Runners!

Short on details at the moment, more updates later. But just returned from a few weeks in WI, MN and PA and the name of the game was runners! I don’t remember so many grouse on the run as we saw in front of the dogs, mine and others. Even had woodcock on the run, one in particular I saw running before chasing it up. The dogs did an excellent job even with the running birds handling and pointing birds all the way through in each state. I think the record runner was a grouse that ran on Lacey what seemed like a 100 yards even in thick WI cover (she ended up bumping it but it was my fault, I didn’t believe her after about the 5th relocation!). And I had a brood of grouse in one cover I worked for two days that ran like rats, they were unbelievable. Not sure if this is a sign of older birds (and a bad sign indicating a low hatch) or what but it was interesting. The PA birds were awfully touchy and had to be pointed from a distance, but not sure they were quite classable as runners. So far this year in working dogs in PA, NY, WI and MN it looks like we are averaging about 4-5 birds/hr over the dogs with both grouse and woodcock counted and they have been handling the birds flawlessly. It's been a great year. I'll look at numbers later.

Also, congrats to Mike Reeves in GA and ‘Chip’ Chiappini on winning the Wolverine Derby Classic with their Torq-Lacey male pup called Charlie with three broke finds on grouse and woodcock!