BREAKING TO GUN 269 



dogs which are fed on biscuits and such-Hke food are 

 more easily broken off fur than if fed on meat. 



A dog which is naturally nervous, or which has 

 become so by being over-checked, must, as I say, be 

 encouraged and led up to his birds — right up to the 

 covey of young grouse — and allowed to sniff and ' set ' 

 as much as possible, and a young bird, where 

 practicable, may be hand-caught and let fly. The 

 dog should be made much of, and encouraged, and fed 

 with biscuit, and not taken on to the next bird until he 

 has had time to compose his nerves and think over 

 what he is wanted to do. When dogs have not been 

 broken to the gun before they are shown birds, it is a 

 wise plan to get some assistant to fire off a pistol when 

 the young bird flies away. If the dog has never been 

 frightened by being flogged or by having a whip 

 cracked at him, he will not mind the pistol. When I 

 owned trained falcons I never experienced any difficulty 

 in catching even full-grown grouse and partridges ; and, 

 indeed, have often, without the aid of falcons, taken 

 them with the hand from under the nose of a dog. 

 When black-game and grouse are close set they are 

 very easily caught ; and when the dogs are worked 

 over them without any noise whatever, they often sit 

 closely. 



I have never experienced much trouble in curing 

 dogs of shyness, unless they have been very highly 

 bred or too much inbred. I do not think I could 

 reckon at any time one shy dog out of ten of those 

 which I bred myself ; but I experienced a great deal 

 of trouble at times with those I purchased, and which 

 were supposed to have been properly trained, and in 

 two cases there was no cure for them but sudden 



