2 
BREAKING A BIRD DOG 
plans should miscarry, and that meant that 
she had her work to do and must learn her 
lessons in preparation. 
Then one day bad news came suddenly to 
cause us grief—little Byrd had been exposed 
to distemper and would surely come down 
with it. There followed the trying siege of 
bringing her through, the effort ultimately 
being crowned with success, and she became 
herself again. It required several months for 
her to regain her strength and health, the 
process being helped materially by plenty of 
fresh air and sunshine. Hours at a time she 
spent just playing with my little boy, romp¬ 
ing in the fields about my home. 
Finally, one day—so swiftly does time fly 
—it came to me almost as a shock that the 
Illinois quail season was not far off; and I 
had been invited to join a party there. It 
was, in fact, well into September and not a 
thing had been done toward Byrd’s train¬ 
ing. Less than sixty days remained in which 
to bring the little dog to a point where she 
would be of some real service in the field. 
And still I hesitated to send her away to a 
trainer. I simply couldn’t seem to bring my- 
