48 BREAKING A BIRD DOG 
January 5, 1924. 
Bloomer, Wise. 
Dear Mr. Breunig: 
I must apologize for the delay in answering your 
letter of Dec. 14th, in which you tell me about your 
English Setter, Belle, and ask if I can suggest any¬ 
thing in the matter of curing her of gun-shyness. 
Your letter pleased me a great deal and I regard 
it as one of the best testimonials I have ever re¬ 
ceived for my bird-dog book because you state that 
after reading the book you developed Belle into a 
very good partridge and prairie chicken dog. This 
specific result is more complimentary than a thousand 
words of empty praise. 
I might say further than I remember Belle very 
well indeed and especially recall the very first day we 
had her in the field when she made a covey find 
and was as stanch as stone on her point, although 
when flushed I thought she would continue chasing 
the birds over into the next county. That, however, 
is one of the easiest things to correct and it only 
requires a little time and patience. It is often im¬ 
possible to inculcate the hunting instinct and desire 
into a dog, but a dog which already has these can 
be steadied down. 
The inquiry in your letter, however, is on the sub- 
