138 ANIMALS USED BY THE SHOOTER. 



be taught to bring game to their masters, when they have it 

 in their possession. Without this quality they are apt to 

 remain with a wounded or dead hare or pheasant which they 

 may come upon in covert, and their services are thus lost for 

 hours. Still it is by no means necessary that the power 

 should be employed, and a special dog, whose talents can be 

 relied on, may be put on the scent of wounded game when- 

 ever there is a necessity for the services of such a dog. 

 Every spaniel must be made perfectly steady at " down 

 charge;" and until the gun is reloaded, not even the regular 

 retriever must be allowed to move towards the wounded 

 game. Then the rest of the team being called to heel, or kept 

 " down," the retriever is set to work under his master's or 

 the keeper's superintendence, and while he is carrying out his 

 office the beat may proceed, if the services of the one or the 

 other can be dispensed with. 



PRELIMINARY EDUCATION. 



Whether for covert hunting or retrieving there must be a 

 preliminary education of the young dog, which should em- 

 brace all the acts directed for that of the pointer, excepting 

 the " Toho !" (see p. 127.) This last is unnecessary, because 

 the spaniel is not wanted to stand, and thus the six first 

 which are there enumerated are all that can be required. 

 These must be diligently instilled, for steadiness is wanted to 

 a greater extent in covert than out. Dogs, when concealed from 

 view, are more tempted to do wrong, inasmuch as they also lose 

 sight of the controlling power, and hence the power of habit 

 must be more complete ; so that it is seldom till these dogs 

 have been used for a couple of seasons at least that they are 

 sufficiently under command. But by constantly taking them 

 out when young and keeping them very steadily under com- 

 mand much may be done. But, nevertheless, in almost all 

 cases, from their naturally high courage, when they are shown 

 game, it will be found that it has all to be gone over again ; 

 and though the task is rendered far more easy from having 

 been early commenced, it is still a long and a tedious one. 



