I took the dogs pheasant hunting this afternoon. The crust on the snow was hard on them….and me, it was tough walking.



There were birds in the area, there were a few other hunters out and some of them were getting some shooting. We didn’t flush any though. But, the dogs got some much-needed exercise, it wore them out.

Awesome your season is still open. A tired dog is a good dog, I always say.

The crust on the snow was the first thing I thought of when I saw that first picture. There's no quit in a good dog but you sure have to keep an eye on them.

Nice!! Couple of happy pups right there!

The first thing to go on our dogs in crusty snow is that high carpal pad on front legs. The paw breaks through and that high pad always catches the edge left from paw going through. We usually tape that high pad when there’s crust and they get along good. I try to run them beside the truck on gravel a few miles a day for a couple months to get feet in shape for our SD hunts. Works great on the feet but doesn’t do anything for the carpal pad.

The crust was all but gone yesterday due to full sun and 40 degree temps. It dropped below freezing last night and didn't get above until almost noon today. That's why I delayed the start of the hunt. The crust was still pretty thick this afternoon though.

I could see it was wearing the dogs out and could feel it was wearing me out so I cut it short today. We usually hunt for at least 4-5 hours but I headed back to the truck after only two hours today.

Anytime spent in the field with your pals , is a good time. Nice pics