IQ4 TRAINING THE HUNTING DOG. 



pleasing to the latter are purely matters of mental 

 discernment. 



The fact that almost any dog, whether he be cur or 

 well bred, may be taught to retrieve indicates that 

 the act is not a matter of instinct peculiar to setters 

 and pointers. When done with any degree of finish 

 and intelligent purpose it is an educational act quite 

 as much as is the act of shooting the bird when dis- 

 played by his master. Incidentally, is it not strange 

 that the dog should instinctively retrieve the bird 

 which his master has learned to shoot, not instinc- 

 tively, but by skill derived from education ? It would 

 seem that instinct would work alike in respect to both 

 man and dog. 



Dogs, as individuals, whether pointers or setters, 

 vary greatly in their aptness for retrieving. Some 

 manifest the greatest delight in it, and in fact in any 

 other act within their compass which wins the ap- 

 proval of their masters, or which is associated with 

 capturing prey; others perform in an indifferent or 

 perfunctory manner, while still others detest and re- 

 bel against it heartily. 



As a general proposition, by far the greater num- 

 ber of pointers and setters may be taught to retrieve 



