by Jessica Cobb w/ image
Her expressive, mahogany-colored eyes, usually so playful, were all business and laser focused on the thick alder patch in front of her. As we approached from the side, I fumbled with the GPS handheld, the training collar handheld and a whistle, inexperienced and unsure of what to do with the equipment now that Onyx Bijou du Copper Spur (Nikki) had found a bird and was on point. I didn’t have to consider next steps for long as a twig snapped and the French Brittany’s body quivered in anticipation. One ebony ear flicked momentarily in our direction; the only indication that she was even aware of our presence. A step closer to the alder patch and the ruffed grouse burst from the cover in a cacophony of beating wings. My husband, Jaysen, swung his shotgun in perfect timing.
An explosion of feathers and Nikki bolted into the alders, disappearing. Jaysen and I shared a glance; this was our first bird shot over our new pointing dog. We were both inexperienced in this. There were so many questions and uncertainties. Nikki returned shortly with the bird, which appeared nearly as large as her head, the playful look back in her eyes. She paraded around Jaysen, staying just out of his reach as he tried to cajole her into coming in closer. She circled him, bird in mouth, with a look on her face that was akin to a smirk on a human. I didn’t know it at the time, but retrieving to hand is something Nikki and I would spend countless hours in training sessions to improve!
After years of researching pointing dogs and waiting for the right situation to get a bird dog, I’d determined that I wanted a German shorthaired pointer. When the time finally came to get my own dog, I had no experience and few resources or guidance, so I did what everyone does in that situation: turned to the internet to find a dog. In my search, I stumbled across a dog unlike any I’d ever seen. She was a French Brittany, or Epagneul Breton, and was retired from a breeding program in northern Minnesota. She was a started dog who had received professional training. I knew enough to know I didn’t want a puppy yet because of my lack of experience and knowledge about bird hunting with a dog, although I was familiar with basic dog obedience.
Something about this French Brittany caught my eye and completely changed my plans on the breed of dog I wanted. From my research, I found that French Brittanys are fiercely loyal and bred for the foot hunter, meaning they hunt close. They are excellent at hunting in thick cover and are the smallest of all the pointing breeds. She sounded perfect for the hunting conditions in Maine! Jaysen and I drove out to Minnesota in early October to pick up our new dog.
Returning to Maine, I was beyond excited to hunt with Nikki. We finally had a bird dog that could find, point and retrieve birds! Admittedly, Jaysen is more of a deer hunter than a bird hunter, which suited me fine as Nikki and I hunted, just the two of us, roaming the northern Maine woods searching for birds together.
As a newbie to bird hunting, I had read countless books and watched numerous videos on how to bird hunt over a pointing dog. However, the reality was that no number of books or videos could have possibly fully prepared me to hunt with Nikki. What I had learned from all those books was what hunting with a dog was supposed to look like, which wasn’t exactly what was happening during many of our hunts! All too often, I would watch Nikki search an area in the woods, clearly on scent and then just trot off and continue hunting. What happened? Was there scent? She certainly acted like there was, then she just moved on. It took hunting with an experienced hunter to understand that what Nikki found was likely old scent from a bird that was no longer there.
There was also the incident where Nikki chased a flock of turkeys and disappeared for such a long time that I thought I’d lost her even with a GPS tracking collar. Apparently, Nikki thought she’d won the game bird lottery! Another time, she was 300 yards out and started baying and yipping as if she was in trouble. I later realized this was rabbit-induced.
In short, I’d had enough experience with dogs to recognize I was out of my depth, had a lot to learn and needed to hunt with someone more experienced. I was constantly anxious that my lack of knowledge and experience would ruin Nikki’s training or, worse, put her in a dangerous situation.
Long before I actively started looking for a bird dog of my own, I joined the Russ and Carole Dyer chapter of RGS & AWS where I met chapter president, Amanda Dyer. At the 2023 annual banquet, I told her I was interested in volunteering with the chapter, but it never came to fruition that year. One day, after a particularly perplexing hunt with Nikki, I sent Amanda a Facebook message. I knew she had recently lost a dog and thought maybe she could use a fun hunt as a distraction as much as I needed tutelage. I felt it was a long shot since we’d only met once; but to my surprise, she responded that she would love to hunt together!
We planned a two-day hunting trip for Veteran’s Day weekend. I had grouse hunted the old logging roads around our camp – both with Nikki and before I had her – enough to know where we could find birds. Amanda and her German shorthaired pointer Ely showed up at our house bright and early Friday morning. When we introduced Ely to Nikki, she was standoffish and I was a little worried that would carry over into their hunt together. Ely’s sheer size compared to Nikki’s was almost comical and possibly a contributing factor in Nikki’s uncertainty around him. Amanda was unconcerned and said they would work it out.
It turned out Amanda was right and I had nothing to worry about. Once in the woods, the dogs behaved like they’d hunted together for years. Not only did I learn about hunting over a dog, but Amanda also explained some of Nikki’s behavior, including watching her intensity level when Nikki was on scent to determine new scent from old scent and her reaction to rabbits.
I also hadn’t considered the differences Nikki was faced with between the Minnesota woods where she’d previously hunted and the Maine woods. To me, there weren’t that many visible differences between the woods in the two states. Yet, to Nikki, the differences were vast. The smells and even inhabitants of the woods were distinct for her.
As we walked and watched the dogs hunt together, I realized that this companionship, both human and canine, was a large part of what drew me to bird hunting with a dog. Seeing Nikki honor Ely’s point for the first time and watching her work through the various, new scents while with an experienced hunter was exactly what I needed. I missed several easy shots that day, but what I gained in knowledge far outweighed a grouse in hand.
Although it’d been a rainy spring and the grouse and woodcock numbers were low that fall, the four of us encountered enough birds to keep the trip exciting. The following day, we decided to try our luck in a new territory that I’d never explored. We spent several hours the night before discussing, plotting and mapping. We woke early on Saturday morning to pack the truck with the dogs, equipment, guns and a tailgate lunch.
The second day of that hunt was as rewarding as the first. Although it was windy, both dogs had multiple successful points. It was obvious that Nikki was becoming more comfortable hunting in Maine, which I attribute to hunting with Amanda and Ely. Their experience and love of hunting seemed to give Nikki confidence in this unfamiliar place.
For me, the pinnacle of the day was right after we parked at a new hunting spot and put the dogs on the ground. Nikki went on point almost immediately just yards from the truck. I had my doubts that she was on a bird because we’d just driven through the spot where she was on point. In fact, without Amanda’s certainty and experience, I wouldn’t have pursued the point. As it turned out, there were two ruffed grouse in the thicket next to the road we drove in on. As they flushed, we both fired and missed while laughing at ourselves.
While we didn’t bring any birds home that trip, I still consider it a huge success. We put on a lot of miles, the dogs did great work, I made a new friend and the amount I learned while hunting with a seasoned hunter was unparalleled – far exceeding what I got out of all of the books I read. One of the biggest takeaways was to trust my dog when she goes on point. She’s an experienced bird dog with a good nose.
This piece of knowledge served me well hunting with Nikki for the remainder of the 2023 bird hunting season. In fact, the season was full of small successes for Nikki and me. I learned to give her time to work out scents rather than rush her along if it seemed like old scent, I learned she responded to a whistle and I learned the importance of praising her for a job well done.
In fact, later that season, while hunting with Jaysen, Nikki held a point 85 yards from us in some of the thickest brush I’d seen. Jaysen didn’t think it was a productive point, but I convinced him to bushwhack our way in, only to find our little dog with a ruffed grouse on point some 5 feet from her nose! She had held that point the entire time it took us to get to her. I couldn’t have been prouder!
By far, the biggest thing I’ve learned since hunting with Nikki is that it isn’t about filling your game bag. There is beauty in every part of hunting with a dog. The unconditional love and companionship dogs provide whether in the woods or sharing the couch, the way they effortlessly fit into our lives, how they bring people together and the things we learn from our dogs are all far more valuable and long lasting than limiting out on birds.
After the hunting season ended, Nikki and I joined the North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association so we could both continue learning. We spent the winter bonding through training sessions, clinics, hikes and just spending time together. I also got my opportunity to give back to the birds we pursue when I assisted Amanda with planning several events for the Russ and Carole Dyer Chapter of RGS & AWS.
Looking back on all Nikki has contributed to my life in such a short time, I can’t believe how far we’ve both come together in so many ways in less than one year together. While undeniably there’s always room for improvement for both of us, I feel much more prepared for the 2024 hunting season. In addition, I’ve made many new friends, both two-legged and four-legged in my journey to improve my dog handling abilities, many of whom I hope to hunt with this year. As Nikki and I continue to train both by ourselves and with the help of others, I realize she is far more than just my bird dog or my hunting companion. As we work on retrieving in our yard, her mahogany eyes are full of joy and enthusiasm. And her intensity and excitement the first time out in a canoe, I know that she’s having just as much fun with me as I am with her.
Jessica Cobb lives in Maine with her husband, Jaysen, two dogs and a cat. Although she is a life-long avid outdoors enthusiast, she didn’t start hunting until she moved to Louisiana in 2018 where she began bow hunting for whitetail deer. While Jessica still enjoys bow hunting, pursuing birds and learning everything she can about bird hunting quickly became an obsession. Jessica got her first bird dog, Nikki, in 2023. When she isn’t chasing birds, Jessica enjoys fishing, writing, foraging, being in the woods and training Nikki.
