Toughness. An underrated quality in a bird dog. Much of it comes from grit and drive. A lot of it comes from good feet and good, moderate conformation. All of it is identified only through experience, over and over again.
Toughness wasn’t really much on the board for me years ago when I was a New England grouse hunter. Hunts were shorter and on soft, moist forest floor.
But moving to the plains and hunting there 70+ days a year reshaped my focus with my dogs. I watched which dogs had the stamina to hunt every day, harder and longer than others, yet avoid injury. Which dogs would use their teeth to rip Montana cactus balls from their feet vs the dogs who would stop and limp in for help. Which dogs could run on rough rocky ground without boots and which dogs would get footsore.
I am blessed with wonderful owners for my dogs, many of whom push themselves and their dogs hard from Sept -January. Dogs who push through the thick, tall, bone dry Kansas grass for pheasant. Dogs who run alongside the owner on mountain bike to hunt chukar slopes all day before biking back to camp. Dogs who learn about desert quail and the endless array of plants and footing there that can end a hunt. Dogs who plow through deep snow to point snow roosted ruffs for their snowshoed owner. Dogs who learn to slip beneath barb wire fences all day long with just a small withers scab.
Those owners and their dogs strongly influence my breeding decisions. Because for owners who passionately hunt many more days than the average hunter, yet have only one or two dogs, a dog who gets tired or injured easily would ruin their season. Hard to measure until truly tested, yet so important.
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