374 SHOOTING. 



If in company with other dogs, he should not 

 follow them, but each dog should beat indepen- 

 dently. 



The dog may be taught to back or back-set, by 

 the breaker holding up his hand and crying to-ho ! 

 when another dog makes a point. A well-bred dog 

 will invariably back-set instinctively. To back-set 

 instinctively is the distinctive characteristic of a 

 promising young dog ; indeed, it is the only safe 

 standard by which the shooter may venture to 

 prognosticate future excellence. A dog^s pointing 

 game and larks the first time he is taken out, is no 

 certain criterion of merit : but there is no deception 

 in a dog^s backing instinctively the first time he 

 sees another dog make a point. It is a proof that 

 he is a scion from the right stock. 



The shooter should kill nothing but game over a 

 young dog, or the dog will never learn his business. 

 He should of all things avoid shooting larks and 

 field-fares. When the shooter is in the habit of 

 killing small birds, such as larks sometimes, and at 

 other times is in the habit of correcting him for 

 pointing them, the dog becomes confused, and is 

 puzzled when he comes upon a snipe, whether to 

 point or not. Where game is scarce, the best dogs 

 will occasionally point larks : and it requires much 

 time to^teach a young dog that they are not game, 

 and to break him off pointing them when once he 

 has acquired the habit. 



When punishing a dog, it is better to beat him 

 with a slender switch than with a dog-whip. But 

 whether a switch or dog-whip be used, the dog 



