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CHAPTER L. 



THE RETRIEVER. 



THE term Retriever is in itself sufficiently indicative of the duties which this breed of dog is 

 called upon to carry out, and these duties can, it is universally admitted, be successfully 

 performed by many varieties besides the one in question. In fact, the very creation of the 

 Retriever proper, as he now exists, is comparatively speaking of but recent date. Up to 

 the time of the introduction of this class of dog, sportsmen were compelled by force of circum- 

 stances to rely upon the services of their other sporting dogs, and the majority of the Pointers 

 and Setters, and Spaniels, were broken to retrieve as well as to point the game. There 

 are certainly many objections to this practice, as there is considerable difficulty in keeping 

 Pointers and Setters who have been broken to retrieve their game steady in the field. The 

 presence, therefore, of a well-broken Retriever is considered indispensable to a shooting party 

 under most circumstances, and invariably so when beaters are employed. 



In consequence probably of the recent introduction of the Retriever as a distinct variety 

 into the dog family, there are numbers of very indifferent and unworthy specimens to use a 

 mild expression of the breed to be found- in all directions. These may, we think, reasonably 

 be considered to be the results of some of the many experiments that no doubt have been 

 made from time to time in breeding this sort of dog, which experiments in many cases have 

 turned out disastrously for those whose fertile brains conceived the cross. At any rate, the 

 almost countless number of black dogs which are seen in all parts of the country, and which 

 are invariably styled Retrievers by those who are most interested in them, would cause it to 

 be supposed that their owners, for the most part, are honestly under the belief that in doing 

 so they are describing the animals correctly. It is not, however, only to sporting dogs alone 

 that the art of retrieving game on land or in water is confined, for many breeds of dogs which 

 are by no means identified with sport in popular estimation can be taught to do so easily by 

 any one with patience enough to undertake their education. As a matter of fact, we have our- 

 selves owned Bull-terriers which would do this retrieving business well enough ; but still they 

 always failed in one essential mouth. The tenderness of a good Retriever's mouth has more than 

 a great deal to do with his value as a workman, it is simply essential that he is not hard- 

 mouthed, and does not injure fur or feather in carrying it in his jaws. In this respect a vast 

 number of what would otherwise be very good Retrievers fail, and become worthless in the field, for 

 a dog that mangles his game before he brings it in would be certain to gain but slender thanks 

 for the assistance he lends a modern sportsman. In days gone by there was more importance 

 attached to the loss of birds than there is now, when heavy bags are regarded as a matter of 

 course, and therefore it was considered less a crime against a dog used as a Retriever if he 

 pinched the game or broke its bones in bringing it in. Mouth, or rather the badness of its 

 mouth, was the rock upon which the ancient Retriever split and came to ruin, and it is 

 popularly believed that in the first instance a Spaniel was used to fill his place. The 

 superiority of this dog over the older one was soon apparent, as it is certain that he long 



