Any well-trained flushing dog will improve your odds for upland success with an enthusiasm that can't be beat! Photo by Seth Cassell.

Grouse hunters are known for their reverence for tradition when it comes to the pursuit of the "grandest of game birds." The quintessential grouse hunter takes to the field with a waxed cotton vest and leather-trimmed shirt, a vintage side-by-side and, of course, a well-trained pointing dog.

While I, too, enjoy the classical aesthetics of the sport, I must part from this arrangement in only one aspect. When I take to my favorite coverts, I prefer to do so with a well-trained flushing dog.

My journey to grouse hunting with a flushing dog didn't happen intentionally. I was just out of college and had never owned a "hunting" dog. I spent a lot of time sneaking into remote beaver ponds for wood ducks or paddling into marshes for teal, mallards and geese.

Where I lived, such opportunities were abundant, so it made sense for me to get a good retriever. I decided on a Labrador retriever -- Jack. He was to be a waterfowl dog, and together we would take charge of the small waters near my home. If I wanted to take him grouse or pheasant hunting, maybe he could at least help me find the birds after I downed them.

When I finished my graduate work, we left behind our favorite puddle duck haunts, but our new home abounded with hunting opportunities. While we didn't find as many waterfowling opportunities, we did find plenty of grouse in the creek bottoms and regenerating clearcuts in the thousands of acres of public land in our back yard.

I quickly learned just how good a partner Jack could be in the uplands. He showed me that he could do much more than just retrieve downed birds.

With some species-specific training and a few minutes of practice every day, I found that Jack could help me find birds and retrieve them --indispensable skills in upland coverts.

Once we matured as a team, we were able to find grouse in places many locals overlooked and experienced flush rates significantly higher than average.

Soon, Jack was no longer a duck dog that hunted the uplands on occasion. He had evolved into a full-fledged grouse dog that happened to spend a couple of days a year on the water.

Along the way, hunting with Jack and training him as a flushing dog, I learned a few things that may help you train and hunt with your Labrador retriever, golden retriever, Springer spaniel, cocker spaniel, Boykin spaniel or any of the many breeds that are adept at flushing grouse (and woodcock) in the uplands.