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Several methods have been ad-
vocated for breaking dogs for the
gun, some of which are barbarous
in their treatment ; others, although
of a less stringent nature, are not
bereft of a certain amount of
cruelty. My endeavour will, how-
ever, be to point out how a dog
may be taught to be efficient in
the field without ill-usage of any
sort. When taking a young dog
in hand, whether it be a Pointer
or a Setter, Retriever or Spaniel,
the first object of the trainer
should be to gain the full con-
fidence of his pupil, and this can-
not be done except by kindness.
In dealing with the dog, it must
not be forgotten that he is highly
sympathetic, and is as quick to
resent a rebuff as he is to acknow-
ledge a favour ; that instinct in
his case borders closely upon
reason. It is therefore desirable
that he be led to look upon him-
self as a companion rather than a
slave. A golden rule to be strictly
followed when breaking a dog is
never to lose your temper. A
false step in this direction may
entirely spoil an otherwise pro-
mising puppy.
It is not my intention in this
paper to follow the plan of break-
ing dogs usually adopted by the
professional breaker, whose object
is to get his work done as quickly
as possible and pocket his fee, but
rather to endeavour by a few sug-
gestions to assist the amateur who
has a puppy which he is desirous
of training himself; for it goes
without saying that the pleasure is
greatly increased when you are
shooting over a dog that has been
broken by yourself. Indeed, there
are few occupations more enjoyable
to anyone who has the time to spare
and the aptitude for the work than
breaking a Pointer or Setter puppy.
There is as much in the educa-
tion of a dog as there is in that of
a human being. By constantly
having your puppy with you his
mind will develop, and he will
soon learn what he is required to
do, but your duties will be con-
siderably lightened if your pupil
has been bred from animals that
have gained a reputation for work.
This fact is brought before us
every day. The puppies of dogs
that are accustomed to live in the
house are, as a rule, naturally
clean in their habits from their
birth, whilst it is the contrary with
those that are kept in kennels. It
is, therefore, quite natural to sup-
pose that the puppy that is bred
from two well- trained and accom-
plished dogs will be more easy to
break than one whose parents
have been improperly broken or
who are minus the requirements
of a good working Pointer or Set-
ter.
No definite age can be fixed
when a puppy may be taken in
hand to receive the first lesson,
for one may be as forward at five Calcitriol Rocaltrol
months old as another is at ten,
but it is safe to begin as soon as
the youngster has lost his puppy
habits. Nothing, however, must be
done in the way of Rocaltrol Calcitriol tuition until the
pupil is thoroughly accustomed
to the voice and habits of his
breaker, and then very little at a
time, and some sort of a reward
should be given at the conclusion
of each day's work ; indeed, when-
ever any meritorious action has
been done he should be given a
tit- bit of some sort or other, which
it is well to keep in your pocket
ready for the occasion. Attention
of this sort and words of praise
should always be employed when '
breaking puppies, for no animal is
more susceptible to flattery than
I899-]
BREAKING DOGS FOR THE GUN.
IO7
the dog, and by these means he
becomes a willing learner and
enters with zest into his work.
Before taking the puppy into
the field to seek game, he must be
taught to keep to heel, and it is
also advisable that he should have
learnt to drop to hand ; the former
is easy and can be done very early
in life ; the latter requires some
care in teaching, but is not difficult.
Possibly the quickest way to teach
a puppy to drop to hand is by the
check cord and peg, but before
this is used the wearer must have
become accustomed to be tied up,
or the fact of being restrained by
the cord will drive him frantic and
do more harm than good. A more
satisfactory plan when teaching
the art of dropping to hand is to
take the puppy into a fifty-acre
field, put him down on his belly
and hold up your hand, cautioning
him whenever he attempts to move
and putting him back to the same
place. Then walk backwards,
still holding up your hand, and
the puppy will soon learn what he
is required to do and will remain
in the position until he is ordered
to move on. When the check
cord and peg are used, the peg is
driven into the ground and the
cord tied to the collar, but this is
not necessary at this early stage ■
of tuition and is more generally
used when a dog is disinclined
to back another that is pointing
game.
So far the puppy will keep to
heel, drop to hand, and will go on
at a wave of the arm ; the next
step is to let him find birds. In
doing so, be careful to give him
the wind, but he will probably
flush and chase them until they
are out of sight. There is no
harm in this, as it encourages him
to hunt on another occasion, but
the whistle must be used when
nearing a fence to impress upon
him that he must not break field.
Then on his return he must be
dropped to hand about the place
where he was when the birds rose,
this with a view to teaching him Rocaltrol 0.25 Mg
that he should drop to wing.
After a few performances of this
description he will show some dis-
position to point ; in fact, some
young Pointers and Setters will
do so the first time they find birds,
but these seldom make wide
rangers, which is absolutely neces-
sary now that the stubbles are cut
so close. When your pupil stands
at his first point is the time to
make much of him. Get to him,
if possible, before the birds rise,
and drop him to hand directly they
do so, at the same time patting
him and letting him know that
you are pleased with him ; then
reward him and take him home.
In a few days he will understand
that he must drop to wing when
birds rise, or to fur if a hare goes
away. To chase the latter is a
temptation, particularly to a
puppy, and there is often great
difficulty in making him steady to
fur, but it can be done with
perseverance and good manage-
ment. Where hares are scarce,
some breakers will turn down
rabbits in front of their pupils, and
so teach them to take no notice
of ground game on the move.
There is yet much to be done
before perfection is reached, Buy Rocaltrol which
desirable state of things may be
frustrated the first time a gun
goes off, for the puppy may be
gun-shy. The breaker will, how- Rocaltrol 0.25