The Saline County journal., 1880-03-04
now 70 ssEAx A RETRIEVER.

HOW 10 Break A RETRIEVER.
From Harpers Weekly.
As gentleman likes to have a good
cooking dog af his heels, you had bet
ter get . puppy of some good breed,
about eight months old-curly, wavy,
or smooth, as you please. There is
but little difference, excepting that
the curly ones smell unpleasantly as
they grow older. Only do not delude
Jourseif by thinking that because YOU
lave got scion Of some well-known
,reed. your educational troubles will
he lightened. 1t is the man that
makes the dog; and a common mon-
.rel in. iise hands Of good pStient
'reaker will beat out Of sight the best
bred retriever whose parents ever won
gold medals At suburban palaces, in
the hands OF a dufIer. Indeed, some
Of the cleverest refrievers I have ever
seen have been thorough and complete
m0nRrels :; but Of course they were
naturally clever, and had good noses
to begin with. Three things are how
ever hereditary, viz, nose, q tender
mouth. and temper. The first and
last OF these cannot he inculcated by
any amount of breaking; and ii il dif-
ficult 10 say which is the more impor-
tant, for, however good your dog may
he. what can be more CALLING than to
see it 20 sulky after some aiministra.
tiOn Of disciPline-and what dog will
not occasionally break out THAT it
Will not come near you or work for
YOU, for an hour or two: while a dog
that is so bad tempered as to he unsafe
with strangers is simply a nuisance,
and should never be taken away from
home. Therefore good temper Is a
sine qua non, while, on the other hand,
without u good nose retriever is SIM
ply o. no use at all SO you must try
TO select a puppy from q breed COM
bining these two essentials.
Avoid dog Of large size 1t is all
very well to have a great, lashing, stri-
ding dog that is to be sent after all the
wounded hares, and that is very near
capable of fetching one back that has
not been fired at; but you will want
your dog more for winged game than
fer hares and rabbits. You will also
want tn take it about with you in all
sorts Of conveyances, big and little TO
have II not unfrequently in your room
ard so think that neat, small, act
i've dog will suit you a great deal bet
ter than great strong-smelling beast
as big As calf. Many good spOrtsmen
are reverting to spaniels, and / firmly
believe that, with their bustling active
ways, no dogs are better or quicker.
Having procured puppy Of tile breed
that seems good to you, begin by
shutting IL up; therefore take care that
its frame il SO far developed before its
education commences that its legs and
feet will not become misshapen by its
being shut up for portion Of each
day. You can exercise no control oyer
dog that runs loose about the place,
and feels at liberty Ia run of and hide
in the coal-hole directly it il bored
with its lesson; but the dog you en-
large from his kennel coneeives an at
tachment 10 you far greater than that
which he feels for any other person,
and, such is his loyalty, will feel bound
to accompany you wherever you 60,
whenever 1t may please You to cOnfine
him again.
Almost every puppy will run after q
glove or hall, when thrown at dis
tance, and, after one or two games of
play, will discover that TO bring hack
the ball means to have it thrown for
him again. This first lesson of carry
ing Is SO easily and SO imperceptibly
learned that it is not necessary to dwell
longer upon it, except to remark that
you must he careful not to allow your
dog to acquire any bad habits, such as
running of with the glove, worrying
or biting it, or dropping it near you;
but should he attempt this, walk qui-
etly away, until he will bring the
glove or ball right up to you, and place
il in your hand. The next thing to
teach him is to drop to the hand, and
to remain down, while you walk away,
until q signal is given to release him.
This Is merely in order to get him un-
der control, and to inculcate that i'm.
plicit obedience without which he will
only be bore. The next thing to
teach him ID to hunt your hand and
whistle, and some time and pains
should be spent over this. Take the
puppy To a long field Of grass, and
throw a piece Of cheese or biscuit into
d thick tuft, saying, "Seck dead !"
"Hie, lost" or whatever slogan you
may please to adopt. After few
times these words will stimulate the
dog to search with great eagerness
near to you for something which he
particularly wishes to find. Next hide
few pieces of cheese, without letting
the dog see your movements. At the
word Of command he will search
eagerly; but he knows not where to
hunt, and ere long looks up.a yOu
with q puzzled expression Of counte-
nance, to see if you have not been
hoaxing him. Now wave yOnr arm
toward the cheese, and walk few
steps in that direction; the dog will
follow your movements, working OH
q line parallel to yOurA and will prob
ably OvershoOt the mark. Attract his
attention by low whistle, wave your
arm, and turn again, till he finds the
cheese, and II dawns upon him that by
watching your movements and signals
he will very quickly find the thing he
is looking for. OF course this requires
several lessons; but il ought to be per-
severed in till you can place your dog
by signal one hundred yards away.
and almost at given turnip in field
ON the other side of widis1i stream.
As your dog gets to he very keen to
look for the biscuit, throw pieces away
from you, checking him Thy '.drop.
ping" HIM for several minutes, until
he is used to wait your signal before
starting of on the quest he so eagerly
anticipates. Ii, then, during your
strolls together, you have accustomed
him to walk at your heel for length
"f time together. your puppy is fairly
broken, and is iii To take out shooting. /
\ dog 50 well trained as yours, and
with the confidence in his master, in
spired 10y education, Ia not likely to be |
afraid Of the report Of gun Should
he be so, you must confine him by q |
leash to prevent his running away |
from il and make much OF hin, after |
each report, until he learns, as he soon |
will do. Ia associate the unpleasant |
noise with the pleasant duty of look
ing for dead game
BY this system you Will observe that |
before your dog was taken oul shoot
ing IL had learned, first, to bring what
ever IL found tenderly UP 10 you and
10 place II In your hand; second, 10
remain NJ your heel, or crouched at
your feet, till you told IL to move;
third, to hunt every yard Of ground by
signal from you, turning to your whis-
lie and obeying your motions. l.
there much more for IL to learn, be-
yond that knowledge and craftiness
which only experience can givee L.
not q dog educated like this incompar-
IDLY more fit 70 take out shooting than
he ill-broken brute Of twice lis age
hat one usually sees tied to keeper.
md called retriever? No doubt,
IS your young dog gets keenef and
keener, he will break out, and require