Hunt the Habitat

#13 From Puppies to Hunting Maps to Spring

Learn how Ann spends the off season preparing the upland hunting maps you love. When she's not immersed in maps, Ann is fully engaged in raising puppies and generously providing tips to ensure that new owners have a smooth transition welcoming these new companions into their homes.
Learn questions to ask any breeder about feeding and socialization. Hear Ann's philosophy on keeping your puppies' world small to set them up for success. For example, she recommends having a small fence in the backyard when you let them out to go to the bathroom. This way the puppy can’t get too far away from you. You are more in control and not chasing them. They will learn to go to the bathroom and come back to you. Then when you go for walks together it feels like a special occasion that you do together.
How did the winter affect bird numbers? Ann discusses upland hunting areas that are in drought or overly wet.

#12 Christmas Gatherings & Dog Care | Plus Learn Dog Command Training

Christmas events can bring challenges when you bring your dogs to gathers. Things to consider: Will there be other dogs? Could they get sick from each other? How is your dog with children? Don't make Christmas your first child/dog interaction without a solid introduction plan. Think about your rules? Do you allow other people to give your dog treats?
Off season dog training and how to enforce commands. Learn how to teach the woah command for control and safety. Training on how to get one dog to honor another dogs point. Learn these training tips and more!

#11 How to make valuable Hunting Season Reflections & Dogs in cold weather

Planning late season ruffed grouse hunts. Conifers are very important for protective cover this time of year. They will fly corridors to flee to safety use your maps to find escape routes. Ground cover is important consideration. Questions answered: You have planned a hunt with your map. When do you drop your plan and follow your nose out of your planned hunting strategy? Things to consider do you have a young dog or experienced dog? How to monitor your dogs as the age? When to introduce another dog into your family? How to help your dog have a good experience hunting in cold weather?
Ideas on journaling your hunts or recording where you had success this year. Think about how the weather affected this year. What areas had the right habitat? What did your dog do well? What should you change for next year? Mark habitat like hazel brush on GPS or in a journal. Grouse droppings is a good thing to record too. 

#10 How to track Grouse & Hunt their flush in Late Season Hunting

We start out talking about predators in the Northwoods. Then get into Mid-November Hunting tactics. Learn how to use the forecast to anticipate when the Grouse will likely be out feeding. Consider that even in cold temps, the Ruffed Grouse still seek out grit to help digest their food. This activity appears on roads and trails. Read your habitat to anticipate where the bird will flush. Grouse typically move more in late season so your dog will need to track it longer. Grouse will seek their safe cover and keep going until they find it. You need to anticipate and shift to have success. 

#9 - Change your Grouse Hunting Strategies for late season hunting

It is the time of year where grouse transition to different habitat so you need to change your hunting strategies too. Why do they transition to winter habitat? The cold weather changes their food sources. Grouse can no longer find the greens because they have no froze off. So they switch to other food sources. Also, they need more protection to stay warm in winter habitat. Find out what habitat is suitable and learn why you will find grouse grouped up again together this time of season. 

#8 Grouse Hunting Strategies in Early Season for the Woods

Listener questions are answered in episode 8. What did Ann do as a Grouse Hunting Guide to prepare for Ruffed Grouse Hunting? How should you prepare for hunting in the Early season? What signs should you look for to make a successful hunt? How do you hunt in the woods vs Upland open fields? What are the birds doing in early season? Get strategy tips for Hunting Ruffed Grouse.

#7 Avoid Dog Training Ruts & Pitfalls. Make it Fun.

So many time we get in a rut training our bird dogs. We train the same way, place and time over and over agin. This pattern gets our dogs to the point our dogs knows what to expect. This doesn't help our dogs advance their skills. Get tips to keep your hunting dog training fresh. Avoid creating negative patterns while training your bird dogs. Once you your dog develops a problem, they are even difficult to undo.  
Also Ann explains in this video How to Rule out Upland Hunting locations affected by drought. Use this information in conjunction with your Scout-N-Hunt maps to find the best habitat to hunt. 

#6 - Conditioning your dog, puppy training tips & early morning fall grouse hunts

The benefits of using swimming to condition your dog. Get your dog in shape for hunting season and keep them in shape all year round.  Tips on training young pups for the fall hunting.  Timing your hunt as the morning warms up in the early hunting season. Cool conditions leave better scent for your hunting dogs. 

#5 Not all Aspen cuts are created equal. Puppy tips for grouse scent

Aspen cuts, a common practice in forest management, have varying effects on game birds. Join us as we uncover the impacts different Aspen cuts have on Grouse and why they rely on it for habitat. All Aspen cuts are not created equal. Hunters need to know the age of the cut and fine details to determine the quality of the grouse hunting ground. Understanding information like the correct stem density and canopy height also are important.  Hunt the Habitat explains how it all works together to help hunters locate more birds. 
Young pup training tips are also in this episode. Grouse run so to a dog their scent comes and goes. You must instruct young pup how to keep relocating the scent. They must learn to be cautious to successfully work grouse.
Finally, we have an update on the development of grouse chicks in the Northwoods.  

#4 Minnesota Habitat to Hunt Grouse & early development puppy training

Let's total up how many cuts that Minnesota has to offer the Grouse Hunter.  Discuss the importance of Marginal Habitat for a grouse.  It is never to early to start teaching your pup to "Leave it!" .  Of course we will give an update on the status of the grouse in the Northwoods of Wisconsin and enjoy talking about what we are all looking forward to in the fall.