Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1910-09-13
By
Frederic
J. Haskin
Hunting Dogs

a large field with as much intelligence as
a man, pointing when the birds are
near. backing when his brace-mate
points dropping at shot and wing, makes
a picture to warm the cookies OF the
heart of any man, however slowly the
blood may course through his veins. As
the dog is travelling at the rate of about
ten miles an hour when he perceives
the body scent of the quarry he points,
and must stop stock-still at the first
perception of. this scent. the feat be-
comes the more remarkable.
There long has been a controversy De-
tween the lovers of the setter and the
supporters of the pointer as to which Is
the better from the sportsmans point OF
view. The friends of the setter declare
that the pointer never has won cham
pionship stake, while the friends OF the
pointer reply that the pointers have won
high honors in proportion to the num-
Der entered at the big field trials. To
this the setter people reply that the rea-
son there are so few pointers entered at
the big trials is that few of them are
able to make sufficient showing in the
smaller events to get chance in the
more important trials. The pointer is
claimed to be a little weak in endurance
and gainliness, and to be less steady
worker in the field than the setter. Yet
It must not be presumed that ne Is
without his good qualities. Judge Mac
donnel, of Manitoba, has dog known as
Old Point, which he declares is so well
posted on the game laws that in hunting
Monaghan pheasants he invariably rec
osnized the difference between the hen
and the cock pheasant, and never points
the former.
The training of a field trial dog re-
quires many months of patient labor. Tfe
dog is at first yard-broken; that is, he
is taught to obey such commands as to-
no." which in the hunting vocabulary
means to come to a stand-still. He is
then taught to come in" and later
trained to walk at the heels Of the
handler when commanded. AS his natu-
raj desire always Is to range around
over fields, 1t is rather a punishment
to have to walk at the heels Of his
master To avoid his becoming gun
shy" much patience and good judgment
is necessary. For hunting work he must
be taught to retrieve, although retriev-
ing is no longer part ofsthe field trials.
After having been taught these things,
his next lessons are in ranging, dropping
to shot and to wing, and pointing. When
he has mastered these important lessons
he is ready for work.
The bird dog is like the athlete in one
respect; he often suffers from over
training. The dog which learns to rely
entirely on the order of his master never
will take first honors in big field event.
He must have the quality of self reliance
and must be taught to judge many mat
tiers for himself. The professional hand
Ter shows his best skill when he reaches
the happy medium of training that will
at once make the dog perfectly respon-
sive to the desires of his master, and at
the same time fully equip him to do his
work without detailed instruction. When
a dog reaches this point he has nearly
Appropriated human intelligence.
More attention is paid to the breeding
Of dogs in England than in America.
There they give much attention to the
qualities that make the dog prize win
ner at a bench show, while in meas
ure they overlook the qualities that
make him successful in the field.