BREAKING AND HANDLING. 121 



comprehension of retrieving aside from the simple act of 

 carrying the bird to his handler, which is but one detail 

 which goes toward making a skillful retriever. 



A first-class retriever must be intelligent so that he may 

 have the capability of acquiring a full knowledge of all the 

 details of retrieving, and its purposes; he must have a nat- 

 ural fondness for it; he must be steady to shot, must 

 seek diligently for a dead bird when ordered to do so; 

 must be prompt and obedient to commands whether 

 verbal or by a motion of the hand or gun; he must have 

 a keen nose and a tender mouth, and must work for 

 his handler, qualities which in their entirety are rarely 

 possessed by one dog. If the retriever is accomplished 

 in addition to the foregoing, he understands his work 

 so that he can conduct it without orders or assistance. 

 He, whenever possible to do so, will mark the flight of a 

 wounded bird, or the place where it fell, with wonderful 

 precision, even though the flight was a long one. The 

 slightest irregularity of flight, at times so slight as to be 

 imperceptible to the shooter, is intently watched and noted 

 with perfect accuracy; if the bird does not drop in sight, he 

 estimates, with rare judgment, the fall of it, and by the aid 

 of a keen nose, soon finds it, and retrieves cheerfully, 

 quickly and tenderly, without any supervision. This degree 

 of perfection is only reached when the dog has full expe- 

 rience and has not been hampered by bad training. 



With dogs as a class, retrieving is usually the most diffi- 

 cult branch to teach to perfection. The amateur may suc- 

 ceed very well by devoting the proper attention to the yard 

 lessons, but, from a passion for shooting, may neglect to 

 give the proper attention to it in field work, hence it is rarely 

 taught with the nicety it should be and is capable of 

 receiving. 



If the amateur should unfortunately have an obstinate 



