BRF.AKING AND HANDLING. 



CHAPTER XV. 



DROPPING TO WING AND SHOT. 



In teaching the dog to drop to wing or shot, the whirr of 

 wings, the sight of the flying birds or the report of the gun 

 have precisely the same significance as an oral command. 

 When taught perfectly, the dog drops promptly at the first 

 intimation with reference to these circumstances. The 

 same care in teaching prompt and full obedience to any 

 other commands would insure the same results. Dropping 

 to wing or shot is an unnecessary accomplishment in many 

 respects it is disadvantageous and injurious. It is much 

 overrated in the good qualities claimed for it, namely, that 

 it prevents the dog from chasing or breaking shot when the 

 gun is fired. Theoretical writers overlook the fact that if 

 the trainer can teach the dog to drop to shot, he can teach 

 him to be steady to order; furthermore, it is much more 

 trouble to train a dog to drop to shot and wing regularly 

 than it is to simply steady him. The real reason of its pop- 

 ularity is the ornamental finish which it is supposed to confer 

 on a dog's work. Dropping a dog to shot or wing may be 

 beneficial in his early training, but merely for the time being, 

 and then only in obedience to an oral order or signal of the 

 hand. 



The act Is a disadvantage if the dog is a retriever, for it is 

 apparent that he, when dropped to shot or wing in sedge 

 grass or cover, cannot mark the fall of a dead bird, or the 

 flight of live ones. Some intelligent dogs compromise by 



