WHAT CONSTITUTES A (iOOD D()(l. 207 



tvils, would furnish a tilting sabjcct tbi- tlic artist's |)ou- 

 cil, if it was not far beyond the power of any pencil, even 

 that which has so hitely fallen from the dead hand of tiie 

 <]jreat master of animal painters. 



Inspiring as such a spectacle is, the practical benetits of 

 thorough staunchness are of much more consequence, as 

 without this quality the Setter or Pointer is no better than 

 the Spaniel, if as good. In working up and finding game, 

 osj)ecially in cover, a good Spaniel will undoubtedly find as 

 many birds as either; but as he makes no ])oint, many 

 ffhots j*re lost from the inability of the shooter to get a 

 f.ivorable position before starting his bird. I do not think 

 It ])ossible for a dog to be too staunch, though I have seen 

 some that were very difficult to break from this very qual- 

 ity, as it was almost impossible to make them leave the 

 first point and move up to the bird. Probably no dog ever 

 had staunchness so largely developed as the (-Id Spanish 

 Pointer, which "Idstone" says (quoting from the Sporting 

 Magazine) has been known to stand "for as many as twelve 

 hours;" and in another place he speaks of an instance re- 

 lated to him by a reliable witness, who "came upon a dog 

 which had been frozen dead upon his point, probably being 

 overlooked or lost b}^ his owner tovvards the decline of day ; 

 but there was the poor victim, stark and dead — a martyr 

 to his profession, a victim to his training and culture." It 

 is true that our dogs do not make such lasting points as 

 this ; and, indeed, I should consider it the height of cruelty 

 to try a dog in such a manner; but we have dogs staunch 

 enough for all practical purposes, and during my own ex- 

 perience I can recall several cases where dogs have been 

 lost in thick cover and found ])erhaps an hour afterwards, 

 standing staunchly. I also once owned a black and blue 

 dog that I do not think could be induced by any means to 

 break his point after once reaching his bird. I tried to 

 teach him to put up his birds at the word, but in vain, for 

 rather than go on he would charge to point — this was. 

 however, oidy the case with birds that had not been fired 



