CONCERNING DOGS. I 63 



Drop him before he puts up his birds, then walk 

 quietly on and put up the birds yourself, firing 

 the pistol and keeping him ' down ' as before. 

 Continue this practice until he learns to drop 

 to his birds. Should he drop to his birds instead 

 of ' pointing ' them, you should go very quietly 

 and raise him up, saying : — ''Steady, Rollo, at 

 them, good dog, steady, steady," then directly 

 the birds rise : — " Down, Rollo, down, good 

 dog." Walk away, and fire your pistol from a 

 distance as before. 



It is of vital importance that the pistol should 

 be fired at a distance, for if a gun is un- 

 expectedly fired over a dog's head you will 

 very likely make him * gun-shy ' ; it is far less 

 likely to alarm him when fired some way off and 

 in full view of him, for then he is in some 

 degree prepared for the report. For young 

 dogs, when breaking, I invariably use a pistol 

 half charged, until they become accustomed to 

 the report, then a pistol full charged, and lastly 

 a gun. 



Most dogs that are ' gun-shy ' are made so by 

 firing the gun over their heads when all their 



