366 THE AMERICAN BOOK OF THE DOG. 



Speaking of the courage of the Chesapeake, Mr. Poy- 

 neer says: 



Their pluck and courage is indomitable, and the more incessant the shoot- 

 ing the more tierce and determined they are in their work; and woe unto the 

 dog that gets too near them when they are after a duck. Upon several occa- 

 sions, when shooting late in the season, I have tested their courage when 

 everything was frozen up but a few open holes in deep lakes, these holes being 

 kept open by the ducks congregating in such large numbers that the water 

 could not freeze. The shooting at such a place can be imagined. Three and 

 four guns would be kept warm. At such times I have seen one Chesapeake 

 Bay Dog do all the retrieving, and every time he brought a duck he had to 

 climb on the ice. Other dogs in the party got scared or froze out, and could 

 not be induced to go in. 



I never saw a Chesapeake refuse to go, it matters not how cold the weather 

 might be. A stiff current, with running ice, or any obstruction, is all the same 

 to them. Quitting is not in their vocabulary. Irish Water Spaniels and 

 other retrievers have been tried beside them on the Chesapeake Bay, and inva- 

 riably have quit. 



From the above quotations, the reader may infer that 

 the Chesapeake needs little or no training. While this is 

 true to a certain extent, it is just as necessary to subject 

 him to your will as if he were a Setter or a Pointer. My 

 plan in handling the Chesapeake has been to make him my 

 companion as much as possible. He will take naturally 

 to retrieving as soon as he can run. Allow him to follow his 

 inclination in this matter, and indulge him on every possi- 

 ble occasion. Teach him to deliver in hand, and thus avoid 

 the possibility of losing winged birds after your dog has 

 brought them to the boat or blind. By the time he is four 

 or six months old, he will be doing all sorts of retrieving 

 for you about the house. 



When four or six months old if this period comes in 

 the fall take him to the shooting-grounds. It is to be 

 supposed that in his companionship with you he has mean- 

 time learned to love the gun. Shoot your duck, and see to 

 it that you are on favorable rather than unfavorable ground 

 for your puppy to see it fall. Go with him for the first one, 

 if he gives you time to do so. If the fall be a favorable 

 one, the chances are you will have no occasion to go. From 

 this time on, if you use judgment in your shooting, for a 



