There is an interesting blog post over on Field & Stream.

The post - Are Bird Dog Owners More Willing to and Reliable Than Non-Resident Hunters? - sheds some light on how a dog can impact a hunter’s personality. There is probably more to it than this simple logic, but the questions is interesting.

Many hunters head out to the field in South Dakota every year to hunt pheasants and they bring their dog along for the hunt. Some probably feel there is no pheasant or bird hunting without a reliable dog, but others feel they can do just as good without a dog.

Some people just aren’t dog people I guess even if that friend is a well-trained hunting machine.

The argument in the post is that bird hunters have more invested than other hunters. The way the theory goes is that dog owners have invested time, money and effort into their hunting companions. Instead of flaking out when the season hits and the birds aren’t flying everywhere those with dogs will still head out because they want to get their money’s worth when it comes to their dogs.

There are more good arguments for the sake of bird dog owners. Maybe it’s not really about the money at all. Maybe you just feel guilty skipping that hunting trip because you know your dog is trained and ready to go and they’ll be let down if you don’t head out to chase those birds.

The bird counts are up in South Dakota this year. There are more pheasants than last year. This summer’s drought didn’t have as big of an impact as some thought, which is great for hunters that have suffered the last few years.

Will you be heading out to the woods with your dogs this year? Does it really matter that you have a dog that goes hunting with you? 

It’s a good bet that many hunters will be excited to get out in the field this year, dog or no dog.