BREAKING AND HANDLING. 93 



shaped that it can be held easily in the mouth without the 

 assistance of the hands. When in use, it should be tied to 

 the coat near the collar by a strong string, about twelve 

 inches long, thus being convenient for use. Nearly all 

 hunting coats have a small pocket near the collar, purposely 

 for the whistle to be carried in. 



One whistle is sufficient for the purposes of handling or 

 training a dog, although some good trainers use two or 

 three, but the refinement partakes of unskillfulness, and be- 

 sides it is unnecessarily troublesome. The tones of one 

 whistle can be varied and modulated sufficiently to give 

 distinct signals for all the purposes for which it is used. 



No dog can be considered as being well trained unless he 

 is at least passably obedient to the whistle. He can be 

 taught to perform any act to it that he is taught to observe 

 by oral commands, but in practical work it is commonly 

 used to give the signal Come in, the signal to turn at the 

 end of a cast, or to turn when he is going in a straight line 

 ahead of his handler. It can also be used advantageously 

 to give a signal for a dog to go steadily and slowly when 

 working on scattered birds; a low note, softly modulated, 

 just loud enough to be heard, is much better than using the 

 voice when birds are wild. The whistle is also used to give 

 a note to attract the dog's attention that he may see a sig- 

 nal of the hand. If the trainer has sufficient persistence, 

 patience and skill, he can train his dogs so that they will 

 work entirely to motion and whistle, this being more refined 

 than the use of the voice; but such finish requires many 

 working opportunities to educate the dog to such perfection, 

 and the perfection is not attained till the second season. 

 Continuous whistling is unnecessary, offensive, and defeats 

 the purposes of a whistle. It loses all meaning and associ- 

 ation when used in season and out of season. The habit 

 grows, and eventually the trainer whistles unconsciously 



