ME. L G'S LETTER. 325 



whistle when he gets to the extremity of his range, and a wave of 

 the hand to turn him forward or back.* By such means I have seen 

 dogs, with a few days' constant shooting, made perfect in that, the 

 most essential thing in all dog-breaking. 



" I observe that you condemn the check-collar f in toto. I think 

 you are wrong. I have seen dogs cured by it who would not drop to 

 shot, but would perpetually rush in, especially if a wounded bird was 

 fluttering near them, and who had been most unmercifully licked, to 

 no useful purpose. I recollect orders being given to destroy a dog 

 that appeared utterly incorrigible. As he was a beautiful ' finder, 5 I 

 begged that he might be allowed one more trial. I sent to town for 

 a check-collar, and in a few hours he was pulled head over heels half- 

 a-dozen times. He then found out what he was punished for, squatted 

 down accordingly, and never afterwards attempted to rush forward, 

 unless he was over-fresh. You speak of hares not annoying your 

 dogs in Scotland. I have been sadly annoyed by them when grouse- 

 shooting there. In one part, from hares jumping up every five 

 minutes, I had great difficulty in restraining my dogs from chasing ; 

 and on this occasion I found the check-collar quite a blessing, for 

 had I used the whip I should have been thrown off my shooting, and 

 the noise would have disturbed the birds. I had at the time two of 

 the best shots in England shooting against me, and I should to a 

 certainty have been beaten had I not been so prudent as to take out 

 the collar. 



" I remember selling to a young officer a brace of my puppies, or 

 rather young dogs (for they were eighteen months old), for twenty- 

 five guineas. They were well broken, but had not been shot over. 

 He had not been an hour on the moors before up started one of the 

 small Scotch sheep. Both the dogs gave chase, and on their return 

 the keeper was directed to give them a good dressing. One of them 

 would not hunt for them again, and became so timid that the officer 

 desired the keeper to get rid of it. It was given to a gentleman in 

 the neighbourhood, who knew he could not be far away in accepting 

 it, as it had been bred and sold by me. He took it out a few times 

 and soon found out its value. The other dog the officer sold for 10/., 

 and then wrote a very angry letter to me, complaining of my having 

 sold him such a brace as well broken. A fortnight after this he in- 

 vited the gentleman who had become possessor of the shy puppy to 

 come and shoot with him. The gentleman made his appearance with, 

 what he termed, his ' shy friend.' After many protestations against 



* Doubtless a good plan ; per- his range being more extended. 



haps the best plan with a bold W. N. H. 



dog whose initiatory education t Meaning the spike collar 



has been neglected and who, in described in 300 of this, and 136 



consequence, will not watch for of first edition. No mention was 



your signals, nor yet look to you made in that edition of the milder 



on your whistling ; but the cord collar now spoken of in 301. 



might be longer, and the boy W. N. H. 

 should follow the dog to allow of 



