r/Uplandhunting

—Looking for advice from experienced owners, thanks in advance!
Which do you recommend and why?
I’ve narrowed down my next bird dog between an English Springer and English Cocker. Field lines obviously with proven ability, though desire a more balanced dog who can live well in the home.
Context:
-This will be my first personal bird dog.
I’ve trained several dogs before and lightly hunted over them (well trained but not proper bird dogs, so no long term potential). I’m familiar with spaniels, labs, and pointers, and have landed on spaniels for size, enjoyment, and general preference.
-I will be primarily rough shooting—not hardcore, but decent, weekends or at the least every other while the season lasts. I live in south central Alaska and the main game bird is spruce grouse. Long season from September-March.
-I prioritize a good house dog, good with children, able to hunt well but turn it off indoors (when old enough at least). Wife is sensitive to the lab oily coat and I am not keen on waterfowl (bit brutal even for me in Alaska).
-I’ve heard anecdotal pros and cons for each, but I’m curious about energy level comparison, biddability, general personal experience people have. Some of the springers I’ve seen seem leggier, more intense, and all around bigger/rangier than the ones I grew up with, and it’s pushed me away a bit. I thought I’d go back to springers (grew up with a bench/field mix), but lately I’ve been considering cockers based on size and just what I’ve seen out of some of the springers I’ve run across, some of which look more like a Britany at first glance.
Anything welcome. Thanks again!

As all ruffed grouse hunters know, your ability to hear a grouse flush and determine its direction is a key to success. Well, this week I received some bad news. A few months ago, I was sick as a dog for a week with a terrible cold. Felt worse than COVID. A couple of weeks after that, I suddenly developed tinnitus symptoms in my left ear. I finally was able to meet with an Ear/Nose/Throat Specialist and to get an extensive auditory hearing test. The results were moderate hearing loss in the middle and lower bands and tinnitus (think a white noise machine with a ringing sound mixed in). It appears to be neurological damage from when I was sick and it is irreversible.

Since onset, I have noticed that my ability to tell the direction of sounds is significantly hampered. I'm sure my ability to detect flush directions is now severely limited.

Has anyone here dealt with this and found a solution that would help an old, broken down grouse hunter?

EDIT:
Title should say Missouri hunters. I live in northern Wisconsin.

Some family members (Dad and his Brothers) recently bought a few hundred acres near Worth on NW Missouri. They of course manage it for deer hunting.

How’s the Pheasant population in that area? They said they’ve seen lots of quail so intend to head down there in early November with my new Lab.

There are some ponds on the property so we would probably lay duck hunt the mornings and then do some upland. The nearest public land I see that might have Pheasant is the Emmett and Leah conservation area. Had anyone ever hunted it or know of any other public land near Worth for Pheasant?