498 AMERICAN GAME BIRD SHOOTING 



judgment he displays in conducting his efforts and his 

 honesty of purpose and cheerful effort in working to 

 the gun; these qualities, in sporting parlance, being 

 known by the comprehensive term "bird sense." 



But a dog which has a knowledge of approved meth- 

 ods in work to the gun, and skill in combining them 

 successfully according to ever varying circumstances, 

 combined with endurance, cheerfulness and loyalty, is 

 a rarity indeed. He is the genius of his kind. Never- 

 theless, however excellent a dog may be naturally, un- 

 less he has an affection, or at least a tolerance, for the 

 shooter, he will not perform at his best, even if he will 

 perform at all. 



So much for the trained dog. Left to his own un- 

 hampered will, the natural proclivity of the untrained 

 dog is to impetuously follow his own impulses when 

 in pursuit. At first he trusts to his speed alone. After 

 a certain amount of experience he begins to use his 

 intelligence. When hunting for himself he displays 

 great enthusiasm and industry. This natural method, 

 called self-hunting, is not in accord with the best inter- 

 ests of the gun. 



The true theory of training is to preserve the dog's 

 best natural methods, enforcing only such restraint as 

 the needs of the shooter require. No trainer can force 

 a dog to hunt if the latter is disinclined to do so. 



The dog's natural inclination, after locating the 

 birds, is to spring in to capture, but this being against 

 the interests of the shooter, the dog is trained to check 

 his impulse to spring while still encouraged to main- 



