44 TRAINING vs. BREAKING. 



behavior, under all circumstances, strive to impart to youi 

 pupil a steadiness that will ever be to you a source of pride. 



This trait is especially to be cultivated when trying to 

 make a careful, tender-mouthed retriever. You should 

 always handle with the greatest care any article that you are 

 teaching him to bring. There appears to be something in 

 the careful manner in which you handle the object that is 

 potent to impress upon his mind a corresponding carefulness 

 in taking hold < f it that is not apparent when tke object is 

 roughly thrown upon the ground ; and we have frequently 

 taken pains to go, and with ostentatious care lay the article 

 down instead of throwing it, and have in this way succeeded 

 in obtaining the best of results, especially when our dog was 

 a little inclined to be rough or hard-mouthed. 



There is one rule that we have carefully observed for many 

 years, and we can assure you that it is well worthy your con- 

 sideration. "We never allow a pup to retrieve a bird his first 

 season, until we have first handled it, and found that it "was 

 stone dead. You should allow him to point it for a short 

 time and then daintily pick it up ; and, after smoothing out 

 the feathers very carefully, lay it down in front of him, 

 taking- care that he can see your every motion. Now retreat 

 a few steps and very quietly bid him "bring dead." By 

 pursuing this course you will improve, not only his mouth, 

 but his steadiness as well ; and also give him a chance to be- 

 CDme acquainted with the difference in the scent between a 

 live and a dead bird; and so render him less liable to make a 

 mistake by pouncing upon a close-lying bird that chances to 

 be near where he has marked the dead bird down. 



Having intimated in the first chapter that we are in favor 

 of using the whip when ft is needed, we will biiefly explain. 

 As we have before stated we never use the whip until our 

 pupil's education is complete, and there is no occasion to re- 

 sort to it even then, unless our orders are willfully disobeyed. 

 When we find that our pupil is willful, and deliberately re- 

 fuses to perform his task, we seek occasion to give him a 

 lesson that he will never forget. We are very careful to 

 select an occasion for punishment when the order disobeyed 



