BREAKING AND HANDLING. 199 



is not an unusual range for some of the best chicken dogs, 

 and a quarter of a mile to an eighth is about the average. 

 It is plain that the more ground a dog covers, the more birds 

 he will find. On quails, the dog is necessarily forced to range 

 more irregularly, the character of the country, the habits 

 of the quails and their habitat, differing entirely from the 

 corresponding ones of prairie chickens. In the East, and 

 in some sections of the West and South where the grounds 

 are rough and cover dense, wide ranging is inadmissible. 

 Nevertheless, the methods of work are commonly slower 

 than need be. 



The dog, for any kind of ranging, is not trained properly 

 unless he will range wide or close as desired. On scattered 

 birds particularly, it is necessary to have him so that he is 

 controllable within a certain range. If the dog refuses to 

 work close, the checkcord, or checkcord and spike collar, 

 may be put on him, thus affording means to control him. 

 In hunting for bevies he should be taught to turn to a note 

 of the whistle, or to look to his handler when he hears a 

 note which signifies attention, and should obey a signal of 

 the hand which follows. 



To preserve the dog's ranging powers at their best, it is 

 better, and, in the end in most instances, quicker, to bring 

 the dog under control gradually. Too much violence and 

 haste before the dog learns the purpose or application, is 

 commonly the cause of delay. 



Few sportsmen realize the dog's natural capacity to learn 

 methods of pursuit and ability to solve perplexing combi- 

 nations of circumstances. This capability of improvement 

 and cunning in pursuit is common to all breeds of hunting 

 dogs. The foxhound, when experienced, unravels the most 

 complicated puzzles in trailing, which the fox, with his 

 novel and wonderful store of resources, can construct. 

 The foxhound in receiving his education cannot have, from 



