[287]. Here the consideration naturally arises, whether dogs could not be taught—when hunting in the ordinary manner with the gun in the rear—
TO HEAD RUNNING BIRDS.
Certainly it could be done. There have been many instances of old dogs spontaneously galloping off, and placing themselves on the other side of the covey—which they had pointed—as soon as they perceived that it was on the run,—and by good instruction you could develope or rather excite, that exercise of sagacity.
[288]. If dogs are taught to "hunt from leeward to windward without the gun," they become habituated to seeing game intercepted between themselves and their masters,—and then their spontaneously heading running birds—though undeniably evincing great intelligence—would not be very remarkable. They would but reverse matters by placing themselves to windward of the birds while the gun was to leeward. This shows that the acquisition of that accomplishment would be a great step towards securing a knowledge of the one we are now considering. Indeed there seems to be a mutual relation between these two refinements in education, for the possession of either would greatly conduce to the attainment of the other.
[289]. This accomplishment—and hardly any can be considered more useful—is not so difficult to teach an intelligent dog as one might at first imagine; it is but to lift him, and make him act on a larger scale, much in the manner described in [212] and [296]. Like, however, everything else in canine education—indeed, in all education—it must be effected gradually; nor should it be commenced before the dog has had a season's steadying, then practise him in heading every wounded bird, and endeavor to make him do so at increased distances. Whenever, also, he comes upon the "heel" of a covey which is to leeward of him—instead of letting him "foot" it—oblige him to quit the scent and take a circuit—sinking the wind—so as to place himself to leeward of birds. He will thereby head the covey, and you will have every reason to hope that after a time his own observation and intellect will show him the advantage of thus intercepting birds and stopping them when they are on the run, whether the manœuvre places him to leeward or to windward of them.
[290]. If you could succeed in teaching but one of your dogs thus to take a wide sweep when he is ordered, and head a running covey before it gets to the extremity of the field—while the other dogs remain near you—you would be amply rewarded for months of extra trouble in training, by obtaining shots on days when good sportsmen, with fair average dogs, would hardly pull a trigger. And why should you not? Success would be next to certain if you could as readily place your dog exactly where you wish, as shepherds do their collies. And whose fault will it be if you cannot? Clearly not your dog's, for he is as capable of receiving instruction as the shepherd's.
[291]. Manifestly it would be worth while to take great pains to teach this accomplishment, for in all countries it would prove a most killing one when birds become wild; and it would be found particularly useful wherever the red-legged partridge abounds,—which birds you will find do not lie badly when the coveys are, by any means, well headed and completely broken. But there are other accomplishments nearly as useful as those already detailed; the description of them, however, we will reserve for a separate Chapter.