Phoebe's first grouse

above: cancer dogge Katie
below: partridge following Phoebe

Got out with the new pup tonight to take her for a test drive. We've been around the Potomac Loop trail once or twice to stretch our legs. Tonight it was out for the real thing: grouse.

The weather was a typical 60 deg F August afternoon. (yeah right) (but we sure are enjoying our early fall this summer.) I wore my green khakis, Lacross mud boots, and a yellow t-shirt. Phoebe was sporting an attractive red puppy collar.

We were on the trail and in the woods by 7pm. She got her first taste of a muddy woods road; then we ventured into a favorite patch of thick stuff that most of you have seen at one time or another. Phoebe was seeing it for the first time.

We flushed a grouse at approximately 7:15 pm. We went over to where it had been, found a grouse feather (lucky!), and then moved on.

We flushed a second grouse about ten minutes later. This time, she started putting her nose to the ground and, although I may be imagining it, started using her nose to sniff out ground scent.

We spent a bit of time going over the area--scenting conditions were great, light breeze, damp ground, and she really seemed gradually to be hunting for scent. It was fun to watch.

We never put up another bird, but she went from being a dorky puppy to a grouse-dogge-in-training all in one evening. Pretty fun stuff.

all in a day's work