POINTS OF DOGS 291 



weather a delicate or overbred pointer gives in and 

 refuses to gallop. I never kept such dogs for any 

 length of time, and I generally found my own breed of 

 pointers were able to stand wet equally as well as setters. 

 This fact may, perhaps, be attributed to their strain of 

 foxhound blood. 



In purchasing a dog his feet should be first ex- 

 amined, and these should be hard and round. The 

 dog should be well placed on his legs and strong 

 chested ; his head should be wide between the ears, 

 and if not crossed with a foxhound the ears should 

 hang down close to the head ; the hollow between the 

 eyes should be well defined, the nose long (a double 

 nose is no detriment), but not too broad, the nostril soft 

 and damp. 



For twenty-five years I used pointers in preference 

 to setters, for I ever found them more staunch, more 

 docile, better nosed, more intelligent, and they never 

 required to be rebroken. Some such dogs which I 

 have owned were perfect, and whether I was hawking 

 or shooting they would watch my every movement, and 

 needed neither word nor whistle. I cannot say the 

 same of setters, even those best trained, for thev 

 often require to be rebroken every season — the Irish 

 setters especially. A good pointer is worth his weight 

 in gold. 



I have known many of my friends to be taken in by 

 dog-dealers. These canine tradesmen often know no 

 more about the dogs they are trying to sell than does 

 the intending purchaser. So the latter often buys a 

 dog which is probably worthless, simply because he 

 happens to be good-looking and drops to hand and 

 pistol-shot. 



