dog training

[Bear Heart]

My dog is a Rhodesian ridgeback. Does that change the approach.

[grouseshooter002]

What the "hoot" are you hunting?

[Jesse Minish]

A dog breed to hunt African lions should work for grouse LOL. Ridgebacks are very cool dogs.

[Bear Heart]

Looks like I got some work to do. Been a long time goal of mine to hit the trail with a canine companion. I would even settle for squirrel hunting but prefer the taste of grouse. My mastiff only hunts the couch these days.

[7 Lakes]

I would think seriously about a versitile pointer.  Pointers will give you a few minutes to show up and get ready & you're going to need those minutes to shoot birds out of the air with an arrow.  German Shorthairs are great bird dogs and couch potatoes.  

My training advice is to find a local pointing breed club.  The old guys there will be glad to get you started and fill you in on the rest.  Much better than any CD.

Here's Lucy, she'll point Quail, Grouse, Chuckar, Rabbits and Squirrels.  She'll fetch all of the above + kittens and other small mammals.

 
 

[Gordon Jabben]

That's a good looking pointer.

[manitou1]

I'll second what 7 lakes suggested... but then again I'm partial to GSP's.  I have hunted strictly with German Shorthairs for about 8 years now.  Love 'em.  Great dispositions, versatile, and beautiful, hearty pals.

[jebeckjr]

Finally - a topic I know something about!  

I didn't see the original poster specify pointing dog or flushing dog, but I am going to make some recommendations assuming pointing dog:

First, if you haven't done so already, try to find a NAVHDA chapter local to you (NAVHDA = North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association).  To train a dog for grouse, you need simply need to start with training a hunting dog, and that is where NAVHDA comes in.  You can learn a ton from attending training days with other members, and accomplish a lot more with multiple people helping.  In order to hunt any upland bird, with a bow, I would recommend training your dog to be steady (wing, shot fall and retrieve).  This is especially important if you are using broadheads as you don't want to risk the dog getting injured while running or retrieving when a broadhead is around.

As for books, NAVHDA has what they call "The Green Book", which is a basic training manual.  Its been around for a while, and is very good.  There is one better, though, in my opinion.  It is called "The Orange Book" or "Training the Versatile Dog" by the American Hunting Dog Club.  Its methods are very similar to NAVHDA's, it is just the book goes into better detail.  Neither address e-collars, as that is not something to learn from a book, but rather from someone experienced in how to condition a dog to them and train with them.

Any other questions, just ask.  I apologize if you have or are leaning towards a flushing dog.  I can't help quite as much with those.

Merry Christmas!