106 THE WILD-FOWLKR. 



The wild-fowl shooter's dog must be well-fed, or it cannot stand 

 the cold and hardy endurance necessarily encountered in the pursuit. 

 But it is a mistake to keep it in a warm room at night : such nursing 

 destroys the constitution of a dog exposed to such severe hardships 

 and risks of weather as wild-fowl shooting incurs. It should have a 

 dry and clean bed of straw, in an out-house or kennel, the floor of 

 which must be boarded and raised above the ground : bricked-floors, 

 or exposure to the cold earth, bring on rheumatic pains in the limbs, 

 and unfit a dog for work, long before old age would do as much. 



When walking over a moor the dog must be perfectly mute : his 

 services will seldom be needed, except to fetch birds which fall in the 

 water or on the opposite side of the bank. Wounded wild-fowl, when 

 on the water, are very trying to the skill and patience of a dog ; and 

 it must be a clever animal indeed that is able to capture a winged 

 Brent goose in a sea-way. Many dogs dive and follow the birds 

 under water ; but a Brent goose which has merely had the pinion, or 

 outer-joint, of its wing shot away, leads a dog a trying chase, as it 

 rises and falls at every moment on the crest of the heaviest surfs, or 

 disappears in the trough of the sea. 



The services of a dog are not required aboard a shooting yacht ; 

 on the contrary, such an animal is an unnecessary incumbrance, 

 always in the way ; and the work required can generally be better 

 performed by one of the crew in the yacht's boat, or with the 

 cripple-net ; it is, besides, cruel and unfeeling treatment to put a 

 dog overboard in frosty weather, and then receive it again upon 

 deck wet and cold with no space for the poor brute to run about 

 and dry itself : the shooting yacht is no place for dogs. 



" This a knowing old dog will often do of his own accord ; but you must not 

 attempt to teach a young one this useful habit until you are satisfied that there is 

 no risk of making him blink his birds. You can then call him off when he is swim- 

 ming towards dead birds, and signal to him to follow those that are fluttering away. 

 If the water is not too deep, rush in yourself, and set him a good example by actively 

 pursuing the runaways ; and until all the cripples that can be recovered are safely 

 bagged, do not let him lift one of those killed outright. If very intelligent he will 

 before long perceive the advantage of the system, or at least find it the more 

 exciting method, and adhere to it without obliging you to continue your aquatic 

 excursions." 



