Omaha daily bee., 1910-09-10

The training OF a field trial dog requires
many months OF patient labor The dog Is at
first yard broken. that Is, taught to obey
such commands as 'to-hor which in the
hunting vocabulary means to come to a
standstlll. lie is then taught to come in,"
and later trained to walk at the heels OF
the handler when commanded. As his
natural desire always Is to range around
over fields IL 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 retrieving is no longer
a part Of the 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 dos is like the athlete In one
respect he often suffers from over-traln-
ing. The dog which learns to rely entirely
on the order Of his master never will take
first honors in big field event lie must
have the quality OF seIf-rehance and must be
taught to Judge many matters for himself.
The professional handler shows his best
skill when he reaches the happy medium
Of training that will at once make the
dog perfectly responsive to the desires OF
his master, and at the same time fully
equip him TO DO ais work without de-
tailed instruction. When a dog reaches
this point he has nearly approXimated
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 a prize winner at .
bench show, while in measure they
overlook the qualities that make him
successful in the field. Hunting conditions
are different in the mother country
from those in America that the English
dog would not be as great a success here
DIS the American dog. Not only is this
true with reference to bird dogs, but
equally so with reference to fox hounds.
The American cares not so much for the
looks of his dog as for his staying quail
ties in race with Sir Reynard. Some
Americans have been heard to say that
they would not trade single favorite
dog for a fun pack of English hounds.
They assert there is no Joy under heaven
that surpasses the full, deep-mouthed music
of a pack of hounds in full pursuit of an
American fox. In some sections each
farmer owns a dog or two, and when they
meet for a common chase there is often
considerable betting as to whose dog will
reach the fox first. AS they listen to the
running hounds each man is able to pick
out the baying of his own dog. and some
times can tell by the voice whether he is at
the forefront or tagging behind in the
chase. In England it has been said that 1t
is harder to find a first-class fox hound
than 1t is to get a good prime minister.
The greyhound has the most complete
| RI Of Of dog The
Waterloo cup stake, now about a century
old, Is the classic of all dogdom, and
"coursing' is the aristocratic sport of Eng
land. In this sport a brace of dogs is al
lowed to chase a hare They are sent OF
on even terms, and the one which beats
him to It" is awarded score of from one
to three points. Then there is careful
notation made of all turns" 'wrenches"
and kills" A turn" occurs when the
hare is forced to turn from his course at
more than a right angle A wrench" oc-
ours when he turns from his path at less
than a right angle. There is perhaps more
betting on this sport than on any other in
which dogs take part, unless 1t be the
brutal bouts of the fighting pit.
1t is said that the Erst man who ever
saw an American jack rabbit wished most
of all for a good greyhound II the grey
hound is suited Tor CHASING the jack rabbit
the beagle is regarded the dog par ex-
cellence for the molly cottontail, and there
are many beagle clubs in the United States
which enjoy long seasons with the Ameri-
can hare. In Canada there is considerable
demand for wolf dogs, and much profit il
made out OF the business of wolf hunting
The government pays a bounty OF 81 for
each wolf scout and the pelt is worth $3.50
Some wolf dogs have earned as high as $500
year for their masters. 1t requires no
end of endurance and grit in dog to sue
cessfully cope with the wolves of the plains.
1t is said that the most important dog
center in the world is the town OF Haver-
4 fordwest, the county seat OF Pembroge-
shire. Wales This town mas a population
of 5000 people and of more than 5000 dogs
When one goes about on the street he in
variably sees more dogs than people, The
majority Of then are settlers trained for
the bird shooters. although every one OF
the more than forty well-marked breeds OF
dogs recognized by the kennel clubs OF
Europe and America, are to be found there.
BY FREDHRIc J. KAsKIN.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Human Life.