632 Some American Sporting Dogs. 



kennel of them. At the West, where much of the duck and 

 goose shooting is done where the mud is deep and the wild rice is 

 heavy, a dog of great strength and determination is required to bring 

 in, not only the dead, but the many wounded birds which otherwise 

 would be lost. The water-spaniel does all this, and withal is as 

 docile, obedient, and intelligent as a French poodle. The head 

 should be crowned with a well-defined top-knot, coming down in 

 a peak on the forehead ; the body should be covered with small 

 crisp curls ; the tail should be round and without feather, and the 

 whole dog a dark liver-color. 



The Chesapeake Bay -dog, of which there are now three accepted 

 types, is a dog of which even more is expected. He must have 

 strength to breast the heaviest seas and bring in a goose ; he must 

 fight his way through broken ice, and if he meets a piece too large 

 to scramble over he must dive under it. Several families in Mary- 

 land have had in their possession for many generations what each 

 claims to be the genuine Chesapeake Bay dog, and at the late 

 bench-show in Baltimore a compromise was made, and a classifica- 

 tion agreed upon, by which each of the types is hereafter to be 

 recognized. These are to be, first, the otter dog, of a tawny sedge 

 in color ; with very short hair ; second, the curly-haired dog, red- 

 brown in color, and third, the straight-haired dog of the same color. 

 The dogs at two years old should weigh not less than eighty pounds. 



Now that I have described to the best of my ability, and within 

 the space allotted to me, the different varieties of our sporting dogs, 

 the reader must decide upon their merits for himself. Nor can I go 

 into the subject of training dogs for field-work, for I believe, in the 

 first place, that good dog-breakers are born, and not made ; and 

 secondly, not only would it be taking up too much space, but instruc- 

 tions, if they are of any value, are to be found in the works of recog- 

 nized and much better authorities. I believe, moreover, that to a great 

 extent, those sportsmen who are even capable of properly handling 

 their dogs in the field after they are broken, are in the possession 

 of a gift, I might almost call it genius, the secrets of which are 

 patience and self-control. No one who has made his dogs his con- 

 stant companions can have failed to be struck with the almost human 

 intelligence they sometimes display, and a man who wishes to con- 

 trol his dogs must first control himself. I have known an old, stanch 



