THE IRISH WATER SPANIEL. 295 



will not move, even if he is passed by the other dog. Or you may see game 

 to which you desire to creep; you can then leave the dog behind you. 



To teach him to follow at heel, attach the cord to the puppy; say "Heel!" 

 Carry your whip in hand, and should he attempt to get in front of you, touch 

 him lightly on the nose; say at the same time "Heel!" Another way is to 

 couple him to a broken dog, using the same means and word should he try to 

 get ahead. Having taught him to retrieve anything you may throw for him 

 when he can see it, now throw it in high grass or weeds, or in fact any place 

 where he can not see it, and bid him "fetch." He will begin to look for it, and 

 unless he should find it at once, you should encourage him to find it by, if 

 necessary, going with him, but do not pick it up yourself; have him do that 

 and follow you with it in his mouth. It is better to do this with a bird, say a 

 pigeon or a duck, as I have seen dogs that would bring a ball, roll of cloth, 

 etc., well, that at. first would not touch a bird. I prefer a bird with which to 

 teach them to retrieve. 



Having now taught him to charge, retrieve, heel, and come at whistle, you 

 should take him to some stream, where the water is not too deep, to start with, 

 throwing into the water the object he is in the habit of retrieving on land and 

 sending him for it. I have not seen one puppy that would not go for it at 

 once, especially if the water were warm. It is better to teach the puppy this 

 work in the summer or early fall, before the weather is too cold. 



Your dog is now ready for a lesson in duck-shooting. Get on some point 

 of land where birds pass, and shoot one, having it fall as near shore as possi- 

 ble; send him for it, and encourage him if he brings it nicely. You should 

 endeavor to have him watch birds as they fly past; it will soon teach him to 

 watch them as they fall and mark well the spot, so he can go direct to them. I 

 would advise you to accustom him to the sound of the gun from his youth, 

 until you begin to work him on game, commencing with percussion caps or a 

 small charge of powder no shot. When he shows that for him the report of 

 a gun has no terror, you are all right; he will not be gun-shy. If he is a little 

 timid, don't despair, for he finding he is not hurt by the report if properly 

 handled, will come out all right. If you go with him in boat, have him charge, 

 and do not allow him to rise until ordered. If he will not mind promptly the 

 word " charge," tie a rope across the boat from rowlock to rowlock, and fasten 

 him in the center so that he can not get out. Now shoot, if possible, some 

 ducks, while he is so confined; when the gun is fired, should he attempt to 

 move, say "Charge!" and compel him to go down promptly. Repeat this 

 until he is perfect in not attempting to leave the boat until ordered. He must 

 be kept in strict obedience; do not allow him to disobey without correcting 

 him at once. In your ardor to secure the game, don't forget that you have a 

 dog for that purpose. 



I have never seen the weather or water too cold for my 

 dog to take great pleasure, apparently, in his work. I have 

 worked him from early morning till late at night, in slush 

 ice, and he would not suffer in the least. The under-coat 

 of this breed is similar to that of the beaver or musk-rat, 



