I teach trailing (where wind is less of a factor) and try to understand scenting there and on marks. There's no pat answer to the "basic" question. Hot and dry is usually tough, but I have seen it bad with warm and humid and pretty good with warm and dry. (Maybe not Colorado HOT, sunny, and dry. Those beautiful days probably are tough.) Low barometric pressure is sometimes bad. A cool breezy day, not too dry, is usually the best, but once in a while that doesn't work. On any particular day, I watch the older dogs ... We need one who can talk.
In general dormant cover is better than green.
Alfalfa once it sets blossoms is impossible. That's about the only certain one in my experience.
Thats interesting this came up.. We were training the other day.. Field was really wet..raining slightly,,and we threw marks into Alfalfa, though it had not blossomed yet. It was about shin high... ALL dogs had MAJOR trouble finding birds once they got to the Area where we threw the marks... We threw Bumpers...
I thought it was due to the fact we were throwing bumpers..
next day,, same conditions,, I took thawed birds.... same deal.. Dogs had to hunt hard to come up with the birds in that alfalfa.. They had a VERY difficult time finding them..
Do you find that a wet, rain drenched ,,old cover field, with no wind difficult also??
