Conference vmsnet::hunting$note:hunting

    I am no expert, but this is what works for me and the lab.
    
    Rule #1, Dog must stay VERY close. If the dog wanders you might as well 
    leave the dog home when Grouse hunting. This applies to the area's I
    hunt in mass anyway. I hunt Very thick cover. My favorite spots are old
    overgrown orchards.
    
    I always have a bell on the dog when upland hunting. For her safety.
    
    I probably put up as many birds as the dog. I keep an eye on the dogs
    tail to see how excited she is. So I do watch the dog and the immediate
    area.
    
    Other than that nothing special. 
    
    Last week I had Sam chase one across my feet. I was stunned to say the
    least, and the bird went on to live another day. That was the first
    time I have seen one run. Is that common? 
    
    Rich

    
    Good job you didn't blow your feet off Rich!!!
    
    Can't contribute to Dogs and Grouse, although I wish I could.
    
    However, grouse running is quite common. In fact, if they are lucky
    enough to make it back to the ground (alive) after a flush, they will
    *usually* run. Ever wonder why you can never find them a second time?
              **For those of us without dogs that is**
    
    						/ Andrew /

    Andrew,
    		Actualy I thought the dog was going to catch it. It was a
    seen to say the least. I was walking through some ferns when this
    occurred. I couldn't understand why she as running full bore at me with 
    her nose to the ground. That was until I saw the grouse run over my
    feet with the dog a foot behind it. Never did flush.

    Rich

    I'm no expert, but I have shot a few grouse over my lab.  As said
    earlier, keep the dog close.  While my lab hunts close enough for
    pheasants, grouse cover is often more open, at least less tall
    grass at ground level.  My lab seems to take this as a signal to
    hunt a little farther away, so I have to keep calling her back.
    
    I've had better luck a little latter in the afternoon.  That way the
    grouse have had a chance to walk around feeding.  That way there is
    more of a ground scent that the dog can work.  When I see her working,
    it gives me more of a chance to get ready for the shot.
    
    You should be able to do pretty well with a flushing dog on grouse.
    
    I read an article by a guy in Maine that said he shoots 20+ grouse
    a season over his lab.  If that is true, I would like to spend a
    day just watching!
    
    Mark,
    

    I spent a dozen seasons with my golden retriever hunting partridge,
    woodcock, and pheasant. I can assure you that a good flushing dog can
    be very effective.
    
    As your other respondents noted, you have to keep the dog close, and
    this can be a chore, especially if the dog is young and has his nose
    full of bird. Second, you have to hunt with him a lot more
    atheletically than you would with say a Brit. That is, let the dog take
    you on the hunt, trust his snout (way better than yours-at least for
    birds, though maybe not for Chanel #5), learn to work with him-ya know,
    get in rythm with him. Let him make some mistakes w/o getting mad at
    him (you'll make more than he will), reward the hell out him for good
    performance, and shot a few rounds of skeet so that you don't
    disappoint him more than you have to. Start your day with your toughest 
    cover and work to more open cover to take some of the pizazz out of him.
    
    And finally, value these moments with him. I shot my first bird over my
    pup when I was 28 and lost him to bad kidneys when I was 42, and that 
    time-I thought it would go on forever-seems as if it were only an 
    instant. He'll teach you more than you'll teach him and like you better 
    than you deserve, and that's the last best deal you're likely to get.
        

               I  narrowed it down to either a GSP or a Britt. I would like
    to hear the pros and cons that others have experienced with both. And
    it is down to one of the two. 
        
                                                         Thanks in advance.