WILDFOWL DOGS—HOW TO BREAK THEM 63 
notions he may hear propounded on this subject by would-be 
tutors, who in reality are ignorant misleaders. 
To begin with, the dog bred for a purpose has in it the 
elements of its work. In the crossed animal there must be a 
mingling which has some counteraction one way or the other. 
Perfect dogs owe more to their breeding than to their training 
and working. Several crude examples might be cited to show 
my meaning, the most forcible of which I will put in the form of 
a question: if we want white dogs, should we breed them from 
black ones? Of course, exceptions occur, but these in no way 
concern the general fact. In addition, selection by man is 
dependent to a considerable extent on the attainment of per- 
fection in animal training, and on this point I will venture to 
mention the old saying, ‘‘ What the Lord hath left out no man 
can put in.” Here we have a point which very closely applies 
to the dog-breaker’s work, and one of extreme importance. 
A feature to be noted in all dogs, especially those which 
are to be the working servants of man, is their disposition and 
temper. I have generally found that when dogs have been 
well bred (by this I mean carefully selected and confined in 
breeding to one variety) their tempers have been mild, whereas 
in cross-breds the reverse has occurred. I do not say this is 
always so, I am only speaking generally and as far as my 
experience goes. In show-dogs we occasionally meet with 
bad-tempered champions. These animals, however, can only 
stand as exceptional instances. 
Speaking of temper in dogs, my arguments may be better 
understood from the following. If we accept the theory of 
evolution, or, more correctly, variation under domestication 
subject to selection by man, in dogs, we must naturally agree 
that, according to their breeding, they are subject, if carelessly 
or cross-bred, to reversion in some shape or form, whether in 
outward appearance or temperament. By selection, we can 
characterise to an unlimited extent in the modification of a form. 
