RETRIEVING. 41 



would-be critics would have us believe ; but is a part of our 

 system whereby we not only bring out our pupil a " killing" 

 dog but we make of him an intelligent companion and elevate 

 him to our own sphere, as it were, and by the wonderful de- 

 velopment of his reasoning faculties we not only greatly in- 

 crease his capacity for intelligently entering info the enjoy- 

 ment of the ever changing phases of our woodland sports, but 

 we greatly add to our own pleasure in witnessing the mar- 

 velous manifestations of reason and intelligence that he will 

 display in his encounters with some wary patriarch of the 

 forest, whose tricks and subterfuges wi.l outvie the wily 

 strategems of a Tallyrand. 



There are many things that you can readily teach your 

 pupil after you once get him fairly started on the road, for 

 the more you teach him and the mere pains you take with 

 him the more readily will he understand what you wish. 

 You must use great caution when you begin teaching him to 

 bring anything that is new to him ; and be very sure that he 

 will understand your orders before you issue them. This 

 point is worthy your careful consideration and you should 

 strive to make yourself perfectly understood at all times. 

 This you can easily do by closely watching his disposition 

 and the workings of his mind as he performs his tasks. Some 

 dogs are possessed of remarkable reasoning faculties and ap- 

 pear intuitively to understand just what you wish, while others 

 are slow to learn and require more time to develop their 

 latent powers. From personal experience we are well satis- 

 fied that the former requires to the full as much painstaking, 

 careful handling as the latter in ordtr to perfect his educa- 

 tion, and make of him a steady, reliable dog. Therefore, un- 

 less you wish to see exemplified the truth of the old saying 

 "quick learned, quick forgotten," go slow, and be very sure 

 that every step in ecch lesson is well 1 arned before yon 

 advance any further. You should never ask your dog lo 

 bring anythingthat will tax his powers too severely, especially 

 should this rule be observed until his education is complete. 

 Your judgment will tell you better than to bid him bring 

 the crowbar or a piece of custard pie ; you should likewise 



