Diva is the best hunting dog I’ve owned at her age.  “Of course you’d say that,” you might be thinking.  I might be a braggart but I am not a liar.  While she might be on the independent side and a bit rangy in the fields, in the woods she’s on fire.  She stayed in bell range at all times.  I seldom had to give her any commands.  Diva hunted hard all the time.  And, for the most part, ignored her constant companion, Norman, and hunted independently.

Unfortunately, we only shot one grouse with her assistance, and it wasn’t over a point.  She made game (“got birdy”) and the bird flew.  That was 50% of the birds shot by my crew all week.  We moved about as many birds all week as you’d expect to move in a day during normal conditions and shot two.

It’s really not fair to the dogs to hunt them in those conditions and I hope to improve the situation by next fall.