CHAPTER X. 



Pointing Instinct. — The machinery of the point instinct 

 versus intelligence ; steadying the young dog ; dropping 



to wing. 



SETTERS and pointers are not taught to 

 point in the sense that they are made to 

 do other things that are a part of their ed- 

 ucation, for pointing is instinctive and there- 

 fore a natural quahty. But pointing as a raw, 

 instinctive product and pointing in a thor- 

 oughly broken setter or pointer are different 

 things, and the equality of the ripe point de- 

 pends very largely on the way it has been de- 

 veloped. It is this development of the point- 

 ing instinct with which the breaker has to deal. 

 But let us study briefly the nature of the 

 pointing instinct as we find it in a young dog 

 which has never known the sight or scent of 

 game. The pointing instinct is very complex 

 and in its entirety depends upon the nervous 

 and muscular development as well as on the 

 nose. Indeed, the nose has but little to do 

 with it, any further than to inspire the point. 

 The scent of game is pleasant to the dog, just 

 as some particular kind of food is pleasant. 

 But the scent of game always has been asso- 



