1 86 MODERN TRAINING. 



warm. The old dog is worked to find the bevies, while the 

 puppy is kept at heel ; when a bevy is found there is then 

 an opportunity for the puppy to back; and afterward on the 

 scattered birds of the bevy, he can have frequent opportu- 

 nities to point. However, it is not advisable to keep him 

 under constant restraint; let him range awhile so that his 

 work will preserve its uniformity; special work in one branch 

 to the exclusion of others is to their detriment. 



No dog is properly trained unless he can be trusted to 

 point his birds properly without any orders whatever. This 

 proficiency can be established by experience and making 

 him, as much as possible, rely wholly on his own judgment 

 in pointing. He can be assisted prudently in subordinate 

 details, as, for instance, if he roads on the back track up 

 wind and loses the course of the birds, a little assistance will 

 readjust him; also he can be prevented from running riot; 

 but, if he has experience in his work on the birds, he should 

 be allowed to attempt the point in his own manner, even if 

 he is certain to flush. After he has committed the fault, if 

 willful, he can be punished for it in the same manner as for 

 any other fault, increasing the punishment with each repe- 

 tition, if he will submit to it steadily, until he becomes 

 attentive to correct pointing. Unintentional flushes, how- 

 ever, should be excused. If a dog is trained to constant 

 supervision and prompting on his points, he naturally re- 

 quires it in his work through life, and, at best, it is extremely 

 faulty since the dog frequently finds game when out of sight 

 or out of hearing, or beyond control. When trained to 

 point honestly on his own judgment, he is just as trust- 

 worthy when out of sight as when in sight; or when a mile 

 away as when within reach of the whip. Remember that 

 the perfection of training is to educate a dog so that he 

 will work to the gun without orders. 



It should not be forgotten that the instinct to point is 



