[238]. Killing a sitting hare to your dog's point will wonderfully steady him from chasing; but do not fire until he has remained stanch for a considerable time. This will show him that puss is far more likely to be bagged by your firing than by his pursuing.
[239]. For the same object,—I mean to make your young dog stanch,—I would recommend your killing a few birds on the ground to his point were it not that you rarely have the opportunity.
[240]. When you have made your dog perfectly steady from chasing you may—supposing you have no retriever at hand,—naturally enough, inquire how you are to teach him to follow any hare you may be so unlucky as merely to wound. I acknowledge that the task is difficult. I would say, at once resolve to give up every wounded hare during his first season.[43] The following year, provided you find that he remains quite steady, on your wounding an unfortunate wretch, encourage your dog to pursue it by running yourself after it. When he gets hold of it, check him if he mauls it, and take it from him as quickly as possible. As I cannot suppose that you are anxious to slaughter every hare you see, let the next two or three go off without a shot. This forbearance will re-steady him, and after a while his own sagacity and nose—[297]—will show him that the established usage was departed from solely because puss was severely struck.
[241]. As you wish to flog your dog as little as possible, never go out without your whip, paradoxical as this may appear. The dog's salutary awe of the implement which he sees in your possession, like a horse's consciousness of your heel being armed with a spur, will tend to keep him in order. If your dog is a keen ranger, you may much spare the whip by making him crouch at your feet for several minutes after he has committed a fault. The detention will be felt by him, when he is all anxiety to be off hunting, as a severe punishment. If he is a mettlesome, high-couraged animal, he will regard as a yet severer punishment his being compelled to follow at your heels for half-an-hour, while the other dogs are allowed the enjoyment of hunting.
[242]. Excess of punishment has made many a dog of good promise a confirmed blinker; and of far more has it quenched that keen ardor for the sport, without which no dog can be first-rate. For this reason, if not from more humane motives, make it a rule to give but few cuts; let them, however, be tolerably severe. Your pupil's recollection of them, when he hears the crack of the whip, will prevent the necessity of their frequent repetition.
[243]. I knew of a young fellow's purchasing a pointer of an excellent breed from a gamekeeper for a few shillings merely, as the animal had become so timid from over-chastisement, that she not only blinked her game, but seldom quitted the man's heels. The lad had the good sense to treat the bitch, at all times, with the greatest kindness: and in order to induce her to hunt, he used to break off the feet of every bird he killed, and give them to her to eat along with the sinews. The plan succeeded so well that she eventually became an unusually keen and fast ranger. This would be a hazardous step to take with a dog wanted to retrieve. There are few, if any dogs who may not be tempted by hunger to eat game. A gentleman told me, that, to his great astonishment, he one day saw an old tender-mouthed retriever, that he had possessed for years, deliberately swallow a partridge. Before he could get up to the dog even the tail-feathers had disappeared. On inquiry it turned out that, through some neglect, the animal had not been fed.
[244]. Some argue that blinking arises from a defective nose, not from punishment; but surely it is the injudicious chastisement following the blunders caused by a bad nose that makes a dog, through fear, go to "heel" when he winds birds. A bad nose may lead to a dog's running up birds from not noticing them, but it cannot naturally induce him to run away from them. Possibly he may be worthless from a deficiency in his olfactory powers; but it is hard to conceive how these powers can be improved by a dread of doing mischief when he finds himself near game. Some dogs that have been unduly chastised do not even betray themselves by running to "heel," but cunningly slink away from their birds without giving you the slightest intimation of their vicinity. I have seen such instances. When a young dog, who has betrayed symptoms of blinking, draws upon birds, head him, if you can, before you give him the order to "toho:" he will then have such a large circuit to make, that he will feel the less tempted to run to your heels.
[245]. Obedience and intelligence are, as I have already remarked, best secured by judicious ratings and encouragements—scoldings for bad conduct,—praise, caresses, and rewards for good. Never forget, therefore, to have some delicacy in your pocket to give the youngster whenever he may deserve it. All dogs, however, even the most fearful, ought to be made able to bear a little punishment. If, unfortunately, your dog is constitutionally timid—I cannot help saying unfortunately, though so many of the sort have fine noses—the whip must be employed with the greatest gentleness, the lash being rather laid on the back than used, until such forbearance, and many caresses before his dismissal, have gradually banished the animal's alarm, and ultimately enabled you to give him a very slight beating, on his misconducting himself, without any danger of making him blink. By such means, odd as it may sound, you create courage, and with it give him self-confidence and range.
[246]. A judiciously-educated dog will know as well as you do whether or not he has earned a chastisement, and many a one is of so noble a nature that he will not wish to avoid it if he is conscious that he deserves it. He will become as anxious for good sport as you are, and feel that he ought to be punished, if from his own misconduct he mars it. Indeed, he will not have much opinion of your sagacity if you do not then give him a sound rating, or let him have a taste of the lash, though it matters not how slight. Clearly this feeling, which it will be right to foster, must have arisen from his belief that you are always conscious of his actions—[262]—therefore never check him for coming towards you on his committing any unseen error. Moreover, when he has been but a little shot to, you will find that if you abstain from firing at a bird which through his fault he has improperly flushed, although in its flight it affords you an excellent shot, you will greatly vex him; and this will tend to make him-more careful for the future.
[247]. When, after a few weeks, you perceive that the youngster has confidence in himself, and is likely to hunt independently, not deferentially following the footsteps of an older companion, take out a well-broken dog with him, that you may have the opportunity of teaching him to "back." Be careful to choose one not given to make false points; for if he commits such mistakes, your pupil will soon utterly disregard his pointing. Select also one who draws upon his birds in a fine, determined attitude; not one to whose manner even you must be habituated to feel certain he is on game. Be watchful to prevent your dog ever hunting in the wake of the other, which, in the humility of canine youth, he probably will, unless you are on the alert to wave him in a different direction, the moment you observe him inclined to seek the company of his more experienced associate. By selecting a slow old dog you will probably diminish the wish of the young one to follow him; for it is likely that the youngster's eagerness will make him push on faster, and so take the lead.