AND AMERICAN RURAL SPORTS. 



189 



your Dog — but there are few sportsmen to be found now, 

 who will prohibit a Dog from leaving any moderate sized 

 field solus, if they think he is approaching game. If 

 my Dog be properly broken, and I have confidence in his 

 staunchness, I would much rather trust his nose and judg- 

 ment, than my knowledge; for to attempt to correct a Dog, 

 and instruct him according to your notions, when he winds 

 the game, and knows better, is only playing the fool with 

 him, and being at a loss to comprehend you, he may be in- 

 jured, beside spoiling your own sport. Many a covey of 

 quails have escaped because the wise sportsman chose to 

 make his dog act contrary to his instinct. 



If a Dog is trained well when young, he never will go so far 

 from you, but, that a moderate sound may reach his ears, and 

 therefore, I condemn the whistle and other noise ; if a Dog 

 is broken to either the whistle or many words, he will 

 always take the liberty to range as far from you, as these 

 sounds can be heard, for, depending on them, he seldom 

 looks at his master, and only knows of his error, when he 

 can no longer hear them; but, train a Dog to a few words, 

 and the waving of your hands, and he will not range too 

 far from you, he, depending on your actions for instruction, 

 will keep near you, that he may see clearly, and obey the 

 direction you wish him to go. There is nothing more un- 

 pleasant than to hunt in company with those who are whist- 

 ling, blustering, and hallooing at their Dogs : for, setting 

 aside the unpleasantness of their noise, it often deranges the 

 Dogs, frightens the game, and destroys much sport. 



I most strenuously recommend that aDog should be learned 

 to bring the game, although many sportsmen condemn it as 

 injurious for several reasons; the first they say is the danger 

 of the Dog's flushing the game, when running for the shot 

 bird ; the second is, that after the Dog attains some age, he 

 becomes hard mouthed, and mashes the bird; and the other 

 reason is, that it causes a scuffle whenever there are several 

 Dogs in company. In answer to these reasons, I would re- 

 mark, that there is scarcely any habit in a Dog but by pro- 

 per treatment may be altered, and it proves only a deficiency 

 in trainingthem, if these bad habits are preserved in theDogs, 

 but a Dog Tnay and ought to be trained, to bring the game 

 or drop it, at the master's pleasure; this can also be done, at 

 the time, and by adopting the plan recommended in the 

 former part of this treatise. At all events, in a country like 

 this which abounds with streams, thickets, and other diffi- 

 cult places, the advantages of having a Dog to find and bring 

 dead game, will more than counterbalance other inconveni- 

 ences. I believe no sportsman, who has a good Dog which 

 will do this, thinks the worse, or objects to him on that ac- 

 count; and objections to this plan are raised by those who 

 have no Dogs of this kind, and are unacquainted with the ad- 

 vantages arising from the practice. 

 3 B 



One of the most difficult things to break a Dog of, is the 

 habit of chasing rabbits, but, as has been before stated, there 

 is no practice so deeply rooted in a Dog, but if taken in time 

 may be corrected, so this may be reformed also; and in the 

 first place a sportsman should never shoot a rabbit in sight 

 of his Dog, or carry one in his game bag, as the Dog, in this 

 case, very naturally supposes, it is as much the object of your 

 pursuit as the quail or partridge; now, if the master will 

 never shoot a rabbit in his Dog's presence, and secondly, 

 will severely flog him for the two or three first oSences, I 

 will guarantee there will be no difiiculty on this score, and no 

 necessity to resort to those cruel practices of shooting the 

 Dog, and " thrusting a wire through the cartilaginous part of 

 his nose," and affixing to this a cord, to which must be tied 

 a hare, and made to spring about and with a smart application 

 of the whip, inflict pain on the dog, while exclaiming "ware 

 hare." 



Some Dogs after being trained, are so fond of the gun, that 

 they will follow any person with a gun who calls them; to 

 break them of this is a thing to be much desired ; for, should 

 he be a superior Dog, the person who allures him from his 

 home will be loth to return him, and is often induced to ap- 

 propriate to his own pleasures by using, or profit by selling 

 that property which belongs to another. 



To break a Dog of this disposition, I would recommend 

 that the owner, get some person, a stranger to the Dog, to pro- 

 cure a gun, and entice the animal some considerable distance 

 from his home, when he should be seized roughly by the 

 neck, and the whip applied with considerable severity, after 

 which ordered home; this plan followed once or twice, will 

 completely break him of the propensity. 



Dogs should not be permitted to spring on their master 

 or any other person with their feet; it is a bad practice, and 

 the ofiender should always be punished for it — and the fol- 

 lowing receipt to break them of chasing poultry is select- 

 ed. "Respecting poultry, if you find the whip insufficient 

 to restrain him, take a cleft stick, to one end of which tie 

 a living fowl, and insert the dog's tail in the cleft at the 

 other, and tie it in tight, so as to cause him some pain, 

 then give him a few stripes with a whip, and let him run 

 ofi"; when he has tired himself, and refuses to run any longer, 

 take the stick from his tail, and beat him well about the 

 head with the fowl; apply the whip also smartly; after this 

 there will be little reason to fear his running at fowls again. 

 If a Dog be allowed to kill poultry unpunished, it will 

 make him hard-mouthed and apt to break his game; to say 

 nothing of the injury he may do to his master or neigh- 

 bours." 



A Dog should always be fed with wholesome food; a 

 hearty meal consisting of boiled meat, with some Indian 

 bread or mush, and milk. Once a day is sufficient for any 



