grouse dogs

Post Reply
User avatar
jeffkrop
Rank: Senior Hunter
Posts: 109
Joined: Sun Feb 03, 2013 12:04 pm
Location: St. Louis Park MN

grouse dogs

Post by jeffkrop » Tue Nov 12, 2013 4:53 am

So what makes a dog have grouse dog lines? Can a brittany have grouse dog lines and does anyone breed them?
My britt is going to northwoods kennel to be trained by Jerry Kolter in June.
Ive been looking at his setters and thinking about getting in on a breeding for next your.
But I need more info about grouse dogs and what the makes them better.

http://northwoodsbirddogs.com/puppies/puppies-for-sale/
http://northwoodsbirddogs.com/wp-conten ... e_gert.pdf

User avatar
Ruffshooter
GDF Junkie
Posts: 2946
Joined: Sun May 21, 2006 7:28 pm
Location: Maine

Re: grouse dogs

Post by Ruffshooter » Tue Nov 12, 2013 6:58 am

Any breed can be a great grouse dog. It is mostly about, caution, intelligence and an honest dog with a good nose. Helps a lot if they can follow a track. Experience on the Ruff is the key like anything.
I like my dogs broke to wing, shot and till I send for the retrieve. When you do this the dog is more focused and more in control of its thoughts or instincts if you will. IM0 I have never lost a Ruff that I shot with dogs that are fully finished. I have lost birds to dogs that broke at the flush, and that really PO's me. So I never do that if my mind is right.

I run French Britts and have two GSPs, have had American Britts in the past and my great uncle was an avid AB guy, he grouse hunted a lot.
I have found the French Britts I have, take to Ruff hunting faster than the other dogs I have had. Now, 3 to five years down the road the GSPs, and French britts are about equal, although, I have seen the FB more sneaky than the GSPs. The GSPs I have run harder and so their learning curve is a little steeper. My EB have a good pace and seem to go through the woods with less effort and less injuries. When the GSP and the EB are on their game and you hunt them together, it is really fun to watch and be a part of.

Bottom line: Brittanies are great grouse dogs.

User avatar
gotpointers
Rank: 5X Champion
Posts: 995
Joined: Thu Apr 29, 2010 2:27 am
Location: Belen,Nm

Re: grouse dogs

Post by gotpointers » Tue Nov 12, 2013 8:11 am

I have Setters out of Grouse woods lineage. They do great in the desert but I won't tell them they're not supposed to be here.

rinker
Rank: 4X Champion
Posts: 666
Joined: Wed Nov 16, 2011 9:01 am

Re: grouse dogs

Post by rinker » Tue Nov 12, 2013 8:32 am

[*So what makes a dog have grouse dog lines?]

You will get different answers to this question from different people. My answer would be that a dog from 'grouse dog lines' is one whose mother/father, grandmother/grandfather etc... competed in grouse field trials and were successful. I am not an expert on this but in grouse bred setters you will usually see slightly smaller, shorter coupled dogs that are very animated running.

User avatar
Luminary Setters
Rank: Senior Hunter
Posts: 168
Joined: Sat Jan 07, 2006 7:41 am
Location: Spring City, Tennessee

grouse dogs

Post by Luminary Setters » Tue Nov 12, 2013 8:37 am

Jerry should be at the top of the list for anyone looking for a performance grouse dog. He has a successful breeding program and a trial record to back it up.

I was fortunate enough to see several of Jerry's dogs at the 2012 Wisconsin grouse championship. You won't go wrong sending your dog to him for training, and the same goes for a pup from his breeding progr.

User avatar
gotpointers
Rank: 5X Champion
Posts: 995
Joined: Thu Apr 29, 2010 2:27 am
Location: Belen,Nm

Re: grouse dogs

Post by gotpointers » Tue Nov 12, 2013 9:14 am

rinker wrote:[*So what makes a dog have grouse dog lines?]

You will get different answers to this question from different people. My answer would be that a dog from 'grouse dog lines' is one whose mother/father, grandmother/grandfather etc... competed in grouse field trials and were successful. I am not an expert on this but in grouse bred setters you will usually see slightly smaller, shorter coupled dogs that are very animated running.
I think you described my girls perfectly as far as run and build. Little firecrackers are how I see them. I haven't dug too far into their parents but I know I like the girls I have here;

Two sisters out of CH Grid Iron and Black Dymond Izzy. Izzy is a daughter of fireside dymond cutter and mesqite ridge fancy.
A Crackling Tailspeed and Grouse Ridge Sage daughter

bear57
Rank: Just A Pup
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon Sep 30, 2013 11:58 am

Re: grouse dogs

Post by bear57 » Tue Nov 12, 2013 12:18 pm

I found hunting grouse with buddies brittany was the difference in the way grouse act. The Brittany spent most of his time hunting pheasants then twice a year we trek up to wisconsin to hunt grouse. A lot of pheasants especially hens allow a dog to crowd them, crowding grouse results in birds long gone!! If his Brittany spent more time in grouse woods he'd learn how to handle those bird with enough expossure as will any good dog I believe. I guess the short of my answer would be lots of expossure on grouse makes a good grouse dog. My HO based on my hunts!!

User avatar
Grange
Rank: 5X Champion
Posts: 1003
Joined: Fri Mar 30, 2007 5:24 pm
Location: Green Bay, WI

Re: grouse dogs

Post by Grange » Tue Nov 12, 2013 2:38 pm

jeffkrop wrote:So what makes a dog have grouse dog lines? Can a brittany have grouse dog lines and does anyone breed them?
My britt is going to northwoods kennel to be trained by Jerry Kolter in June.
Ive been looking at his setters and thinking about getting in on a breeding for next your.
But I need more info about grouse dogs and what the makes them better.

http://northwoodsbirddogs.com/puppies/puppies-for-sale/
http://northwoodsbirddogs.com/wp-conten ... e_gert.pdf
It depends on what a person considers a grouse dog line. When I think of a grouse dog line I think of dog lines that compete in cover dog trials (grouse and woodcock trials). There are brittany breeders out there that look for dogs that are good grouse hunting dogs and/or compete in cover dog trials. My parents are this type of breeder, but the bloodlines their dogs come from are not normally considered cover dog brittanies. They really like competing in cover dog trials and one of their dogs won it's first AF Championship in the grouse woods this fall. If you consider a grouse dog line to be several generations of dogs that have competed in cover dog trials then I would guess there are some brittany breeders that do that as well.

My english setter comes from what I consider grouse dog lines. Both sides have several generations of dogs that have competed very sucessfully in cover dog trials. Personally I've seen some dogs compete in cover dog trials that come from horseback shooting dogs and even All Age dogs that could compete with dogs from grouse dog lines.

I doubt you'll go wrong with sending your brittany to Jerry Kolter. He has some really nice grouse dogs. I've watched several of them and judged some more in cover dog trials. They were really fun dogs to watch. Jerry's been braced with my father's brittanies at a couple trials in WI so he may remember them.

User avatar
jeffkrop
Rank: Senior Hunter
Posts: 109
Joined: Sun Feb 03, 2013 12:04 pm
Location: St. Louis Park MN

Re: grouse dogs

Post by jeffkrop » Tue Nov 12, 2013 4:39 pm

Grange wrote:
jeffkrop wrote:I doubt you'll go wrong with sending your brittany to Jerry Kolter. He has some really nice grouse dogs. I've watched several of them and judged some more in cover dog trials. They were really fun dogs to watch. Jerry's been braced with my father's brittanies at a couple trials in WI so he may remember them.
So does your father have any litters coming next year? Im looking for a 2nd dog but and was thinking about getting a setter from Jerry but I would love to see what else is out there. And a good britt always.

User avatar
Grange
Rank: 5X Champion
Posts: 1003
Joined: Fri Mar 30, 2007 5:24 pm
Location: Green Bay, WI

Re: grouse dogs

Post by Grange » Tue Nov 12, 2013 5:29 pm

jeffkrop wrote:
Grange wrote:
jeffkrop wrote:I doubt you'll go wrong with sending your brittany to Jerry Kolter. He has some really nice grouse dogs. I've watched several of them and judged some more in cover dog trials. They were really fun dogs to watch. Jerry's been braced with my father's brittanies at a couple trials in WI so he may remember them.
So does your father have any litters coming next year? Im looking for a 2nd dog but and was thinking about getting a setter from Jerry but I would love to see what else is out there. And a good britt always.
I'm not sure. I know they are thinking about breeding the dam of the brittany that won the Grouse Championship. The one that won the Grouse Championship was already bred this year so she'll probably not be bred next year. You could check their website and give them a call.

https://jdshawksbrittanies.com/

User avatar
jeffkrop
Rank: Senior Hunter
Posts: 109
Joined: Sun Feb 03, 2013 12:04 pm
Location: St. Louis Park MN

Re: grouse dogs

Post by jeffkrop » Wed Nov 13, 2013 8:03 pm

Luminary Setters wrote:Jerry should be at the top of the list for anyone looking for a performance grouse dog. He has a successful breeding program and a trial record to back it up.

I was fortunate enough to see several of Jerry's dogs at the 2012 Wisconsin grouse championship. You won't go wrong sending your dog to him for training, and the same goes for a pup from his breeding progr.
So spending time looking for a pup and Jerry have the best website out there planed breeding for 2014 already makes planing much nicer. When it comes to $1100 dogs I need some time to save for that.

Post Reply