After some sniffing around, I believe that your treatment of "bird-dog" ought to be up for discussion. I ask you: as a noun, even though this definition is figurative, should it be hyphenated? I think not; 'bird dog' is a separate word. Secondly, limiting the definition to 'talent scout' is too narrow. In my experience the term is used to denote anyone who seeks or closely follows anything on the move.

As a verb, it carries the nuance of being relentless. Anyone who has followed a true bird dog on the hunt understands its instinctive dedication to the task.