Mr. Erb is located in one of the best all-round game sections of 

 the west; that is, for training dogs on all kinds of game. In the spring, 

 he has the snipe within a few miles of his kennel. After he has 

 worked his dogs through on snipe, he has abundance of woodcock 

 within a half hour's drive of his home, and he tells me that there's 

 where he gets the dogs down to business and puts that finishing touch 

 on them that all sportsmen like, and that is obedience. 



After educating them thoroughly on woodcock, when the chicken 

 season opens, he takes them from the bog and mire all hardened and 

 fit for a hard day's work upon the broad stubble-fields of Benton 

 county, where he has under his own control 25,000 acres of as fine 

 chicken ground as the sun shines upon, and there he gives them their 

 freedom to range. Now he stays right with them on their preserve 

 until October 15, when the close season on quail expires, at which time 

 he has them in shape to put the finishing torch on by working them 

 out on quails, which are very plentiful in this section, not only plenty, 

 but I believe I am safe in saying that they cannot be found anywhere 

 more abundant than they are in this section of Indiana, Mr. Erb 

 is a very ambitious and hard worker. He is out every day with a 

 string of dogs, so that none of his dogs get stale for want of work. He 

 turns them out perfect retrievers, no exceptions. 



He tells me that sometimes he gets a very stubborn case, but he 

 says they must finally give up to his method of retrieving, which I 

 am not able to tell you; for it is a secret with him, but it fetches all 

 alike, let it be bulldog or whatever. He says that it is a system that 

 his father used in Germany and also in this country, and taught him 

 several years ago when he and his father were shooting for the mar- 

 ket, and no one knows the method to his knowledge but his father, 

 Mrs. Erb and himself. However, it is a success and it does not intim- 

 idate the dog; but on the other hand it makes a cheerful, obedient and 

 careful retriever of all alike. 



Someone may ask himself the question why I have written this let- 

 ter in praise of Mr. Erb's handling and excluded all others. It is 

 simply this: I have had dealings with him and not with others. Mr 

 Erb broke for me last season a large, high-couraged black, white and 

 tan Llewellyn setter dog after I had exhausted all my training ability 

 upon him the season before, and pronounced him entirely worthless 

 and gave up all hope of ever getting any good out of him. I was 



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