For the grouse opener, an article in the Star Tribune

At four years of age, pointer female Northwoods Prancer is an experienced and fully-trained grouse dog.

For today’s Minneapolis Star Tribune Outdoors section, Jerry and I co-authored a piece, “Young dog’s first grouse season tells tale.” Yesterday was the season opener for ruffed grouse in Minnesota and the northern part of Wisconsin.

The key components of the article were fairly easy for us to put together.

Of all the training levels we offer, Jerry especially likes to work with young dogs, which includes bringing them through their first hunting season. A significant portion of my responsibilities includes rearing and developing puppies. Not only do we both love spending lots of time with young dogs but it’s the best way to evaluate our breeding program.

“The process of developing a puppy into an experienced grouse dog begins with the all-important first season,” we wrote. We then detailed four important considerations “to make the most of this time.”
•    Owner preparedness
•    Exposure to grouse—lots of grouse
•    How to handle in the woods
•    Owner attitude and expectations

Our sincere thanks to Dennis Anderson, Outdoors Columnist and Editor, for offering us the opportunity.