The above photo features Maizie pointing her first covey of Hungarian Partridges. Many people believe that the classic pointing position is with a raised front paw. However, most pointing dogs never raise any paw while on point. They keep all four feet on the ground. In this shot, Maizie is actually raising her rear paw which some dogs do from time to time.

Two weeks later, that same leg was nearly run through with a stick! Read on to find out how...

Two words best describe the 2009 hunting season so far:

Roller Coaster.

There have been plenty of ups and downs since opening day way back in September. One day we’d see plenty of birds, the next day, none. Then suddenly we’d find a bunch more a day or two later!

And it’s been that way for grouse, partridges, geese, ducks and snipe all season long.

The weather has also been highly variable. In Saskatchewan we had to deal with +30 degree temps while back in Manitoba, only a week or two later, we were hunting sharptails at -5 as the snow fell sideways.

The fact that my shooting has been hit and (mainly) miss is par for the course, but even the dogs have had their share of good and bad. Lovely Miss Maizie (Uttara vom Fenriswolf) injured herself on what must have been a fallen tree branch. She was hunting a thick piece of cover for grouse when I heard a yelp. She came back to me limping, and I noticed a puncture wound on her inner thigh near the groin. It did not bleed very much but it looked rather deep. Upon further inspection at the clinic (Maizie’s owner, Dr. Skavinsky is a very talented vet ) it was discovered that whatever poked her, went waaaay in there...almost exiting the other side! Even more shocking was that it only missed the femoral artery by about a quarter of an inch!!

Ten days later, I’m happy to say that the wound has healed over quite nicely. Maizie is now 100% fit to resume the hunt. The only difference is that she’ll be wearing a skid plate in the woods from now on. Oh, and I have vowed never to return to the scene of the accident which coincidentally is exactly where Uma’s mother “Rage” received a similar injury several years ago.

Next up: Part ll Henri's Hankerin for Venison Lands Him in Hot Water!

Ah yes, Saskatchewan.

It's where God hunts when he gets a day off.

Note: if the names of the towns above do not appear in plain text on your computer it is because you lack the proper security clearance for such highly sensitive hunting information. If you would like to learn the secret handshake and decode the names please send two bottles of single malt whiskey to my home address.

I was after Huns and Sharptail grouse with a K9 crew consisting of Souris, Uma, Henri and Maizie. Now most hunters know that Hungarian Partridges are not native to North America. Nor are pheasants. Both birds were introduced to the US and Canada in the late 1800's. Sharptails of course are native birds and we managed to see quite a few of them and their foreign cousins during the hunt.

Surprisingly, we also came across two other species of bird that are considered extremely rare. One, like the pheasant, is originally from China, but has learned to thrive in the harsh Canadian climate. Its Latin name is Benihong Maximus and it looks like this:


Note the regal bearing and colourful plummage. Commonly referred to as the Ben Hong, this Asian raptor is a clever bird, always on the lookout for its main quarry: fresh brewed coffee and tobacco. It is quite a vocal species, fluent in at least three languages with a lovely sing-song way of telling fascinating tales and memorable anecdotes.

The other rare bird we came across was the Donisteese Americana. It looks like this:


Known for forming a unique symbiotic relationship with certain types of canines, many Don Steese birds prefer dogs of German origin. This may be due to the fact that despite Americana being part of its latin name, the species originated in Europe and made its way to this side of the Atlantic on the Mayflower. The Don Steese is known for a beautiful baritone call which it keeps in tip top shape by gargling regularly with fine Bourbon.

I should probably mention that Saskatchewan is one of only a handful of jurisdictions in the world that has an open season on both the Benihong Maximus and the Donisteese Americana. The limit is 1 each per hunter per season. Despite the fact that both birds were well within range when I spotted them, I passed on the opportunity. Seeing them thriving happily in their natural environment was enough for me.

And besides, I hear they taste like liver.