336 BREAKING AND ENTERING. 



for dropping, and if this is encouraged all goes on well. Too 

 often the shooter himself produces unsteadiness, by disregarding 

 his dog at the moment when he ought to attend to him most 

 particularly, and by running in himself to take care of his 

 " bag," considering that more important than the steadiness of 

 his dog. It is true that a runner is sometimes lost by the 

 delay of a few seconds while the discharged barrel is reloaded ; 

 but in the long run, the shooter who keeps his dog down till he 

 has loaded will bag the most game. 



The faults which chiefly require correction at this stage are : 

 blinking, shying the gun, pottering at the hedges, hunting too 

 wide, and chasing fur. The vice of* blinking has been caused 

 by over-severity in punishment for chasing poultry, &c, and 

 takes a great deal of time to remove. Indeed, until the dog 

 sees game killed, he seldom loses the fear which has produced 

 it. It is therefore frequently useless to continue the breaking in 

 the spring, although such a dog sometimes becomes very useful 

 by careful management in the shooting, season. Generally 

 speaking, it is occasioned by undue severity, either applied for 

 chasings cats or poultry, or for chasing game when first hunted. 

 The former kind of castigation should be very cautiously applied, 

 as the puppy is very apt to associate the punishment given for 

 the chasing of game with that due to the destruction of poultry 

 or cats ; and as he has been compelled to leave the latter by 

 the use of the whip, and has been afterwards kept "at heel," 

 so he thinks he must do so now, and in fear he comes there, 

 and consequently " blinks his birds." This defect is only to be 

 remedied by instilling confidence, and by avoiding punishment ; 

 but it is often one which gives great trouble before it is got 

 over. It is not so bad as the obstinately refusing to work at 

 all, but is only next to it. Both occur in dogs which are 



