BREAKING AND HANDLING. 257 



CHAPTER XXI 



CONDITIONING DOGS FOR FIELD TRIALS HANDLING. 



In no other place does improper training, insufficient ex- 

 perience, or poor physical running condition, manifest it- 

 self so quickly and perceptibly as in a field trial competition. 

 A dog which is naturally superior, yet out of condition, may 

 be defeated by his inferior which is in good condition. So 

 expert have field trial sportsmen become, that if a trainer 

 has several dogs, they can accurately determine whether he 

 has given them proper experience, work, and training to the 

 gun. If they have been trained under the pressure of the 

 whip, in place of ample experience, it will show by blunders, 

 and fear, or distrust of the handler. If they have not had 

 sufficient work to condition them, they will be soft in flesh, 

 imperfect in muscular development, and thick in wind; 

 moreover, there is a general want of knowledge in details 

 which is brought out in bold relief by contrast with perform- 

 ances of better trained and conditioned dogs. The ex- 

 cellence of any performance is due simply to a knowledge 

 of accumulated detail with native capability, but the latter 

 alone is inefficient. 



The real value of a dog in a competition, so far as the 

 trainer's or handler's skill is of effect, is in his preparatory 

 work and physical condition. There is truly some skill 

 necessary to handle a dog well in a competition, but the han- 

 dler's ability to help a dog to do good work is greatly over- 

 rated. The common belief that there is unlimited room 



