Cove Mountain Kennels

This weekend I got out to do some pre-season scouting for the upcoming blue grouse season in Central Utah. I was encouraged by what I saw. I found fair to good numbers of birds and a fair number of broods with 4 – 5 chicks. I would have liked to have seen larger brood sizes, but was still excited about what I saw. If you are planning on hunting grouse this fall, you may want to start looking around now. They are moving upslope now and are close to where you will find them in September. Look for hens and broods in more mesic sites with good cover, while the cock birds will likely be a little higher and on more xeric sites. Let me know what you are finding.

As for chukars, all the reports I am hearing are really good. All the spring and early summer moisture really seems to have boosted production. Folks I have spoken with in several places around Utah and in northern Arizona and Nevada are all reporting the same high numbers of chukar chicks. I am excited about this hunt.

We have gotten word back from almost all the new puppy owners that the pups are doing well. They seem to have real drive to retrieve and are excellent swimmers. They are also proving to be hard charging on birds, but great around the family. We love hearing back about our puppies.

The puppies are now six weeks old. It is amazing to watch how fast they have grown. Over the last week we can really see how they have developed both physically and socially. They spend a lot more time playing and wrestling with each other, they interact well with other dogs we have and love to romp after the kids in the back yard. They all show interest in birds, pouncing on them with their front feet and dragging them around the yard by a wing. We got their first round of shots and wormer and the vet game them a clean bill of health. One of the things I have been really pleased with is that none of the puppies seems to be either very dominant nor very reclusive or too independent. They all seem to have very stable temperaments and a good interest in birds. That makes picking puppies tough; they all look good.

The pups are five weeks old today. They still sleep a fair amount, but when they are awake, they want to romp and play with each other. The other dogs, like this brittany like to play with them as well. The pups are curious and will paw at the bigger dogs; all of the older dogs are gentle with the pups. The pups are on solid moistened food now. Allie allows them to nurse only for short periods now and then. I can see why when I look at their needle sharp teeth. We are working to give the pups lots of human and canine socialization, neurological stimulation, and novel experiences.

 

If I can’t chase it with my shotgun my interest wanes a bit, nevertheless, I don’t pass up an opportunity to catch huge brook trout. These two limits were taken by a buddy and me on Boulder Mountain, UT. The biggest one approached 4 lbs. I’d love to say that they were taken on a size 22 dry fly, but in reality they were taken on the never-fail, tried-and-true mepps spinner. We did, however, catch a few 6 – 8″ native Colorado River cutthroat trout in one of the streams with nymphs on a flyrod. All I can say is, “what a beautiful time of year.”

Like elsewhere in the west, wild turkey populations and distributions in Utah have undergone some major changes due to major management efforts by the state wildlife agency.  However, one of the things Utahns are struggling with is change in the number of permits. 

Over the past ten years only a handfull of turkey tags were issued through a drawing system. As interest in turkey hunting increased it became very difficult to draw a tag. There was a bonus point system, plus a three year waiting period to be eligible again once you drew a tag. The upside to this was there there were very few hunters out and hunter success was often in the 90+% range.

Now the Division of Wildlife Resources is moving to increase the number of tags with the end goal being unlimited over-the-counter tags within a year or two. I am excited about this, but many new-commers to Utah turkey hunting are fighting it. All they have known is naive birds, no hunting pressure and extremely high success rates. A 90% hunter success rate is a waste. Turkeys should be managed like the upland game bird they are. Think about it, a three year old bird is an old gobbler. We should be aiming for 20 – 30% harvest rates like the turkey states in the mid-west and east. 

I’d rather have an opportunity to hunt turkeys every year and hone my skills, than only be able to hunt a turkey once every five years or more. When I hear someone complaining about the Division offering too many turkey tags for sale, my response is, “why don’t you learn how to really hunt turkeys rather than shooting fish in a barrel.”

We had an awesome hunt this year on the Zion unit during the late season. Unfortunately Julie missed her bird, but we had a great time.

Puppies spend a lot of time sleeping. Nevertheless, the puppies eyes have all opened and they are starting to get more active. They are now 16 days old, they are wobbly on their feet, but are starting to walk around a bit. It’s cute to see them walk a few steps, sit down and look around like they are checking out the world. 

 

Allie is a very attentive mother, keeping the pups well fed, clean and cared for. The pups are still in the whelping box in the living room so they are getting lots of interaction with us and the kids (including all the neighbor kids that want to come hold them).

 

We are providing a lot of early neurological stimulation (see link), and lots of socialization. We have also been softly playing the Master’s Voice noise desensitization CDs to accustom them to gunfire. As they are getting a little more mobile their personalities are coming out more.

This particular brittany pup, Sadie, I am currently working with seems to like birds, but is fairly noise sensitive and a bit skittish of novel things and people. It is important to provide a proper introdution to birds. Some of the keys are using a live bird, not initially letting the pup get wing whipped by the bird, and using the pup’s natural chase drive to get her keyed up about birds. This is also the time to help reinforce natural retrieving instincet. Don’t take the bird away when she brings it back, praise her by long-stroking pets when she holds the bird and stop petting when she drops (the idea is you want to reward her for bringing the bird back and holding it). 

 

When you introduce gunfire, start with a starter blank or .410. The key is to shoot when the dog is reallly keyed up and chasing, not when they have stopped or are hesitant. The dog’s mental state here if far more critical than the distance to the gun. (Note: avoid 12 guages and autoloaders during this stage – they are too much noise and can break through the dog’s focus on the bird.)