In mid October of 2018 I got to spend a weekend in the U.P. hunting grouse and woodcock with Smudge, his buddy Dale Ash, and Dale's brother Les. I also was fortunate to see two young dogs out of Smudge: Dale's 6 month old female Patty and year and a half old Rusty who belonged to Les.
Smudge did his thing and got multiple grouse and woodcock finds. He is an amazing wild bird dog. He just knows where to find grouse and how to handle them.
But what really warmed my heart was seeing the two young bird finders allowing their inbred talent to show on grouse and woodcock. Patty is a pretty white and orange Smudge daughter with a facial marking like her dad (I told Dale he should have named her Smudgette). She was amazing for a 6 month old baby. She was fancy, well mannered, and seemed to always pattern to the front. And she could find birds! Every time she hit the ground she had productive points.
The last time we had her on the ground she had a long stretch with no bird contact and we were afraid her streak would end. Just about that time she pushed out on an independent cast over a hundred yards to the front and went on point. Dale and I rushed to her and after a whirlwind 10 minutes we had one woodcock in the bag and 3 more pointed that didn't give us shots. This little girl sure seems like she's going to be some kind of cover dog.
Rusty, Patty's half-brother from Smudge and a different dam, put on awesome performances every time down. I don't want to jinx Les, but Rusty was extremely biddable all the time. While he hunted independently, the connection he showed with Les was impressive for a dog of that young age. I love my bird dogs to want to please and Rusty showed that. He also showed he could find birds. Every time we had him out he found woodcock AND grouse. Every. Time.
The find that sticks in my mind the most came only minutes after we'd turned Rusty loose one morning. We were literally within 50 yards of the truck when Rusty's bell went silent. He had dropped off the edge of the road into a thicket of mixed types of trees that bordered a marshy area. We located him quickly and as the three of us tried to get close a gorgeous red phase grouse rocketed out. None of us had a shot. We started lamenting our inability to knock the bird down for the young Setter. Rusty had held firm through the explosive flush, which impressed us all as well. Les started to get close to Rusty in order to release him, and a woodcock flushed from within a few yards or where the grouse had been. Les was able to stop the timber doodle's escape and reward Rusty for his diligence and manners.
I was so happy to be able to hunt over Smudge again. And I was just as glad to see that he is passing along both his bird finding abilities and biddability.
Big thanks to Dale and Les for taking me along and showing me these promising Smudge puppies.
If you'd be interested in getting a pup out of Smudge or any of our dogs, give me a shout.
