BREAKING AND HANDLING. 75 



learns the application and relation of every detail that has 

 a bearing on capturing game. However, there are some 

 parts which he cannot understand, consistently with the 

 purposes of hunting, which is creditable to his intelligence. 

 When the bird is killed he has the same feeling observable 

 in the nobler animal, viz., to rush in and secure possession. 

 Dropping to wing and shot are, to the dog, irrelevant acts. 

 He can solve the relations of other dependent acts him- 

 self, but in this part he perceives no application to the pur- 

 pose, and never learns it or observes it except as an act of 

 arbitrary education. Third. The dog, after comprehend- 

 ing and applying the educational part, reaches the stage of 

 finesse. He conducts all his work skillfully, with a view to 

 shaping every part to the advantage of the gun ; he con- 

 trives little arts and wiles to circumvent the birds ; he dis- 

 plays intelligent management, schemes and acts which his 

 trainer never taught him and of which he never thought 

 him capable ; besides exercising his inventive faculties and 

 comprehension of details, he is on the alert to observe that 

 the shooter is attentively performing his part, as may be 

 observed when a dog slowly turns his head when on a point 

 and looks out of the corner of his eyes to see if his master 

 knows the situation ; or when he abandons his point, when 

 concealed, to go to his master and give notice, by his intel- 

 ligent efforts to attract attention, that he has found birds. 

 These stages of transition, while being distinct, are insensi- 

 bly blended together in training, and are only perceptible 

 when thoroughly established. 



The training is not properly completed when the dog has 

 merely reached a stage in which he is accurate and steady 

 in all details of work and education. He may apparently 

 be trained, but it has no permanency. He should be kept 

 steadily at work till the discipline becomes habitual, and all 

 the details permanently implanted in his memory; otherwise, 



