BREAKING AND HANDLING. 213 



instinct which he could exercise very irregularly at the best, 

 and in many instances not at all, for the benefit of a man 

 who carries a gun; an instinct separate and distinct from 

 any individual profit to himself, but solely devoted to not 

 interfering with his master's sport. 



It is equally absurd to assume that a trait so common, 

 though irregularly developed under the artificial restraint 

 of training, is meaningless. It cannot have its origin in 

 transmitted habits under domestication, since it is not use- 

 ful in that state; it could not originate as an instinct by edu- 

 cation, since the latter is too fragmentary and is practiced 

 during a comparatively brief period of the educated dog's 

 life, and therefore could not affect the progeny; it is quite as 

 reasonable to suppose that a man would instinctively know 

 the meaning of a language because his ancestors had, dur- 

 ing many successive generations, been educated in it. 

 In fact, the theory that it is an instinct, resulting from edu- 

 cation, offers a multitude of inconsistencies, conjectures and 

 insurmountable obstructions. 



By assuming that it is an intelligent act, all these difficul- 

 ties disappear. There are many different phases which 

 prove that it is the result of understanding. It should be 

 borne in mind that birds are but a part of the dog's nat- 

 ural prey, an important fact in explaining his mode of pur- 

 suit. It should also be noted that a dog can change his 

 methods more or less to make his pursuit of game more 

 successful. Thus the method of pursuing a rabbit is differ- 

 ent from that with respect to birds. A litter of half-grown 

 puppies when following and pointing tame chickens about 

 the yard show the purposes of the act. After a little expe- 

 rience, when one points, the others will stop and wait, and 

 as the chicken runs to one side or the other, the backing 

 puppies cut across the corner and cut the chicken off, thus 

 acting jointly with greater success. This act may appear 



