I'm in Anchorage and am a member of the Alaska-Yukon NAVHDA chapter. We have some incredible upland bird hunting throughout the state. Ptarmigan are a riot with seasons most places in the state starting 8/1 and running through the end of March the following year. The nice thing with winter ptarmigan hunting you really don't have to be concerned about bears as they're denned up. That being said, my dog has never had an issue with bears and I've even trained her to warn me quietly if she thinks a grizzly or moose is nearby. She just comes to heel and gives a low "gruff" looking in the direction she thinks it is until I acknowledge her and tell her to relax. That has come in handy a lot as I tend to fish smaller salmon streams in the middle of the night by myself throughout the summer.
Good luck on the move up! What kind of dog do you have?
