6o 
BREAKING A BIRD DOG 
ready to shoot over. All the hard work and 
worry were a thing of the past. 
When you bring bird dogs to the point 
that Byrd had now reached; when they have 
actually pointed and birds have been killed 
over them; when they have retrieved their 
game; and when they have honored another 
dog by backing and have remained steady to 
shot and wing, then all the training from 
that point on is simply enriching and refin¬ 
ing their work afield. There will be no se¬ 
rious slipping back if they are rightly handled 
from then on. 
We hunted quail for two more days and 
thus had a chance to make absolutely certain 
that it was not all a mistake, and that the 
little dog would continue to do what she had 
so well started. Then we returned home for 
the opening of the pheasant season, for I 
was particularly anxious to develop her in 
this direction, believing that the fascination 
of the work of a good pheasant dog is pretty 
hard to beat. Our pheasants here in Ohio 
are more of a test for a dog than quail and 
when you get a dog that can handle them in 
a satisfactory manner it is a real treat in- 
