FOR THE FIELD Ax\ T D FIELD TRIALS. 139 



ing. However, as a general proposition, several 

 weeks are required in which to properly school the 

 dog to stanch point work, and sometimes this degree 

 of proficiency is not reached till well into the second 

 season, and in rare instances into the third. Occa- 

 sionally the trainer will come across a dog which 

 never can be taught to point reliably. 



While the point when applied naturally is for the 

 dog's individual advantage, by experience and the 

 exercise of intelligence he learns to use it conjointly 

 with the efforts of the shooter in the common purpose 

 to capture. It is an amplification of the team work 

 which he displays when working as a member of a 

 pack or of a brace. He in time learns that the cap- 

 ture is effected by joint effort, even though such 

 effort at first was a matter of disagreeable compul- 

 sion. After practical application has demonstrated 

 the uses of schooling, he applies his efforts with great 

 skill, and becomes original in manipulating the vari- 

 able circumstances in a manner best calculated to 

 serve the interests of the gun. To him a subordinate 

 part is infinitely preferable to no part at all. This 

 alone is sufficient to appeal to his self-interest, which 

 is analogous to that of the little boy who beseeches 



