38 BREAKING A BIRD DOG 
dead; lead him to it, hold it in your hand 
so that he cannot grab or bite it. Give him 
to understand that he must take and hold it 
easily. Then ( keep a line on him ) pitch the 
bird out a few yards where he can see it 
plainly and let him pick it up. Now you are 
at the critical point . Be alert, see that he 
turns the instant the bird is safe in his 
mouth and have him come direct to you as in 
No. 4 and No. 5. If first trial is satisfactory, 
then release him and pitch out again several 
times or a dozen times until you are sure that 
he will not bolt with it. If YOU slip up 
on this lesson you will be in for a lot of 
trouble and then must go back to former les¬ 
sons and bring him on again by easy stages, 
using force collar whenever he shows dispo¬ 
sition to sulk. Once the dog is properly 
taught by this system he is a retriever for¬ 
ever, because the remedy is always at hand 
in case of a setback. 
Note —Never insist on working a dog, 
young or old, while the weather is hot, be¬ 
cause the object is difficult to hold. Most 
dogs are easy to handle if the master is 
patient and reasonable . Occasionally you 
