2l6 MODERN TRAINING. 



terially assisted by education in perfecting this so-called 

 instinct. 



In teaching dogs to back, many different phases of char- 

 acter will be exhibited some individuals have an intense 

 desire to take the point from another dog; others never ob- 

 serve any advantages in backing, being incapable of solving 

 complex details of hunting; others again know its pur- 

 poses fully, but do not care to observe it such may back 

 when the trainer is in sight and steal the point at other times; 

 others will back at the first sign of game made by the other 

 dog even if the latter is roading, and some are unreliable, 

 and a few cannot be taught at all; the latter can be taught 

 to drop or stop to a pointing dog. However, the greater 

 number of setters and pointers can be taught to back with 

 a fair degree of uniformity, but there is absolutely no uni- 

 formity in the length of time required to teach it. 



When the trainer is first attempting to teach the accom- 

 plishment, he should not, under any circumstances, work 

 the dog with one which is a false pointer. Even if an aged 

 dog, which will back honestly and well, is hunted with a 

 false pointer, after backing two or three false points, he will 

 thereafter entirely ignore the other's points, learning by ex- 

 perience that they are erroneous and meaningless thus 

 showing that if backing is an instinct, it is a very intelligent 

 one. With trained, experienced dogs, a false pointing 

 companion is not of any importance except for the time 

 being, their judgment being so good that they learn what 

 dogs to back and what not to back, according to the point- 

 ing dog's reliability. It might be shown here by innumera- 

 ble citations that instincts do not improve by the experience 

 of the individual having them, and that there is a close de- 

 gree of uniformity in their exercise by each individual of a 

 breed one bird of a species builds its nest similar to those 

 of every other bird of that species; all birds of a species 



