276 



RECREATION 



administer punishment at just the right time; 

 holding the clog up to his birds by a sharp 

 command, or where his disposition will stand 

 it, a judicious use of the whip. 



The worst forms of blinking are often de- 

 veloped in aged dogs, and if not checked in 

 the beginning, are well-nigh incurable. I 

 remember well a case of a very "classy" set- 

 ter which was well up to Field Trial form. 

 He was fast, stylish and perfectly broken, 

 and up to the time he was three years old 

 had never shown any signs of game shyness 

 or blinking. Right in the middle of one sea- 

 son he commenced to false point, and we laid 

 it to his nose — thought that oerhaps the scent 

 being bad caused him to be over-cautious. 

 But from false pointing and backing off he 

 began to leave his legitimate points, and fin- 

 ally we caught him casting off from the 

 scent of birds. I have seen him hunt with 

 great judgment and perseverance side-hills, 

 sedge-field and stubble, and coming down 

 wind with a rush, throw his head into the 

 air as if going directly to game, only to 

 crouch and streak off at right angles, quit 

 that field, and go merrily to work to find an- 

 other covey. Now this blinking was of the 

 kind found in dogs of exceptionally high 

 class. A wonderful combination of bone, 

 muscle, brain and nerves. Muscles like iron, 

 and nerves that govern them in great bursts 

 of speed. A powerful and yet delicate mech- 

 anism. It is not difficult to understand that 

 such an animal may easily be ruined. In this 

 particular case, the dog was in no sense shy, 

 but was possessed of abundant courage. He 

 was a brainy dog — one of the kind that can 

 be taught almost anything. A knowledge of 

 his disposition decided the course of treat- 

 ment, and he was literally driven back to his 

 work. At the first sign of crouching (he 

 had a peculiar way of dropping his head and 

 hind-quarters, which seemed to throw his 

 shoulder-folades unnaturally high) he would 

 receive a sharp command to "Go on" ; this 

 only checked him a bit at first, but two or 

 three commands generally held him up to 

 the game long enough to give his handler 

 an opportunity of getting to him with the 

 whip, and then the modus operandi was not 

 unlike that of driving a shying horse. A 

 quick, positive order to stand up to his work, 

 and a well-timed stroke of the whip would 

 straighten him and take all the nonsense out 

 of him. It was a hard battle and required 

 much patience and some cross-country run- 

 ning on the part of his handler, for if he came 

 on game when out of reach of voice, that 

 experience scored a point in favor of the vice 

 and greatly weakened the force of previous 

 lessons. If he had not been extremely game, 

 of course, this treatment would have been a 

 dismal failure; but on the other hand, a dog 

 of more ordinary quality is not apt to develop 

 that peculiar form of blinking. 



In the case of a "classy," high-strung dog, 

 with a disposition that won't stand the whip, 

 the problem is a still more difficult one. The 



principal thing to bear in mind is that you 

 must keep your dog in sight as much as is 

 possible without seriously restricting his 

 range, and make him realize that you will 

 not permit him to dodge the issue ; whether 

 you enforce your wishes by moral suasion 

 or otherwise. Remember that the dog that 

 begins by abandoning his points or circling 

 the birds is liable to end by dodging the 

 game altogether. 



WHAT IS A BEAGLE? 



Editor Recreation : 



Please answer through your magazine : 

 Is the beagle hound a separate and distinct 

 breed of dog by itself, or is it a breed pro- 

 duced from some others? If so, what are 

 they and what is the difference between the 

 beagle and the harrier? This information 

 to settle a dispute. 



F. G. Bee, Columbus, Ohio. 



The beagle has been a recognized breed 

 at least since the days of Queen Elizabeth. 

 How it was originally produced we do not 

 know ; probably by crossing some species 

 of hound with a terrier. 



The difference between the beagle and 

 harrier is quite marked. The beagle is two 

 or three inches lower at the shoulder, has 

 a different shaped head, and is altogether a 

 less powerful dog. The old-fashioned harrier 

 is possibly nearly extinct, most of the Eng- 

 lish packs of so-called harriers being simply 

 dwarf fox hounds. — Editor. 



THE W. K. C. SHOW. 



The thirtieth show of the Westminster 

 Kennel Club, which was held in Madison 

 Square Garden, New York, on February 12, 

 13, 14 and 15, was certainly the biggest and 

 grandest show ever held on this side of the 

 Atlantic. 



In many classes even the largest of the 

 English shows were eclipsed, and it is quite 

 evident that dogs and dog shows are be- 

 coming more popular each year in the United 

 States. And this is as it should be, for if 

 dog shows are not an unmixed blessing, yet 

 their influence on the whole is for good. 



When, as result of inbreeding and false 

 standards, a breed becomes weedy, delicate 

 and lacking in intelligence, it does not take 

 dog fanciers long to awaken to the true 

 facts of the case, and then a reaction soon 

 sets in. 



Mr. James Mortimer, the superintendent, 

 and the various gentlemen who judged the 

 classes of this show are deserving of the 

 greatest credit for its magnificent success. 

 Some of the smaller shows could learn a 

 lot by following the methods adopted at 

 Madison Square Garden last month. Al- 

 though there were almost two thousand en- 

 tries, the great hall was sweet and well 

 ventilated to the end. The dogs were well 

 benched, well fed, well cared for and well 

 judged. 



