90 LEWISES AMERICAN SPOBTSMAN. 



same dog till confirmed in this lesson, as the change of companions 

 will be certain to rouse his jealousy. Another important thing is to 

 select for second dog one as free as possible from false pointing, as 

 the pupil must gain confidence in the point being upon game, or as 

 he advances in game-finding ability he will proportionally lose re- 

 spect for a companion that points false. 



If the sportsman is shooting alone he should not take inexperi- 

 enced dogs out together. One must be steady and reliable, so that 

 the entire attention can be given to the pupil, and in advancing to 

 shoot while the pupil backs, the sportsman must keep an eye on 

 the latter, and instantly repress any attempt to advance, in the 

 same manner as he would an attempt to break point. Stanchness 

 is as essential in one case as in the other, and both are taught in 

 the same way, by patience and perseverance. 



When the pupil can be depended on to back his regular asso- 

 ciate, he should be taken out with others, as the sportsman will 

 have frequent opportunities for shooting with different friends, and 

 if his dog does not perform well under all circumstances, he will 

 destroy sport and discredit his breaker. 



FALSE POINTING. 



Young dogs that are "full of point" will often point small 

 birds, and this, though allowable at first, must be broken up as soon 

 as possible, as it is very annoying for the sportsman to walk half 

 across a field in expectation of a shot only to find the dog stiff 

 upon something that is not game. Intelligent dogs will generally 

 give up this practice when they find their points are not rewarded 

 by shots, and it is for this reason that we prefer correcting this 

 error under the gun, rather than in the preliminary instruction. 

 When the dog persists in making false points, he must be taken by 

 the collar and pulled off of his point, with the command " come 

 away, sir," accompanied by a sharp twitch. Care must also be 

 taken to prevent him from pointing whenever possible, by this 

 command given as soon as he appears to notice anything not 

 game. 



