632 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Oct. 21, 1911. 
K©nm<gl 
Fixtures. 
DOG SHOWS. 
Oct. 19-22.—Texas Kennel Club, Dallas, Tex. Sydney 
Smith, Sec’y. 
Oct. 30.—Western Beagle Club, Bass Lake, Ind. A. W. 
Cates, Sec’y. 
Nov. 1-2.—Norfolk-Pcrtsmouth Kennel Club, Norfolk, 
Va. S. E. Tillitt, Sec’y. 
Nov. 7.—Bulldog Club of America, New York City. 
E. K. Austin, Sec’y. 
Nov. 9-12.—San Antonio Kennel Club, San Antonio, Tex. 
Nov. 12.—National Beagle Club of America, Shadwell, 
Va. C. R. Stevenson, Sec’y. 
Dec. 1-2.—Toy Spaniel Club of America, New York 
City. Mrs. H. S. Morris, Sec’y. 
Dec. 12-13.—French Bulldog Club of New England, Bos¬ 
ton, Mass.. Walter Burgess, Sec’y. 
1912. 
Jan. 26-27.—Lynn (Mass.) Kennel Club. W. Rolfe, Sec’y. 
Feb. 6-9.—Fanciers’ Association of Indiana, Indianapo¬ 
lis, Ind. C. R. Milhous, Sec’y. 
Feb. 12-15.—Westminster Kennel Club, New York City. 
William Rauch, Chairman. 
Feb. 20-23.—New England Kennel Club, Boston, Mass. 
R. C. Storey, Sec’y. 
FIELD TRIALS. 
Eighth American Field Futurity, for pointer and setter 
bitches bred on or after Oct. 30, 1910. Nominations 
of dams close Oct. 29, 1911. Nominations must be 
made within thirty days after bitches have been bred. 
Oct. 24.—Connecticut Field Trial Club, Hampton, Conn. 
C. H. Gillette, Sec’y, Hartford, Conn. 
Oct. 24.—Hoosier Field Trial Club, Carlisle, Ind. W. L. 
Hornbuckle, Asst. Sec’y. 
Oct. 30.-—Central States Field Trial Association, Hamil¬ 
ton, O. L. G. Haverland, Sec’y. 
Nov. 2.—Seventh American Field Futurity, Hutsonville, 
Ill. 
Training the Hunting Dog for the 
Field and Field Trials.* 
Yard Breaking. 
The preliminary schooling of the dog, com¬ 
monly called yard breaking, consists in teach¬ 
ing him the proper acts of obedience in response 
to certain commands which are of general and 
special utility in controlling him in his work 
afield and at other times. By establishing a 
habit of prompt and cheerful obedience to such 
commands before the more serious training in 
the work afield begins, it is readily apparent 
that a distinct educational gain is made. Inci¬ 
dentally, these preliminary lessons, by the op¬ 
portunities of companionship which they afford, 
establish the most friendly relations between 
teacher and pupil, if they are kindly and sym¬ 
pathetically conducted. 
From his hours of play, wherein the puppy 
frisks and frolics as he pleases, hardly any 
fatigue ensues. He then is following the simple 
impulses of his own mind, which do not cause 
great nervous strain, over-heating, confusion, 
or intense worry. He abhors lessons which are 
devoid of all amusement. If they are gently 
and amusingly given success is more pro¬ 
gressive. After a time mental strength and 
stamina will develop, and then longer lessons 
may be given without distressing him. 
Later in the training the powers of his mind 
become so much more vigorous that the most 
difficult of the training lessons are learned with 
greater ease than were the far more simple 
beginnings. 
*From “Training the Hunting 1 Dog,” by B. Waters. 
Copyright by Forest and Stream Pub. Co. 
Nov. 6.—Independent Field Trial Club, Hutsonville^ Ill. 
All-Aged entries close Oct. 1. S. H. Socwell, Sec’y, 
1636 Park avenue, Indianapolis, Ind. 
Nov. 20.—Pointer Club of America, Barber, N. C. W. 
C. Root, Sec’y. 
Second week in November.—Orange County Field Trial 
Club, Middletown, N. Y. C. C. Haines, Sec’y. 
Nov. 21.—International Field Trial Club, Ruthven, Ont. 
W. B. Wells, Sec’y. 
Nov. 23.—Delaware Setter and Pointer Club. H. B. 
Lyman, Sec’y. 
Nov. 27.—Continental Field Trial Club, Waynesboro, Ga. 
John White, Sec’y. 
Dec. 4.—Georgia Field Trial Association, Waynesboro, 
Ga. Entries to Derby and All-Age stakes close 
Oct. 15. Tracy Mackenzie, Sec’y, Waynesboro, Ga. 
Dec. 11.—Southern Field Trial Club, Le’tohatchie, Ala. 
J. H. Wallace, Jr., Sec’y. 
Dec. 18.—Kentucky Field Trial Club, Letohatchie, Ala. 
All-Age entries close Oct. 15. S. W. Linebaugh, 
Sec’y, Russellville, Ky. 
1912. 
First week in January.—Eastern Field Trial Club, Cotton 
Plant, Miss. S. C. Bradley, Sec’y. 
Jan. 7.—United States Field Trial Club. W. B. Staf¬ 
ford, Sec’y. 
Jan. 14.—National Field Trial Championship Associa¬ 
tion. W. B. Stafford, Sec’y. 
BEAGLE TRIALS. 
Third American Field Beagle Stake, for beagles bred on 
or after Oct. 30, 1910. Nominations must be made 
within thirty days after bitches have been bred. 
Oct. 23.—Second American Field Beagle Stake, New 
Stanton, Pa., in conjunction with the Central Beagle 
Club’s trials. Entries close Oct. 2. 
Oct. 24.—Central Beagle Club, New Stanton, Pa. Chas. 
Meyer, Sec’y. 
Oct. 30.—New England Beagle Club, Ashland, Mass. ' 
A. D. Fiske, Sec’y. 
Oct. 30.—Western Beagle Club, Bass Lake, Ind. A. W. 
Cates, Sec’y. 
Nov. 9.—National Beagle Club of America, Shadwell, 
Va. C. R. Stephenson, Sec’y. 
To concentrate his mind on what is being 
taught him in the first lessons is exceedingly 
difficult and fatiguing to him; therefore the 
teacher would better set a short limit to the 
lessons, say fifteen or twenty minutes. He also 
should avoid the habit of constantly bossing and 
nagging the pupil between lessons. If he is 
bossed and bullied incessantly, he, after a time, 
loses all power of independent initiative, and 
is so dominated by his tutor that he is a mere 
unthinking machine. 
These suggestions as to overdiscipline are 
quite as applicable when the dog is receiving 
his experience on game as they are when he is 
receiving his yard breaking. His subjugation 
to the entire domination of his trainer is unde¬ 
sirable at any time. Yet many good dogs are 
annually spoiled, or their best efforts marred, 
by ridigly restricting them to lines of action in 
their yard training which are mistakenly deemed 
to be the correct thing when they are actually 
working to the gun. 
While the trainer may have in mind the nice 
manner in which the theoretical training will 
fit into the practical work, the dog is entirely 
ignorant that it is training, or, indeed, that it 
has any reference to anything at all useful. He 
recognizes that he is cramped and confined in 
his efforts, and, if so mentally enslaved till it 
becomes a habit, he exhibits slavish deference 
at all times. 
Without the ability or inclination to hunt 
game, the dog is worthless for field purposes. 
Some dogs, if checked too much, perceive noth¬ 
ing which appeals to their self-interest, and con¬ 
sequently they lose all inclination to search for 
birds. If the dog refuses to hunt it is beyond 
the power of any one to force him to do so. 
This is a point which the trainer should ever 
bear in mind—that is to say, it is the dog’s self- 
interest which impels him to seek game. If this 
self-interest is not preserved all incentive to 
effort on the dog’s part is gone. His natural 
impulse for the pursuit of birds and his enthusi¬ 
asm in his efforts to capture them are so great 
that he will submit to much balking and pun¬ 
ishment before he will desist; but there is a 
certain limit beyond which he will not main¬ 
tain interest and effort if the trainer is over- 
restrictive. 
In the yard training, as in the field work, 
the trainer should teach and handle quietly. 
Turbulence in most instances denotes ill-temper 
or a badly disciplined mind. The loud and in¬ 
cessant issuing of commands and blowing of 
whistles, in season and out of season, with or 
without cause, are faults common to nearly all 
amateurs, and for that matter to nearly all pro¬ 
fessionals. The majority of trainers are self- 
taught, so that bad habits of method and man¬ 
ner acquired in the beginning are likely to be 
retained by them throughout their lives. 
Habituated thoroughly to their own ways, they 
often are quite unconscious of the hullabaloo 
which they create, and of their offensiveness to 
such company as may be with them, to say 
nothing of the great handicap which they im¬ 
pose upon any dog which may be under their 
control. 
Boisterous shouting of orders and constant 
whistling are the cause of many flushes. If the 
frighened birds be in the proximity of the dog 
at the time, the noisy trainer is prone to con¬ 
sider that the dog is at fault rather than him¬ 
self, who is really the guilty party. When so 
noisily intent on securing obedience in an 
habitual hullabaloo manner, the trainer is gen¬ 
erally lost to all incidental happenings, so far 
as they relate to his own faults. 
It is not at all difficult to teach a dog obedi¬ 
ence to quiet commands and gentle signals, and 
it is infinitely better to handle him in that 
manner afield than in a manner of noise and 
violence, apart from all considerations of ease 
and elegance. 
While being taught, the dog quickly learns 
the signs which indicate punishment and the 
signs which indicate that the teacher is pleased 
or displeased. Changes of voice and expression 
of countenance, whether of pleasure or irrita¬ 
tion, are noted and correctly interpreted. It is 
therefore essential for the best progress in the 
lessons that the teacher preserve an equable ex¬ 
terior and action at all times, be he pleased or 
displeased. 
In the summer days it is better to give the 
lessons in the early morning and evening, the 
temperature then being coolest. When the 
puppy is warm and panting he suffers much dis¬ 
comfort, and it is then difficult to hold his in¬ 
terest or attention. 
His mind, being immature and undisciplined, 
can compass only the simplest details. There¬ 
fore it is best to begin with the most elementary 
lessons, and thus his ideas will be developed in 
a natural manner, and obedience will be en¬ 
forced without breaking his spirit or lessening 
his self confidence. As with the child in its first 
attempts at learning, so it is with the puppy; 
it is extremely difficult and wearisome for it to 
at first understand the simplest teachings or 
concentrate its mind on any subject which re- 
