RETRIEVERS AND HOW TO BREAK THEM.

Otago Witness, Issue 2284, 9 December 1897, Page 35

RETRIEVERS AND HOW TO BREAK THEM.

The education of a retriever may be said to consist of only two lessons. Nob mucb, one may cay ; true, bat he must be kept &t both until ho has thoroughly mastered them. These lessons may bo subdivided under two headi — steadiness and retrieving before being taken out shooting, and steadiness and retrieving when in the field — and remember that on the thoroughness with which lesson No. 1 ia taught depends the dog's whole future career. The first thing to do to make a retriever reliable and steady is to teach him Ms props*

place, and' that, whether on the Queen's highi way or on the moor, is at bis master's heela, ac 4 this position he should never leave without permission. This at once does away with the idea that a dog may aocompany his master for exercisa. For that purpose he should have a right to scamper about to his heart's content in a grass field or court for atlsast half an hour or an hour every day, but a* soon as he is called to heel he should learn that his time for play has come to an end and that for work began. The pup should at first be kept always on a cord, but on no account should he be allowed to pull at it. If he lags behind or geta in front, give him a reminder by jerking the cord, instantly ea«ug your hand again and accompanying the action by the words " Come back."' Have the wbip ready to show him you are in earnest, but of course you must use it onlj j with the greatest discretion. When he uuder- ! stands this on a cord, keeps his place and does not; pull at it, free him and try him without it; but on no account let him leave youc heel immedUtaly you do so. Keep on» cautioning him by worij or deed, put him on the cord again, occalionally freeing htm, and he will soon learu that you mean him to remain by you under either condition. N . Having learned his proper pUce, how is the puppy to be t»ught to retrieve ? By pursuing . the s*me tactics : beginning him on a cord, freeing him afterward*, and not by throwing something for him- to fetch. By adopting the following method' you will soon' gcfcihjm .to take an, interest in his work, add he^ will : loarn nothing; he has to unlearn. Pub the pupil on the cord, and the obj'Cu you decide on uoing m his mouth. This should be soft, lOin or 12ih long, andcovered with oloth or leather. In a short time take it from him and give it him back again. Be careful to keep him in his place, exactly as you have been in the habit of doing before you asked him lo carry anything. Should he drop it, replace it in his mouth, always patting yonr hand under the jaw, and keeping it there, telling him to "hold it." Make him wheel aud turn with you as before, your great aim being to see that he carries the thing properly, comes right ap when told to "come on with it" or "fetch it," and hold« it till told to "give it up." The leEson should on no account be prolonged beyond a few minutes, and the puppy should not be rewarded till he carries the object back to the house in order t) teach htm thab what he returns is of value and is never thrown away. The lesson may be varied later on by throwing the object into fchtok #»■• or any sort of cover or over a fence, &o. This part of the puppy's education may be. finished by malting him retrieve * rabbit or two. It enlarges his ideas, and gives htm a forecast of what is to come. Accustom him to c»rry it Sett, and then drag it acrois a field for a considerable distance, and let him find it by means of hit noie. As soon as he gets to where the rabbit is whistle to hira to maicebim bring it to you afr once. Never alidw him to m#u' it about or pay with it.

Let iv suppose oar pupil is now pretties e.t far as his preliminary education goes. He stays at heel without a slip, retrioves without a fault, and does not fear (the gau. The time has arrived when he may begin/work in parnest. , A care>" less or over-confident , man has an excellent opportunity of undoing- in one short hour the work of many week*. The dog up fco date may. he nearly perfect-, but he ha* nevei> bad the tempUtlon he will be exposed' to to-Say.' "Ha has nev-er saan a covey of grouse get tin at big. feet or a hare bound off in front of him.' Still, under a competent man he oaghb to do well the first day. Remember, the . use of a retriever, roughly "Speaking, is to find birds you cauuofc find yourself, and not to pick: up those that fall within a f«w jaids of your feet, and an intelligent dog will soon understand thi». If you find you hava made a mistake iv marking a bird's fall or if the bird has ran, send the dog to find ii, bat never allow him to leave his "placo until permission is. given. Steadiness is of more importance to begin fiith than retrieving. The writer has at the prtseat time iv big possession a young bifccß that i« a perfect model for steadiuea*. When a bird falls she is so far from runitiug iv that she turns around at once and «t*nd« looking up in her master's face asking for permission to go. In that position she will remain a* long as he likes until she gets the word, then, reversing herself on her own axis, she is off like the wind. Of course yoa must put your pupil on a. cord for the first few lessons. When a bird falls walk him up to it, cautioning him the whole way, pick it up yourself, and pat it in his mouth, and make him follow you with it, keeping him in his place as of old, »nd giving him great praise when he does well. How soon you may' dispense with the cord of course depends entirely on his disposition ; but depend on it, you can never be too careful with a young one. You must also remember - that many dogs get keener as they get older, and that oven in their Becond season they must be carefully watched.

Remember aUo that .every hunt should have a definite determination. If the dog Gads the bird, Bse that be- comes to you with it> instantly, take it from him, and cares 3 him for having done well. '

But many a hunt may be unsuccessful, and^ yet the dog may have worked honestly and well. Iv that case do not' leave him to lag behind. When he has dona his best whittle him up, caress him, and tell him the bird has "gone away." He will very soon understand, accept what you way, and fall contentedly into his place again.

The latter part of the article deals with breaking a dog of bad habitf, of course an infinitely more difficult task than teaching them in the ficat iostauce. The treatment prescribed fox hard-naouthed dogs is to present them to a friend. It is almost impossible to effect a cure. But dogs hard-xnouthttd with ground game only sometimes improve as they grow i>Wer. A gnnshy dog is almost a hopeless case, but much can sometimes be done with tact and. patience. The worst fault perhaps that a retriever can commit is to " run iv." The animal puts up birds, demoralises other dogs, and tends to bad language. The owner is voted a public nuisance: and when everyone is out oi temper he can only, like Wellington at Waterloo, "pray for tha darknesf." A dog that has run in persistently, and has reached a certain age, is virtually " past praying foe," and should ba always on % slip.

The writer concludes by saying that anyone who sends a valuable retriever "on trial " to people he knows nothing about m&y as well tio the proverbial millstone about the animal's neck and cast him into the sea. He asserts most emphatically that he who. sparetb. the rod loveth the dog, and that if he oan bring the British sportsman to this way of thinking h« will not have written in vain.