Pheasant in NY with my VH Parker

[Big D]

Looking back, I think that us seasoned citizens would have to conclude that man walks with a heavy foot, and that our game quarry has adapted (I think Mr. Darwin discussed that a while back). Deer are more wary, trout are more selective, pheasants (and grouse) run more. I suspect that Alaska's ruffies are not yet running like their more heavily hunted Southern cousins

[Rod N. Gunn]

My solution to the running bird is a Springer Spaniel. You give up the thrill of walking in on points and the dog doesn't cover as much ground - but - birds don't run far from a good Spaniel. Now I need help with the finicky trout.

[Richard Flanders]

You may be right Kevin. I have never seen ruffies run like these Minn birds were. I've had folks tell me that Alaskan ruffies run from a point but every one I've seen just slowly and continuously walks away and if the dog is well trained, he just lets it happen. You have to get to a pointing dog very quickly if you want a bird anywhere near his nose and not 50yds away. Trigg and I worked out a procedure with his last GSP. He'd point and if it took us a bit to find him I'd move off to the side and haul ass in the direction the dog was indicating to try to cut the bird off while Trigg worked the dog and got him to slowly advance. One time I ran 200yds through thick black spruce forest before finding 2 birds sitting there. I was amazed.

[Dan Romanello]

I am Dan Catalano's nephew Dan Romanello. I saw in someone's posting that they thought my uncle's keenel was closed.

Wanted everyone on this site to know that my uncle is still running a kennel in LaGrangevile, NY and breeding beautiful dogs. He can be reached at 845-223-5542 or by email at bayview56@aol.com.

[Old and Reliable]

I'd like to see more. After all, many of our beloved "Old Reliables" featured in their engraving- mainly pointing breeds I should guess- birds dogs and game birds--Great looking Setter in Sam, and the Springer looks ready to hunt- what is the black boxy thing on his collar? When I had Molly my Setter I used a sleigh bell on her collar when hunting grouse in the thick stuff-on pheasants she was easy to spot, like Sam, mainly white with the Belton ticking pattern in her coat! I used to rub a little Vaseline into her feathers on her ears and tail to allow easier removal of the burrs and seeds..

Just went to my favorite issue of the "Old- GSJ" Upland Birds 1977. Many great bird hunting stories therein, Ed Gray's "Mobius Strip" about the grouse hunter and the Jeep with his two dogs, stopping into a rural Upstate store in early Nov. (Uncle Perk in the Lower 40??) and buying a box of 16 gauge Number 8's- allgreat stuff- but the late "Splendid Splinter" who hit 406 in the year I was born- same year the "Yankee Clipper" hit in 56 consecutive games- wrote about the "Put and take" debacle in his native Mass back then--sad story-somehow quail don't always fly well if pen raised, pheasants can be "iffy" but I'll doff my blaze orange cap to "Sir Ruff"- he will never be a pen raised and stocked for shooting game bird-Thanks be for that!!