266 TRAINING THE HUNTING DOG 



ter of courtesy to assist in finding the lost dog in 

 an ordinary manner. Half-broken or unmanageable 

 dogs, however, should never induce the judges to 

 leave their places behind the handlers. 



The best judging distance is about twenty to thirty 

 yards behind the handlers, when in the open fields. 

 The judges can spread out from thirty to fifty yards, 

 incidentally taking advantage of rises in the ground, 

 to see the work of the dogs at a distance, and this 

 without interfering with the range or the duties of 

 the handlers. Their effort should be to see all the 

 work done, without interfering in any way with the 

 dog's opportunities. 



If a handler cannot keep his dog on a course laid 

 out for him by the judges, his delinquency in this re- 

 spect is his own loss. It is unreasonable to expect the 

 judges and all the rest of the field trial interests to 

 follow the erratic course laid out by an unmanage- 

 able dog, although the new judge is not at all un- 

 likely to attempt it ; less so than formerly, however. 



A firm, good-tempered management of the hand- 

 lers and a strict observance of fairness toward them 

 will win their respect. The judges, however, should 

 be supreme in dictating all that concerns the compe- 



