WHAT CONSTITUTES A OOOD D0. 2U1 



trils, would furnish a fitting subject tor the artist's pen- 

 cil, if it was not far beyond the power of any pencil, even 

 that which has so lately fallen from the dead hand of tne 

 great master of animal painters. 



Inspiring us such a spectacle is, the practical benefits of 

 thorough staunchness are of much more consequence, as 

 without this quality the Setter or Pointer is no better than 

 the Spaniel, if as good. In working up and finding game, 

 ^specially in cover, a good Spaniel will undoubtedly find as 

 many birds as either; but as he makes no point, many 

 shots are lost from the inability of the shooter to get a 

 r.,vorable position before starting his bird, I do not think 

 A possible for a dog to be too staunch, though I have seen 

 some that were very difficult to break from this very qual- 

 ity, as it was almost impossible to make them leave the 

 first point and move up to the bird. Probably no dog ever 

 had staunchness so largely developed as the old Spanish 

 Pointer, which "Idstone" says (quoting from the Sporting 

 Jifagazine) has been known to stand <; for as many as twelve 

 hours; 11 and in another place he speaks of an instance re- 

 lated to him by a reliable witness, who "came upon a dog 

 which had been frozen dead upon his point, probably being 

 overlooked or lost by his owner towards the decline of day ; 

 but there was the poor victim, stark and dead a martyr 

 to his profession, a victim to his training and culture." It 

 is true that our dogs do not make such lasting points as 

 this ;'and,*indeed, I should consider it the height of cruelty 

 to try a dog in such a manner; but we have dogs staunch 

 enough for all practical purposes, and during my own ex- 

 perience I can recall several cases where dogs have been 

 lost in thick cover and found perhaps an hour afterwards, 

 standing staunchly. I also once owned a black and blue 

 dog that I do not think could be induced by any means to 

 break his point after once reaching his bird. I tried to 

 teach him to put up his birds at the word, but in vain, for 

 rather than go on he would charge to point this was. 

 however, only the case with birds that had not been fired 



