Sept. 1, 1893.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



18B 



POINTS AND FLUSHES. 



CniCA&o, Aug. 27.— There is uo more common fault in 

 training than that of over-traininj?. Nearly everyboiiy 

 thinks that a setter or pointer cannot be trained too much; 

 that the mo.st perfect obedience and deference should be 

 established and maintained, and that the dog should look 

 frequently to his handler for orders, when searching for 

 birds. Tiiis is the belief of nearly every shooter or amateur 

 trainer who has not attended field trials or had the advan- 

 tage of coaching, in practical training and baioiUiug, by 

 professionals, and it is the opinion of some who have had 

 both. Many a good dog has had his individuality entirely 

 destroved, or his best capabilities impaired, by a course of 

 training wherein the trainer taught on the theory that he 

 furnished all the brains and the dog simply did the work. 

 Even in the practice of professional trainers it is not an 

 infrequent occurrence to see dogs show hesitation in certain 

 parts of their work and look to their handler for orders or 

 assistance, often in matters so siaiple that they should have 

 instantly decided for themselves without any reference to 

 the handler. This is a much more sei-ious fault than is'com- 

 monly supposed, .since the dogs work but a few moments at 

 a time on any plan or responsibility of their own before 

 looking up for orders, which they obey promptly as soon as 

 received, entirely abandoning all previous plans. He may 

 not precisely tmderstand what the order or signal means, 

 but he works diliseatly in obedience to the order as he un- 

 derstands it, whether it is useful or entirely useless. As 

 this erratic matter happens every few mintites, the day's 

 work, in its entirety, is but a succession of disconnected 

 efforts, every one different from its predecessor in direction 

 and idea; consequently the results must be unsatisfactory. 

 A dog of this kind may be industrious and willing, but 

 having uo self-reliance and no plans, his work is common- 

 place. 



Many dogs of mild and pleasant dispositions are easily 

 over-trained. They are uHturally deferential aijd anxious 

 to please their masters, therefore soon look to them habitu- 

 ally for orders at every turn. Very few dogs are of such an 

 independent and confident disposition that they cannot be 

 over -trained. However, constant meddling and ordering, 

 in season and out of season, will mar the work of auy dog, 

 be he ever so self-reliant by nature. 



In positive contrast is the dog which plans his work ou 

 bis own responsibility, ranging from place to place in an in- 

 telligent manner, one act following another in useful 

 sequence. Such a dog is rarely in doubt about what is cor- 

 rect to do next. With all his diligence and earnestness in 

 bunting, the self-reliant dog works to the guu with the 

 greatest nicety and good intention, if his training has the 

 proper finish. 



It should not be inferred that a self-reliant dog is self- 

 willed or disobedient. On the contrary, he -hould be thor- 

 oughly obedient. The distinction is that one is constantly 

 looking to his handler for orders as to where to work or 

 what to do, the other works freely without any prompting. 



Handling. 



As the season for dog training is now begun and the shoot- 

 ing season has opened in the larger part of the va.st region 

 comprising the chicken country, a few hints as to manner of 

 handling a dog to develop his best abilities without over- 

 training him, may be of value to many readers. The man- 

 ner of doing so is very simple, so simple, indeed, as to be 

 deemed hardly worth observing by the sportsmen at large. 

 The fault of overtraining comes chiefly when the trainer, 

 becomes a boss of his dog. 



The whole matter of correction is comprised in permitting 

 the dog to do his work and solve his problems in his own 

 manner without bossing. Of course, training to systemati- 

 eallv work to the guu should be enforced, but as to the man- 

 ner of searching, the dog should be thrown largely on his 

 own resources. If he shows a disposition to unnecessarily 

 look to his handler for orders or prompting, the latter should 

 ignore him entirely. When the dog finds that the handler 

 goes on his way without concerning himself about him, he 

 will soon work on his own plans and cease to expect assist- 

 ance at every turn. The thoroughly trained, high-class dog 

 is one which will work correctly and diligently without 

 orders or prompting. Too often a dog is bossed when he is 

 doing right. 



A fault very common with amateurs, and one from which 

 professionals are not always freed, is too many orders habit- 

 ually given in too loud a tone of voice, sometimes at the 

 highest pitch of the voice. Besides being harsh and inele- 

 gant, it is harmful, and withall it is needless. 



If Mr. Angus Cameron, who handled the team of English 

 dogs in the trials of 1890 in this country is a fair representa- 

 tive of English trainers, they far excel the American trainers, 

 considering them as a class, in handling dogs quietly and 

 establishing perfect obedience. I do not mean to imply that 

 American trainers can not handle quietly or enforce perfect 

 obedience. The fact that they have not done so is the point 

 presented. 



Undoubtedly the old heat system had much to do in 

 developing a large class of disobedient dogs, as each heat 

 was a separate race, one doe: beating the other regardless of 

 what good or bad work either may have done in previous 

 heats. A disobedient dog had a great advantage over an 

 obedient one, xu'oviding that he did the bulk of his own work 

 well. The dog himself and the loud orders necessarily used 

 in handling him constantly interfered with the obedient 

 dog. 



The signs of the times indicate that a more finished style 

 of training is desired and demanded, in addition to develop- 

 ing the dog's best natural capabilities, and trainers will act 

 wisely in recognizing those signs. 



The Memory of Dogs. 



The powers of memory are much more acute in dogs than 

 is commonly known, and those who do recognize it do not 

 give it the importance to which it is justly entitled. Many 

 instances could be mentioned, showing that some have re- 

 markable ones. However, everybody has observed this 

 faculty and other phenomena of mind in the dog. 



I desire to mention the importance of it in a field trial 

 competition, in res]3ect to which it is very i-arely considered. 

 So far as I know it is not recogaized by field trial judges in 

 general, although it is often a very important factor, and 

 has been sometimes decisive in its restxlts in determining 

 winners. It is in this connection that it is more particularly 

 important from a competitive standpoint. 



So keen is the memory of some dogs that they will remem- 

 ber the exact location of each bevy found in a heat. Prom 

 experience in field work, they know that it a bev^y is not 

 found in a certain place where it has been foixnd and whpre 

 it haunts, it will be found somewhere in the near vicinity of 

 it, A few rapid casts skilfully taken, generally result in 

 finding it. Dogs ot this class often have a great advantage 

 in a field ti-ialT One having such k-en power of memory 

 and certainty in applying it, has a great advantage in run- 

 ning subsequent heats over the same grounds. He skims 

 from the haunt of one bevy to the haunt of another, seldom 

 failing to find them. His competitor is hopelessly handi- 

 capped by his absence of knowledge of the locality, if he has 

 not hunted the same grounds. It is particularly harmful in 

 the final heats where the best dogs come together. I have 

 seen many dogs handicapped in this manner. It is a fault 

 in manag-ement which occurs a number of times at every 

 large trial, the opportunity to profit by knowledge of the 

 grounds being repeatedly afforded by following the same 

 route over the same grounds everjr time that they are used, 

 l^ot only doe? a dog learn a certain route after hunting it 



out once, but in a case where such dog has preAdously com- 

 peted in the same trials in previous years, he has a good 

 knowledge of the grounds before he starts in the competi- 

 tion. It may be asked bow siich complications and inequal- 

 ities of conditions can be avoided. Simply by not running 

 a dog or dogs a second time over precisely the same route, 

 and by running the final heats on grounds entirely new to 

 the competitors. There is not much real bunting in work- 

 ing a dog over a route with which he is perfectly familiar. 

 He goes from bevy to bevy as a matter of absolute knowl- 

 edge, the real searching being insignificant. 



The Chicago Tfibum in an account of a landslide at St. 

 Paul, has the following mention of a pathetic incident 

 which deserves wide publication so it may be added to the 

 innumerable good acts already credited to "man's 

 best friend." It says: "In one of the hou.ses demolished 

 two little boys were buried, one of them, a child named 

 Swengert, ten years of age, being killed, the other badly in- 

 jured and may die. A dog belonging to one of the boys 

 scratched away where they were buried until he uncovered 

 the earth and thereby saved one." • 



Messrs. A. Merriman and W. B. CTates made a pleasant ) 

 call at this office. Mr. Gates is on his way to his home at ' 

 Memphis, after a pleasant sojourn at Eastern watering 

 places. Both were looking in the best of health. 



Mr. Harry L. Goodman will probably not be able to finish 

 up his business interpsts by Sept. T, in this city, but he 

 expects to have his affairs settled and be in charge of the 

 kennels near Nashville before Sept. 12. 



Scoring at Bench Shows.' 



I was just closing up "Points and Flushes" for this week 

 when Forest Asd Stream, Aug. 35, came to hand and af- 

 forded me the pleasure of reading Dr. We.sley Mills's cour- 

 teous letter on the subject of judging by .^coring to a scale 

 of points. I have not the time at fjresent to deal with the 

 subject at length, as I start shortly for Manitoba to attend, 

 in the interest of Forest AND STREAM, the field trials held 

 there. 



Touching the matter briefly, T think that chicken fanciers, 

 among whom scoring by points had its staunchest believers 

 and advocates, have become divided in their beliefs as to its 

 soundness, the chicken fancy being arrayed for and again,st 

 it. It my memory serves me correctly, the great poultry 

 show of New York was judged by comparing fowls, the old 

 style of judging by .scoring being thereat abandoned. I think 

 that the circumstances in this respect were the same this 

 year at that show. In short, the theory and practice of 

 poultry judging is in a state of evolution. All progress 

 means destruction of something preceding, and I think that 

 Dr. Mills will find on investigation that scoring to a scale of 

 points is already partiallv demolished and piled up vdth the 

 deljris of the past. I believe it will not be long before it is 

 abandoned. 



Reading between the lines of Dr. Mills's pleasant and in- 

 structive letter, I infer that he is a believer in judging by a 

 score card. If so, it would intere'st the readers of Forest 

 AND Stream, as I know it will me, if he will give his views 

 at length. • . B. WATERS. 



FLAPS FROM THE BEAVER'S TAIL. 



Toronto, Can. — My Ottawa correspondent tells me the 

 electric cars are playing havoc with the dogs in that city. 

 G"iug home recently he saw two "laid out," one a fine black 

 and tan foxhound, a recent purchase of Mr. G. W. E. Austin, 

 V.S., the other a nondescript spaniel. 



Mr. J. W. Wurtele, Ottawa, owner of the greyhound 

 Justinian, has added Jetsam, first in open class and diploma 

 for best bitch at Ottawa last year. Mr. Geddes will handle 

 the pair at the Canadian shows. 



Mr. Hugh Falconer, Shelburue, has been making further 

 additions to his kennel. One is the pug dog Peek-a-Boo, 

 from Mrs. J V. Newton. He is by Wink out of Little Kate, 

 and back of these are Lord Clover, champion Treasure, etc. 

 He also has had from Mr. J. L. Winchell a;mastiff puppy by 

 Beaufort's Colonel. I have seen Mr. Winchell's letter and 

 he writes highly of him and says he is "one of the most 

 promising young mastiffs in America." 



The annual meeting of the Canadian Kennel Club will be 

 held in Richmond Hall, Richmond street, Toronto, on Tues- 

 day, Sept. 13. An executive meeting will be held one hour 

 earlier at same place. 



Mr. A. D. Stewart showed me part of a letter the other 

 day from Dr. H. S. Griffin, of Hamilton, who is now in 

 England. Dr. Griffin has purchased the crack bull-terrier 

 champion Principio, the winner of many cups, medals and 

 other prizes, and who ha? beaten Streatham Monarch. But 

 meagre particulars are at hand other than that he is by 

 Bendigo out of Kit. A bitch is also coming over, Kathleen 

 Mavourneen, by Gully the Great out of Rose. 



Mr. John Saunders, Homston, has imported a sable and 

 white collie bitch who claims Gladdie as her paternal 

 parent. She is due to whelp Sept, 1, to one of the best dogs 

 in Scotland. 



Mr. T. Swan Smith, Montreal, has imported from Mr. 

 Alex. Smith, Auchcairiel, Scotland, the collie bitch Auch- 

 cairiel La.ssie, a black, tan and white, about one year old. 

 She has a double cross of Christopher, being by Auchcairiel 

 Topper (Christopher— Pittengaden Flirt) out of Auchcairiel 

 Duchess (Christopher— Sweet Las.sie). 



A small dog show will be held at Barrie, Oat,, in connec- 

 tion with the Agricultural Fair, Sept. 36, 27 and 28. 



The following notices of motion have been forwarded the 

 C. K. C. secretary for action at the annual meeting. By Mr. 



H. Gorman: "That a breeder's certificate be attached to 

 every application sent in for registry in the C. K. C. S. B." 

 By Mr. A. D. Stewart; "That the penalty of disqualification 

 imposed by this club upon Mr. F. H. F. Mercer, of Ottawa, 

 be and is hereby removed, and that said Mr. F. H. F. Mercer 

 be and is hereby eligible for re-election in the Canadian 

 Kennel Club unon payment of usual fees." 2. "That Sec- 

 tion 7, of Rule 1.5 be amended by striking out all the words 

 after the word 'class' in the sixth line of the said section." 

 The adoption of this would do away with the necessity of a 

 dog winning at least one challenge first, in a show of 500 

 entries or over to become eligible for the title of champion. 

 3, That Rule 18 be struck out and the following be sub- 

 stituted; "No dog eligible for special prizes can be with- 

 drawn from competition in the regular class, a class in 

 which it has been entered " This compels every dog 

 benched to come before the judge. 



The following addition to Rule 26 I entirely agree with , 

 and if adopted it will do away with this circus style of ad- 

 vertising, which if carried to excess, as it frequently is, 

 becomes nauseating: "Exhibitors at bench shows held 

 under C. K. C. rules may nail, hang up or fasten to the back 

 of the bench, cage or section in which their dogs are exhibi- 



ted, a printed card containing the name of the dog, the 

 name and address of his owner, and a list of the prizes which 

 the dog may have previously won. No other particulars of 

 any kind shall be allowed to be printed on.the said card, nor 

 shall any card, notice or printed or written particulars of 

 any other sort, other than the card above alluded to, be 

 nailed, hung up or fa.stened to the cage or bench occupied 

 by the dog. Biat nothing contained in this rule shall pre- 

 vent the nailing up by the secretary or superintendent of 

 the show any prize cards awarded to the dog during the 

 progress of the show at which the dog is being exhibited." 



By Mr. J. G. Mitchener: "That no two dogs ot the .same 

 breed shall be registered in the C K C. S- B. under the same 

 name unless with a registered affix or prefix." The word 

 "registered" may well be left out of this otherwise excellent 

 rule. It will hardly do to compel a man who may have per- 

 haps but one or two dogs to enter to claim and pay for a 

 registered prefix or affix. 



Mr, A. Murdoch gives notice of motion: 1. "That the 

 office of treasurer be abolished and that the duties apper- 

 taining to that office shall be performed by the .secretary 

 under the title of 'secretary-treasurer,' such secretary- 

 treasurer to give a bond for $1,000 to the Canadian Kennel 

 Club annually as secui'ity." 2 "That a patron be elected." 

 3. "To amend clause 4 of Rule 15." The notice of motion 

 does not give the proposed amendment to the rtxle, but we 

 surmise it is to strike out the word "Britain." The rule 

 now reads; "The novice ci'iss * * shnll not have won 

 a prize at any recognized .^how in Canada, United States or 

 Britain. " 



C. A. Stone will move that Sec. 6 of Rule 15 read, "The 

 open class shall l»e for dogs of any age which have not 

 already qualified for the challenge class and for which no 

 challenge class has been provided" That Sec. 3, Rule 26 be 

 struck out. The rule now reads, "No addition or alteration 

 shall be made to any prize list issued by any bench show 

 committee after it is once printed and distributed, special 

 prizes excepted." 



Mr. Donovan has an eye to the funds, and gives the fol- 

 lowing notice of motion to Rule oof the constitution: "After 

 the word membership on first line insert the words 'accom- 

 panied by the necessary fees." This rule refers to the appli- 

 cation for membership. 



Mr. C. H. Oorbett, Kingston, will take all .setters and 

 pointers at Ottawa, and Dj.We,sley Mills the remaining 

 classes other than spaniels. Mr. P. S. Keyes has undertaken, 

 to compile the catalogue, and entries sent in after Sept. 17 

 will most po.sitively be declined. H. B. Donovan. 



THE USE AND THE ABUSE OF ARSENIC, 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Before the abuse of any drug can be rationally understood 

 its use must be known. Every one is aware that arsenic 

 will produce, in sufficient doses, acute fatal poisoning. It 

 is not, however, generally recognized that chronic or slow 

 poisoning also occurs. I remember a physician being 

 hanged, in my boyhood, for poisoning his wife with arsenic, 

 the process extending over months, if not years. I am con- 

 vinced that some dogs ai-e slowly poisoned with this drug, 

 owing to constant drugging with it to keep them in .show 

 condition, though this is probably more common in Britain 

 than in America, shows being so numerous across the 

 water. 



Arsenic is an alterative, i. 6., it produces prof ound changes 

 in the nutritive processes of the body. The object of the 

 administration in disease is, of course, to alter processes 

 that are abnormal. The drug should never be given to a 

 healthy animal, even if a little out of sorts. 



What are the circumstances that call for the administra- 

 tion of arsenic? I do not propose to exhaust the subject but 

 to mention a few of the conditions that clearly call for its 

 use. It is never to be used in acute conditions of any disease 

 of the dog. It is well known to those of experience that 

 nothing disorders a dog's skin so quickly as a derange- 

 ment of the digestive organs. But keep these right and 

 skin disease, excepting, of course, those forms due to 

 animal and vegetable parasites, will be rare. Now as arsenic 

 has a strong tendency to disorder the digestion under the 

 most favorable conditions, it is manifestly unwise to give it 

 for the acute stages of skin disease. As a rule, all forms 

 of eczema, except the dry and usually chronic kind, are 

 made worse by arsenic. 



There is, however, one kind of skin disease that is often 

 benefited, viz., the dry or scaly, either patchy or diffuse 

 form of eczema or skin inflammation. Occasionally a dog 

 does not do well; his coat keeps constantly falling out; at- 

 tempts are made to rectify his condition by attention to his 

 digestion; he is perhaps given tonics to no purpose, as well 

 as that attention which a judicious person is accustomed 

 to bestow on an animal he values. In such cases a few small 

 doses of arsenic often work a great change for the better. 



Indeed, when other means fail in bettering the health of 

 an animal that does not pull up after distemper, after rear- 

 ing puppies, after excessive field work, etc., arsenic may be 

 used with great advantage. Before it is resorted to, how- 

 ever, other remedies should be given a trial, such as cod 

 liver oil and various tonics. Judicious regular grooming 

 and massage will often do more for a dog than any medicine. 

 The method of administration of arsenic is important. The 

 liquid form freshly prepared is to be preferred to pills. 

 Fowler's solution is excellent, jjerhaps the best. But the 

 drug should always be given at first in minute doses, in 

 plenty of water, and just after food; absolutely never on an 

 empty stomach. By "a small dose 1 mean one to four drops 

 for a dog of the size of a setter. Large doses at first never do 

 good, and may do much harm. 



The effect should be carefully watched. As soon as the 

 eyes get red, the tongue whitish, the appetite poor, or there 

 is any evidence of digestive disturbance, it should be 

 stopped. In any case it is well to make the administration 

 intermittent. If the dog does not show improvemen t in two 

 weeks, after two or three intermissions in the administra- 

 tion, it is better to desist for some time at least. In the case 

 of chorea it may take months of treatment to accomplish 

 much good. 



I would like to utter a very^.rong warains against the 

 use of arsenic for "conditioning" dogs as ordinarily under- 

 stood. It is absolutely impossible to predict what the 

 results may be; but they are almost sure to be bad and pos- 

 sibly rninous to the physical or mental condition of the 

 animal. I have seen very bad effects follow a two weeks' 

 use of the drug in moderate doses given to a healthy dog to 

 improve coat and general condition. The dog, weeks or 

 months later, may become very fat or wretchedly thin, dull, 

 etc. In my opinion it is unwise for anyone to prescribe 

 arsenic for a dog except he be an expert conversant with the 

 action of drugs, the laws of life (physiology), the principles 

 of disease (pathology), and with an experience greater than 

 falls to any one breeder or haodler. As a last resort an 

 owner of a dog who cannot possibly consult an expert may 

 use the drug cautiously under the conditions stated above. 

 I think all owners of dogs who put them in charge of 

 handlers or trainers should stipulate that they be given no 

 arsenic in any form except under the advice of a thoroughly 

 qualified expert. The Forest and Stream has in the past 

 uttered timely warnings against drugging dogs for shows, 

 and for the second time I wish to emphasize in the strongest 

 way the danger of this treatment, which is the rankest sort 

 of an abuse of a powerful remedy. Weslet Mills, M, D, 



MoNTRBAn, Canada. 



