THE HUNTING BOO 



THE PARTRIDGE DOG 



BY W. B. TALLMAN. 



The ruffed grouse or partridge is, beyond 

 any doubt, the greatest of our game birds. 

 Anyone who has ever shot them appreciates 

 the fact that there is greater satisfaction in 

 bringing one of these grand birds to bay than 

 in any other shooting that can be had. This 

 is not only because of their size and beauty, 

 though that, of course, adds to the pleasure, 

 but more particularly through the fact of 

 their extreme wildness and exceptional cun- 

 ning, and that, aside froni an accidental 

 chance shot, they generally give the shooter 

 an opportunity for exercising all the quick- 

 ness and accuracy of which he is capable. 



To thoroughly enjoy ruffed grouse shoot- 

 ing, there are several things that are quite, if 

 not absolutely necessary — a knowledge of the 

 habits of the birds, a familiarity with the 

 country over which you intend to shoot, the 

 ability to stand hard tramping through 

 swampy, rough cover and over rocky hill- 

 sides ; and last and most important, a good 

 partridge dog. Now what constitutes a good 

 partridge dog? There are a good many 

 shooters who would say at once, "I want a 

 slow-working dog; one with a good nose, 

 who will pick up the foot scent where the 

 birds have been, and follow that trail until 

 he locates the bird. Where the birds are as 

 wild as they are in my country, no dog can 

 point them unless he keeps his nose to the 

 .ground and goes very slow. If a dog goes 

 .racing through the woods and only points 

 when he gets the body scent, you won't get 

 .a shot in a week." This man may be a good 

 .practical sportsman, a good shot, and may, 

 if he is a persistent and hard worker, get 

 .his share of birds. But he has been brought 

 up to believe that a partridge dog is neces- 

 sarily a potterer, because he has not been so 

 fortunate as to possess or to have seen a 

 -really good natural partridge dog. He may 

 .have had or seen dogs that if properly han- 

 dled would have made good ones, but his de- 

 sire to shoot, whenever he knows there are 

 birds to be found, and the fact that he could 

 .get some shots over a slow-going dog, have 

 prevented him from taking the time and the 

 pains to teach the better dog what to do. It 

 .is a fact that one who knows his shooting 

 Hind, and where to find the birds, can get 

 .more shots without any dog than he can 

 with a fast dog that lias not been properly 

 broken and had experience, Consequently 



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.he can get more shots over a slow-going plug 

 dog that takes the foot scent and creeps and 

 crawls to his game than he can over a good 

 though inexperienced dog. The best dogs 

 that I have ever seen for the purpose were 

 .high-headed ones, and I would not accept as 

 ■a gift one that persisted in trailing, and nos- 

 ing on foot scent. I have found that the 

 best ones will occasionally try for foot scent, 

 but upon finding it, would throw up their 

 beads, cast off, and go high-headed to their 

 birds. 



In selecting a young dog with the inten- 

 tion of breaking him on partridge, and with 

 the idea of making a thoroughly good dog 

 for that work, do not be deceived and invest 

 your money in one that shows a lot of point 

 and an inclination to creep and crawl on the 

 .scent. Select a good mover, just as you 

 would if you were intending to do most of 

 your shooting in the open on quail. Pick one 

 that shows a disposition to keep his head up 

 and feel for the scent, high in the air. If 

 you can see him, when ranging quite fast, 

 .stop and with a high head appear to use his 

 nose, whether he shows inclination to point 

 or not, give him a trial. More care is nec- 

 essary in yard breaking a dog for partridge 

 shooting than for quail, as it is very impor- 

 tant for work on these wild birds that your 

 dog be absolutely obedient and capable of 

 being handled without the use of loud orders. 

 A thoroughly broken partridge dog should 

 'work without orders, or at the most with 

 only a slight whistle and motion of the hand. 

 .Right here is where 'good yard breaking 

 comes in. If you' have a youngster of good 

 disposition, you can easily teach him to be 

 obedient to motions of the hand — to give you 

 his attention at a low whistle — to drop read- 

 ily at a signal and to move in either direc- 

 tion as ordered. A little time spent in this 

 way will be repaid many times over, when 

 you come to give him his actual work on 

 game. He can easily be taught to go more 

 (Cautiously at the sound of "sh-sh," and to 

 move on or go faster by clucking as to a 

 horse. When finished in his breaking, these 

 two orders and a few motions of the hand 

 are all that need be used. There are dogs 

 that show the qualities of which I have spo- 

 ken, viz., good action and a disposition to 

 hunt with a high head, that may be too rank 

 or too ambitious for a novice to break with- 

 out a great deal of trouble; but there are 

 dogs, especially those that are bred from 



