On Pheasants, a good dog is a must. Especially on areas where the birds are hunted hard and the cover is heavy.
Agreed. There are lots of hunters around here who have never shot a capercaillie (wood grouse), some of whom have tried for literally decades. With my fairly well trained dog(s) I've taken an average of three a year without much of an effort. Here's a nice example of how a pointing dog can work. That's my long-haired weimaraner, pointing a black grouse (the dark silhouette on her right), which is frozen motionless. I could easily walk there, dig out my camera, take a picture, pocket the camera, switch over to shotgun, tell the dog to 'avance' and shoot the grouse once it took off.
A dog can make a world of difference.