HOUSEBOAT-GUN-DOG 49 



companions. Besides, retrievers generally 

 hold so much water in their coats as to 

 render themselves a perfect nuisance when 

 crossing creeks in sampans or dinghies. 

 Further than this, the very nature of their 

 jackets renders them specially liable to 

 collect the grass and other seeds, " fruitful 

 cause of so much woe." Finally, retrievers 

 from their size and weight constantly find 

 themselves in trouble when working brambly 

 cover ; are invariably clumsy in their 

 attempts at extrication from tangled beans 

 and similar crops ; and, as a rule, are not 

 only slow in setting to work to bring back 

 a wounded bird, but slower still in return- 

 ing with the quarry. Such are the more 

 prominent objections to this class of dog. 



" Still, should a sportsman elect to have 

 a retriever in this country, he might with 

 advantage have regard to the following 

 simple points : — The dog's coat should be 

 jet black and lie very flat, no curl whatever 

 being admissible. The head should be 

 long, with a squarish, not a pointed 

 muzzle, the ear small, the neck " airy," 

 and the tail carried below the level of the 

 back. Above all he should stand low. 



