she works 20-30 yards in front of me. She's more or less just my hunting buddy. If she flushes one, great. If not, she's more or less my retriever. I've knocked down birds that I would have never found in the brush had she not sniffed it out under a log. So it depends on what you want your dog to be. People tend to forget that a retriever is what they are. Don't get me wrong, they are much more than that, but when it comes down to the basics, they are a retrieving dog. Great noses, great swimming ability, and have incredible stamina. What I like to do with her is walk the trails and look for them on the trail. They'll take off into the woods (running or flying) when we approach. That's when the hunt starts. I let her take me to where the bird went. We'll kick that same bird up 4 or 5 times before I get it (or not). It's fun for her and me.

[monstermoose78]

i alway have the grouse jump up into the nearest tree and sit there just out of the reach of the dog and then head shots are easy.