480 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS I.ETTEH 



even in an inclosure formed of wire netting or paling, 

 with good shelter, such as a box or barrel lined with 

 hay, to retire to. Sleeping by a fireside is sure to 

 make a puppy delicate, though if he is born (as he 

 should not be) in mid-winter, artificial heat may be 

 necessary to rear him.* To impress upon a puppy 

 that you are his sole master, and to earn his affection, 

 feed him, unkennel him, and train him personally, 

 and when he is at liberty, teach him to return to you 

 directly you call him softly by his name or by a low 



whistle.! 



When given his liberty your puppy will be so 

 delighted at being free to gambol about that he will 

 seldom attend to any instruction. Fasten a dozen 

 yards of fine cord to his collar, and when he refuses 

 to come to your feet on being ordered to do so, call 

 or whistle to him, and twitch the cord slightly at the 

 same moment as a suggestion of your power over his 

 actions, though not in any way as a punishment. 



Do not weary your pupil by ever continuing this 



* A retriever should be born in early spring : he will then be of 

 an age to train on partridges in September. 



f The mere fact of constantly associating with your puppy will 

 greatly assist you to train him ; take him, for instance, into your study 

 or smoking-room, not to play with the fringe of the hearth-rug or 

 to wander about, but to lie down and remain quiet in any corner or 

 chair you point out to him, and which he should not quit unless 

 called to you (very useful this for his lesson in down-charging later 

 on). Such training is most serviceable, for it will teach a puppy to 

 know his master and to obey him when the pupil is too young to 

 learn anything else. 



