502 AMERICAN GAME BIRD SHOOTING 
his trainer. The latter can hamper the dog’s progress 
by interference, but he can do very little to assist. 
With age and experience, all intelligent dogs improve 
in their hunting methods. 
Many of the best finding dogs are those which have 
indulged in self-hunting, a term which denotes that 
the dog hunts independently, as when he sneaks off 
alone, or in the company of other self-hunting dogs, 
or as he pleases when with his trainer. Under such 
conditions he hunts till wearied or till satisfied, which 
may be in a few hours or a few days, according to 
the endurance, longing, and the food supply. 
Commonly, after a vagrant self-hunting trip, the 
dog returns mere skin and bone, the exposure, pro- 
longed exertion and short rations producing their natu- 
ral results. The vagrant, under such circumstances, 
regains his flesh as quickly as he lost it, if properly fed. 
Vagrant excursions should be strictly suppressed. 
They afford unlimited opportunity for the formation 
of bad habits, such as harrying sheep, killing fowls, 
robbing nests, etc. The self-hunting proclivity mani- 
fests itself sometimes when working to the gun. The 
self-hunters will apparently work under control for a 
longer or shorter time, gradually ignoring the shooter, 
till at last they go where and when they piease. This 
insubordinate stage lasts according to the whim of the 
dog. It may be for a brief while, or it may last a day 
or two. Meanwhile the dog is learning a great deal 
in respect to ways and means of finding birds, though 
of no service whatever to the gun while so absent. 
