TEAIKING, 



THE DOG, AND ITS TAEIETIES; 



t^TEAINING, 



observed that, althoagli the dog's teeth were 

 somewhat damaged, he was perfectly young 

 and fresh, the teeth having been injured in 

 consequence of his recent instructors — the 

 children of the family from whom he was pro- 

 cured — having given him considerable practice 

 in fetching up stones from the bottom of a 

 river which passed through their garden, 

 Broken teeth in a retriever were, of course, 

 not objectionable. When the dog arrived, 

 the purchaser was certainly very much pleased 

 with his appearance, as he was as handsome a 

 jS"ewfoundland as he had ever seen, and fancied 

 he would answer the purpose exactly ; which 

 favourable opinion of him was confirmed after 

 the two or three first days' duck-shooting, as 

 he brought all his birds perfectly; but it so 

 happened, that every duck killed fell on the 

 near side of the river; and on going out on 

 the fourth day, some ducks were killed, which 

 fell on the opposite side, nearer to the farther 

 bank, when, greatly to the sportsman's as- 

 tonishment and annoyance, the retriever, after 

 taking the water in his usual gallant style, 

 and possessing himself of his bird, swam out 

 on the other side of the river, where, after 

 depositing his bird, he commenced rolling 

 himself on the grass, and, after having well 

 shaken himself and performed a variety of 

 gambols, returned very quietly, leaving his 

 bird behind him, as doubtless he had been in 

 the habit of doing with the stones thrown 

 into the river by the children, whenever 

 accident or caprice induced him to go out on 

 the reverse side. He tried his utmost to 

 persuade him to go back and fetch his bird, 

 but without success, the bad habit acquired 

 from the children being inveterate ; as, on 

 every occasion of a bird falling near the oppo- 

 site bank, he acted in a similar manner. As a 

 temporary remedy, during the short time he 

 retained possession of this dog, he made his 

 game-carrier take a long cord with him, which 

 he fastened to the dog's collar whenever any 

 bird fell into the river at a distance, so that 

 his attempt to go out on the further side 

 was not only checked, but he was conveyed 

 safely to the proper shore. This plan was 

 pursued for some time, thinking it might, 

 perhaps, break him of his bad habit ; but this 

 was not the case, as, on relinquishing the 

 cord by way of experiment, he immediately 

 45i 



committed his first oifence; and, finding him 

 incorrigible, he was presented to a family, 

 where he afforded the greatest sutirifaction, 

 being a safe playfellow for the children by day, 

 and a faithful and vigilant guardian by night. 



Dogs taught by children generally acquire a 

 variety of bad habits, which totally unfit them 

 for sporting purposes. "We have no doubt, 

 however, that there are exceptions, and that 

 some few sportsmen may possess dogs so in- 

 structed, which are perfect ; but these neither 

 establish a rule, nor militate against the one 

 on which we insist. Dogs generally are so 

 docile, that we are predisposed to believe any- 

 thing which may be related of any one par- 

 ticular dog ; but still, when animals are to be 

 trained for specific purposes, it appears to us 

 to be judicious to adopt that system which has 

 been pursued with unqualified success by those 

 who have devoted all their time and attention 

 to it, purely as a matter of business ; as it 

 must be recollected that dogs, like human 

 beings, vary much in temper and disposition. It 

 is, therefore, presumable that those who break 

 the largest number of them are more likely to 

 discover the best mode of proceeding with, and 

 treating them, than those whose practice and 

 experience have been confined to a few, and 

 those, perhaps, of one particular breed. A 

 French dog-breaker will undertake to break, 

 and will succeed thoroughly with, any breed 

 or race of dog, provided he be about twelve 

 months old. It therefore appears to us that it 

 must be conceded to them that their system is 

 a good one. " We speak advisedly on this 

 point," says a writer, " as we have seen 

 various cross-breeds of dogs, which had been 

 taught by French breakers, bringing their 

 game perfectly ; and, on one occasion, on our 

 questioning one of these heroes of the collier 

 de force on this particular point, his reply 

 was — ' NHmporte quelle race; aussit6t que 

 je mets man collier il faut cela marclie, 

 sacr-r-r-r-r-r^ nam de chien.^ ' AYe have shot 

 to several pointers and setters broken by the 

 same man, all of which brought their game 

 perfectly, never disturbing a single feather, 

 and always returning the instant they picked 

 up their birds. This latter result is produced 

 by giving the spiked collar a sharp jerk in the 

 first instance, the moment the dog under 

 instruction picks up whatever is thrown out 



