208 MODERN TRAINING. 



one error in reading which he is unable to correct, he should 

 under such circumstances give him the necessary assistance; 

 for instance, if the birds have run straight down wind and 

 the dog, mistaking the course, roads up wind, which even 

 aged clogs will sometimes do, the handler can give him a 

 cast down wind and around the birds, thus correcting the 

 error; but it should be a fixed rule to let the dog learn all 

 that is possible from his own unassisted efforts. 



If a dog is too slow in reading, yet has good nose and 

 judgment, he may be kindly encouraged to go faster, pro- 

 vided that he is trustworthy in pointing, in respect to which 

 the trainer must observe due discrimination. At all events, 

 special pains should betaken to guard against pottering, ex- 

 treme cautiousness and irresolution, even if the dog has 

 to be encouraged to flush and chase such qualities greatly 

 impair a dog's value, or render him worthless, according to 

 the degree of intensity. The whip is wholly useless to make 

 a slow dog fast, although it is very effective to make the 

 fast dog go slow. A dog which naturally hunts with a low 

 nose and potters will rarely be above ordinary merit at 

 best. The whip aggravates the evil, it having the effect of 

 making him desist from all attempts at reading, he constru- 

 ing it as a punishment for noticing the scent at all. 



The puzzle peg has been more or less warmly recom- 

 mended by some writers as a cure for a low nose, pottering, 

 etc., they attributing all the faults to the manner and not to 

 the dog's inability inferring that if one dog performs well 

 with a high nose, all dogs must do so, as illogical as to 

 assume that if one dog can run all day in a certain manner, 

 all dogs could do likewise. Theoretically, it is a very plaus- 

 ible method for forcing a dog to carry a high nose, thereby 

 preventing pottering, etc.; but practically, it is a barbarity, 

 and worthless. Inasmuch as it is never used by expert trainers 

 and is wholly inefficient, besides being wantonly cruel, it is 



