BREAKING AND HANDLING. 157 



cultivated, and rewards given betimes. A glove may be 

 shown him; then throw it behind some object that will con- 

 ceal it, a clump of bushes, rock, etc., preventing the dog 

 meanwhile from seeing it. The order Find is then given. 

 He may see the glove but not lift it, thinking that there is 

 some palatable morsel to find. Show him by your actions 

 that the glove is the object of the search, order him to 

 fetch it, and praise him when it is retrieved. By repeated 

 efforts he will soon learn to seek diligently, and retrieve it 

 out of a desire to win applause. The lesson can be varied 

 at times, giving it in one place, then another, thus changing 

 the surroundings. If he will search diligently, obediently 

 and intelligently for any object, that is all that is necessary. 

 Training him to return to a long or short distance after a 

 glove, handkerchief, pocketbook or other object is no part 

 of field work. It has been said that such is a useful accom- 

 plishment inasmuch as the shooter might lose his pocket- 

 book, powder flask, or other valuable articles. The trouble 

 and skill required to teach the act are worth more than the- 

 average pocketbook; and a little precaution, in any event, 

 would obviate the need of a retriever for such purposes. 

 Training dogs to hunt for possible lost pocketbooks is be- 

 coming a lost art. 



If the dog in his early training has been judiciously per- 

 mitted to break shot to retrieve, he has learned to mark the 

 fallen birds with more or less accuracy, and will not there- 

 fore need to search for them. Care should be taken to 

 cultivate his powers of observation in this respect, such 

 being very important in a good retriever. When the bird 

 falls, if the shooter notes that it is winged, which he can in 

 most instances do if he is an experienced field shot, the dog 

 should be sent for it without delay to guard against possible 

 loss, or unnecessary hard work in searching for it. Many 

 birds are lost by neglecting this course. If the dog has 



