First Season - Young Dog

[Gonewest]

Last summer I got my first bird dog. He’s a Drahthaar and we’ve been training a lot for his spring test. I live in SW Michigan and don’t have a ton of wild birds around me. I’d like to plan a road trip in September and was wondering what would be some good options for a young dog to get some good exposure.

 

[OneGunTex]

I drove all the way to S Dakota from TX with my springer just to get him on wild pheasants for a weekend (Oct). Was a great time. We both learned a lot. A lot shorter of a drive for you.

 

[Ironmerganser]

Southern NE and KS for quail
SD/ND for just pheasants, sharptails and partridge.

Remember.....spring test is just about natural ability. General obedience, getting exposure to the world in general and getting them on rabbit tracks is more important (IMO) than wild birds for that first test.

 

[30338]

If I was road tripping a young draht in Sept I have two things I would do. First would be to get him through rattlesnake avoidance training(or I would not go). Second would be to be very cautious about hunting in temps over 60 as both of mine do not handle heat well. Get cold weather in October and I'd hunt him a lot through January.

 

[huntineveryday]

I would get your dates set, but leave the destination flexible at this point. By the end of August you will be able to look through spring and summer weather conditions and see some bird counts and forecasts. At that point I'd pick the area that seems to have had 1) good or increasing bird numbers for the last season, and 2) good nesting and brood rearing conditions over this summer.

In September, if grouse numbers are good you could do prairie chicken/sharptail trip to the sandhills region of Nebraska. In early September, the chance to hit early teal season would add ducks to the list, with grouse hunts until noon and then evening duck hunts around the Valentine Refuge lakes.

 

[17Hunter]

There are plenty of wild birds 3-4 hours north of you in your home state.

 

[BigDuckHunter]

Last summer I got my first bird dog. He’s a Drahthaar and we’ve been training a lot for his spring test. I live in SW Michigan and don’t have a ton of wild birds around me. I’d like to plan a road trip in September and was wondering what would be some good options for a young dog to get some good exposure.

Not sure how much experience he has with hunting but I like to do a couple of hunts with farm birds first. One where it’s real short and easy and we hit our limit within 30 minutes. Another where it’s a little harder, the another that’s more like a real hunt, but I know there’s some birds for him to find. It helps them know what they’re looking for when it comes to wild birds.

As far as places to find wild birds, I live in mid-Michigan and know of a few kind of unorthodox places around that hold birds. Feel free to PM if you want.

 

[chemist]

I am going to be that guy. What is the driver for September and how many trips will you be able to take with him in the fall?

If you are limited to a single trip in the fall, wait until temperatures decrease so you can hunt your dog for a greater portion of the day. The cooler temps will also help the dog learn faster. Running over birds before the dog can smell them doesn't help them learn.

Also, realize two things:
1: There is a reason people own multiple dogs and rotate them on long trips.
2: The physical conditioning of your dog before the trip will make a huge difference in its lasting power on the trip. That said, your dog sounds young so you do not want to overstress their body this summer in preparation.