Get that bird!

If I was a bird hunter, I would already have the perfect dog.

My three-year-old Cocker Spaniel Bruce has always hated birds. At times he can be seen or heard barking at grackles that nest in a tree in our backyard.

I myself have had my beef with the green-headed nuisance birds. They tend to take over the bird-feeders that I put out for the finches every year.

I rid our feeders of grackles by using only thistle seeds last year. But as soon as I tried the variety seeds, I learned they come right back, scaring any other bird away.

I have also found that they like to steal dog food from Bruce a...