The Early Training of the Dog.

The education of these dogs should commence at an early period, whether conducted by the breeder or the sportsman; and the first lesson — that on which the value of the animal, and the pleasure of its owner, will much depend — is a habit of subjection on the part of the dog, and kindness on the part of the master. This is a

sine quâ non

. The dog must recognise in his owner a friend and a benefactor. This will soon establish in the mind of the quadruped a feeling of gratitude, and a desire to please. All this is natural to the dog, if he is encouraged by the master, and then the process of breaking-in may commence in good earnest.

No long time probably passes ere the dog commits some little fault. He is careless, or obstinate, or cross. The owner puts on a serious countenance, he holds up his finger, or shakes his head, or produces the whip, and threatens to use it. Perhaps the infliction of a blow, that breaks no bones, occasionally follows. In the majority of cases nothing more is required. The dog succumbs; he asks to be forgiven; or, if he has been self-willed, he may be speedily corrected without any serious punishment.

A writer, under the signature of "Soho," in

The New Sporting Magazine

for 1833, gives an interesting account of the schooling of the pointer or setter, thus commenced. A short abstract from it may not be unacceptable:

"The first lesson inculcated is that of passive obedience, and this enforced by the infliction of severity as little as the case will admit. We will suppose the dog to be a setter. He is taken into the garden or into a field, and a strong cord, about eighteen or twenty yards long, is tied to his collar. The sportsman calls the dog to him, looks earnestly at him, gently presses him to the ground, and several times, with a loud, but not an angry voice, says, 'Down!' or 'Down charge!' The dog knows not the meaning of this, and struggles to get up; but, as often as he struggles, the cry of 'Down charge!' is repeated, and the pressure is continued or increased.
"This is repeated a longer or shorter time, until the dog, finding that no harm is meant, quietly submits. He is then permitted to rise; he is patted and caressed, and some food is given to him. The command to rise is also introduced by the terms 'Hie up!' A little afterwards the same process is repeated, and he struggles less, or perhaps ceases altogether to struggle.
"[The] person whose circumstances permit him occasionally to shoot over his little demesne, may very readily educate his dog without having recourse to keepers or professional breakers, among whom he would often be subject to imposition. Generally speaking, no dog is half so well broken as the one whose owner has taken the trouble of training him. The first and grand thing is to obtain the attachment of the dog, by frequently feeding and caressing him, and giving him little hours of liberty under his own inspection; but, every now and then, inculcating a lesson of obedience, teaching him that every gambol must be under the control of his master; frequently checking him in the midst of his riot with the order of 'Down charge!' patting him when he is instantly obedient; and rating, or castigating him, but not too severely, when there is any reluctance to obey. Passive obedience is the first principle, and from which no deviation should be allowed.[a]¹]
"[Much] kindness and gentleness are certainly requisite when breaking-in the puppy, whether it be a pointer or a setter. There is heedlessness in the young dog which is not readily got rid of until age has given him experience. He must not, however, be too severely corrected, or he may be spoiled for life. If considerable correction is sometimes necessary, it should be followed, at a little distance of time, by some kind usage. The memory of the suffering will remain; but the feeling of attachment to the master will also remain, or rather be increased. The temper of a young dog must be almost as carefully studied as that of a human being. Timidity may be encouraged, and eagerness may be restrained, but affection must be the tie that binds him to his master, and renders him subservient to his will.
"The next portion of the lesson is more difficult to learn. He is no longer held by his master, but suffered to run over the field, seemingly at his pleasure, when, suddenly, comes the warning 'Down!' He perhaps pays no attention to it, but gambols along until seized by his master, forced on the ground, and the order of 'Down!' somewhat sternly uttered.
"After a while he is suffered again to get up. He soon forgets what has occurred, and gallops away with as much glee as ever. Again the 'Down!' is heard, and again little or no attention is paid to it. His master once more lays hold of him and forces him on the ground, and perhaps inflicts a slight blow or two, and this process continues until the dog finds that he must obey the command of 'Down charge!'
"The owner will now probably walk from him a little way backward with his hand lifted up. If the dog makes the slightest motion, he must be sharply spoken to, and the order peremptorily enforced.
"He must then be taught to 'back,' that is, to come behind his master when called. When he seems to understand all this, he is called by his master in a kindly tone, and patted and caressed. It is almost incredible how soon he will afterwards understand what he is ordered to do, and perform it.
"It will be seen by this that no one should attempt to break-in a dog who is not possessed of patience and perseverance. The sportsman must not expect to see a great deal of improvement from the early lessons. The dog will often forget that which was inculcated upon him a few hours before; but perseverance and kindness will effect much: the first lessons over, the dog, beginning to perceive a little what is meant, will cheerfully and joyfully do his duty.
"When there is much difficulty in teaching the dog his lesson, the fault lies as often with the master as with him; or they are, generally speaking, both in fault. Some dogs cannot be mastered but by means of frequent correction. The less the sportsman has to do with them the better. Others will not endure the least correction, but become either ferocious or sulky. They should be disposed of as soon as possible. The majority of dogs are exceedingly sagacious. They possess strong reasoning powers; they understand, by intuition, almost every want and wish of their master, and they deserve the kindest and best usage.
"The scholar being thus prepared, should be taken into the field, either alone, or, what is considerably better, with a well-trained, steady dog. When the old dog makes a point, the master calls out, 'Down!' or 'Soho!' and holds up his hand, and approaches steadily to the birds; and, if the young one runs in or prepares to do so, as probably he will at first, he again raises his hand and calls out, 'Soho!' If the youngster pays no attention to this, the whip must be used, and in a short time he will be steady enough at the first intimation of game.
"If he springs any birds without taking notice of them, he should be dragged to the spot from which they rose, and, 'Soho!' being cried, one or two sharp strokes with the whip should be inflicted. If he is too eager, he should be warned to 'take heed.' If he rakes or runs wilh his nose near the ground, he should be admonished to hold up, and, if he still persists, the muzzle-peg may be resorted to. Some persons fire over the dog for running at hares: but this is wrong; for, besides the danger of wounding or even killing the animal, he will for some time afterwards he frightened at the sound, or even at the very sight of a gun. The best plan to accustom dogs to the gun, is occasionally to fire one off when they are being fed.
"Some persons let their dog fetch the dead birds. This is very wrong. Except the sportsman has a double-barrelled gun, the dog should not be suffered to move until the piece is again charged. The young one, until he is thoroughly broken of it, is too apt to run in whether the bird is killed or not, and which may create much mischief by disturbing the game.
"Although excessive punishment should not be administered, yet no fault, however small, should pass without reproof: on the other hand, he should be rewarded, but not too lavishly, for every instance of good conduct.
"When the dog is grown tolerably steady, and taught to come at the call, he should also learn to range and quarter his ground. Let some clear morning, and some place where the sportsman is likely to meet with game, be selected. Station him where the wind will blow in his face; wave your hand and cry, 'Heigh on, good dog!' Then let him go off to the right, about seventy or eighty yards. After this, call him in by another wave of the hand, and let him go the same distance to the left. Walk straight forward with your eye always upon him; then, let him continue to cross from right to left, calling him in at the limit of each range.
"This is at first a somewhat difficult lesson, and requires careful teaching. The same ground is never to be twice passed over. The sportsman watches every motion, and the dog is never trusted out of sight, or allowed to break fence. When this lesson is tolerably learned, and on some good scenting morning early in the season, he may take the field, and perhaps find. Probably he will be too eager, and spring his game. Make him down immediately, and take him to the place where the birds rose. Chide him with 'Steady!' 'How dare you!' Use no whip; but scold him well, and be assured that he will be more cautious. If possible, kill on the next chance. The moment the bird is down, he will probably rush in and seize it. He must be met with the same rebuff, 'Down charge!' If he does not obey, he deserves to have, and will have, a stroke with the whip. The gun being again charged, the bird is sought for, and the dog is suffered to see it and play with it for a minute before it is put into the bag.
"He will now become thoroughly fond of the sport, and his fondness will increase with each bird that is killed. At every time, however, whether he kills or misses, the sportsman should make the dog 'Down charge.' and never allow him to rise until he has loaded.
"If a hare should be wounded, there will, occasionally, be considerable difficulty in preventing him from chasing her. The best broken and steadiest dog cannot always be restrained from running hares. He must be checked with 'Ware chase,' and, if he does not attend, the sportsman must wait patiently. He will by-and-by come slinking along with his tail between his legs, conscious of his fault. It is one, however, that admits of no pardon. He must be secured, and, while the field echoes with the cry of 'Ware chase,' he must be punished to a certain but not too great extent. The castigation must be repeated as often as he offends; or, if there is much difficulty in breaking him of the habit, he must be got rid of."

The breaking-in or subjugation of pointers and setters is a very important, and occasionally a difficult affair; the pleasure of the sportsman, however, depends on it. The owner of any considerable property will naturally look to his keeper to furnish him with dogs on which he may depend, and he ought not to be disappointed; for those which belong to other persons, or are brought at the beginning of the season, whatever account the breaker or the keeper of them may give, will too often be found deficient.

[Contents]/[Detailed Contents, p. 3]/[Index]

The Otter Hound

used to be of a mingled breed, between the southern hound and the rough terrier, and in size between the harrier and the fox-hound. The head should be large and broad, the shoulders and quarters thick, and the hair strong, wiry, and rough. They used to be kept in small packs, for the express purpose of hunting the otter.

Two hundred and fifty years ago, otter-hunting was a favourite amusement in several parts of Great Britain. Many of our streams then abounded with this destructive animal; but, since the population are more numerous, and many contrivances are adopted to ensnare and destroy otters, few are now to be found.

[Contents]/[Detailed Contents, p. 3]/[Index]

The Turnspit

This dog was once a valuable auxiliary in the kitchen, by turning the spit before jacks were invented. It had a peculiar length of body, with short crooked legs, the tail curled, its ears long and pendent, and the head large in proportion to the body. It is still used in the kitchen on various parts of the Continent. There are some curious stories of the artfulness with which he often attempted to avoid the task imposed upon him.

There is a variety of this dog; the crooked-legged turnspit.

[Footnote 1:]

Historical and Descriptive Sketches of British America

, by J. Macgregor

[return to footnote mark]

[Footnote 2:]

Journal Historique du Voyage de M. de Lesseps

, Paris, 1790. 2 vols. — tome 1.