148 BREAKING A BIRD DOG 
them guide our footsteps right. Men who 
really love dogs could not do otherwise—the 
truth that shines from their loving eyes is 
so uncalculating, so honest, so sincere, so 
big, and so bold and so straightforward that 
even the mere thought of deception of any 
kind should be banished from our minds. 
For the man who loves the out-of-doors 
nothing is more fascinating than breaking a 
bird dog; and nothing gives a hunter so 
much satisfaction as to shoot over a dog 
that he has broken himself. 
The only reason I have written this book 
is because I have felt that some of my sug¬ 
gestions may be helpful, particularly from 
the standpoint of dog psychology—so essen¬ 
tial for successful results. Other works 
have given devices in more detail—mine 
aims more at the matter of the mind . That 
one phase of the subject is a big enough task 
for any one book. If I shall have succeeded 
merely in causing you to realize what an 
important part of the problem this matter is 
—the closest possible meeting of minds, 
yours with your dog's—then I shall feel that 
I have not failed. 
