Dakotazeb
Well-known member
I'm a firm believer that scenting conditions not only change from day to day but from hour to hour. I was out hunting yesterday and the dogs just didn't seem to be getting very good scent. Although I did shoot one rooster over a point and they did point a few hens. We were working the edge of a slough and between the ice and the weeds the snow had drifted in about 2-3 feet deep. The dogs were working out in front of me when a rooster flushed wild at my feet. I dropped it on a large drift and it started flopping around. I wasn't concerned about it going any place so instead of going over and picking it up I called the dogs to retrieve it. But before the dogs got there the bird had flopped down into a hole in the drift. No problem, the dogs will smell it and dig it out. WRONG. They weren't getting any scent at all. By the time I got over there I wasn't exactly sure where the bird dropped through plus the dogs had beat down some of the area. I started to stomp down more of the drift figuring the dogs would find it easier. Nothing! They acted like there was nothing there and wanted to move on. I wouldn't leave and continued to beat down the snow and kick through it. This went on for a good 15 minutes before one of the dogs locked up on one little spot I hadn't kicked down. She dived into the snow and came out with a dead rooster. Unbelievable thet couldn't smell that bird earlier. They were all over the area.
