68 THE COMPLETE WILDFOWLER 
understand their utility. ‘‘Down!” ‘back!” ‘‘heel!” 
“seek!” “hie on!” ‘fover!” and a few other such short 
orders as the breaker may choose to invent are easily under- 
stood by a dog. Phrases of encouragement should not be 
varied, for the dog will only remember the sounds of those 
mostly used ; therefore it is as important to remember in what 
words and tone to praise the dog. The most encouraging are 
‘“To ho, good dog!” ‘‘fetch it on!” ‘seek him out!” and, 
on the dog complying with the sounds, ‘‘Steady, good dog!” 
should always be shouted in a tone by which the dog may 
know he is doing right. Scolding sounds are ‘‘’Ware, you 
brute!” ‘ware chase!” ‘*back!” and so on. 
Up to the present stage of the dog’s education a whip 
should never have been used. What he knows should have 
been taught him by words and actions only. The whip will 
be heeded later. Before introducing the dog to his field work 
he should be taught to walk to heel, and not show a desire to 
run after poultry. The only practicable check against this at 
first, if the dog is inclined to chase, is a leash or ‘‘trash” 
cord of eighteen feet long, knotted every yard, so that it can be 
held tight when stood upon. He is now ready, we will 
suppose, to be taught to retrieve. A rabbit-skin, salted, 
and dried, and stuffed with worsted, is a good article for 
the purpose of teaching the dog to carry. First place it 
in his mouth and say, ‘‘Good dog! Fetch it on!” If a 
well-bred retriever, and he has taken well, so far, to his 
lessons, he will readily carry. He may, however, soon tire 
and want to play with it. Then cease further lessons, cal! him 
to heel, and walk on. The next lesson is to let the dog see 
the skin laid on the ground, and, walking a few paces away, 
send him for it. In this way he will soon learn to carry and 
become keen for the job. If he should do anything wrong, 
such as shaking or ‘‘nipping”’ the skin, he should be scolded, 
and if these faults are repeated, given one or two cuts with the 
