SINCE I WAS a kid, which is longer than I like to admit, I’ve heard the phrase: “It takes birds to make a bird dog.” For years, I kind of scoffed at it. I grew up in Oklahoma in the 1960s and ’70s, when bobwhite quail populations were booming. Looking back, I didn’t realize how good we had it. You never truly appreciate some things until they’re gone.
A few years ago, I had a couple of young dogs I was training to be steady to wing and shot, along with some older dogs I was trying to keep fresh for field trials, and I went through quite a few pen-raised quail trying to do this. My area lacked wild birds, and access to where they lived was difficult. So,…