The Dog Part 39

223. Never let a dog whom you have been forced to chastise bolt or creep away until you order him. If he is ever allowed to move off at _his_ wish, he will improve upon the idea, and on the next occasion will far too soon antic.i.p.ate _yours_. And do not send him off until he has given some evidence of having forgiven you, and of his desire to be reconciled, by crawling towards you, for instance, or wagging his tail. On no occasion--under circ.u.mstances of ever such great provocation--be so weak or irritable--but I hope you do not need the warning--as to give him a kick or a blow when he is going off. He ought to have stood with rea.s.sured confidence alongside of you, for perhaps a minute or so, before you sanctioned his departure; and the severer his punishment the longer should have been the detention. You are always to part tolerable friends, while he feels perfectly convinced that his chastis.e.m.e.nt is over. If you do not, you may find it rather difficult to catch him when he commits another fault. It will be owing to your own injudiciousness if he ever becomes afraid of approaching you after making a blunder. Should he be so, sit down. He will gradually draw near you; then quietly put your hand on his collar.

224. If a man cannot readily get hold of any dog under his tuition whom he desires to rate or punish, you may be certain that he fails either in temper or judgment; perhaps in both. He may be an excellent man; but he cannot be a good dog-breaker. There are men who get quite enraged at a dog's not coming instantly to "heel," on being called. When at length the poor brute does come within reach, he gets a blow, perhaps a licking--a blow or licking, he has the sense to see he should have longer avoided had he stayed longer away. Thus the punishment increases instead of remedying the evil.

225. Never correct or even rate a dog, in the mere _belief_ that he is in error; be first _convinced_ of his guilt. If you have good reason to suspect that unseen by you he has wilfully sprung birds, still rather give him an earnest caution than any severer rebuke. It is not easy to repair the mischief occasioned by unjust punishment. When from his sheepish look, or any other cause, you imagine that he has raised game, either through heedlessness or from their being unusually wild, be sure to give him a short lecture, and accompany him to the haunt. A lingering bird may occasionally reward you. If his manner has led you to form an incorrect opinion, your warning can have no other effect than to increase his caution--rarely an undesirable result;--and if you are right the admonition is obviously most judicious.

226. Let me caution you against the too common error of punis.h.i.+ng a dog by pulling his ears. It has often occasioned bad canker. Some men are of opinion that it is frequently the cause of premature deafness. When you rate him you may lay hold of an ear and shake it, but not with violence.

227. I would strongly recommend you always to make your young dog "drop"

for half-a-minute or so, when he, sees a hare; or when he hears a bird rise.[40] To effect this, stand still yourself. After a few seconds you can either hie him on, or, which is yet better, get close to him if you expect other birds to spring. You will thus, especially in potatoes or turnips, often obtain shots at birds which would have made off, had he continued to hunt, and early in the season be frequently enabled to bag the tail-bird of a covey. This plan will also tend to make him cautious, and prevent his getting a habit of blundering-up birds, and cunningly pretending not to have noticed their escape. It will also make him less inclined to chase hares and rabbits, or rush at a fallen bird.

228. On approaching a piece of turnips, you may have heard, "Let us couple up all the dogs excepting Old Don:" the veteran's experience having shown him, that the only effect of his thundering through them would be to scare every bird and make it rise out of shot. _You_, on the contrary, when your pupil is well confirmed in his range, and has some knowledge of his distance from game, ought to wish the other dogs kept to "Heel"--especially when the seed has been broadcast,--that by the word "Care" and the right hand slightly raised you may instil into him the necessary caution and so, by judicious tuition, give him the benefit of your own experience. Most probably you would be obliged to employ the checkcord,[41] which I presume to be always at hand ready for occasional use. Or you might strap your shot-belt round his throat, for it is essential that he traverse such ground slowly, and greatly contract his range--see 145. The several cross scents he will encounter should afford him a valuable lesson in detecting the most recent, and in discriminating between the "heel and toe" of a run. Be patient,--give him time to work, and consider what he is about. It is probable that he will frequently overrun the birds on their doubling back, and imagine that they are gone.

Should he do so, bring him again on the spot where he appeared to lose the scent. He now rushes up the adjacent drill. "Slower, slower," signals your right arm; "go no faster than I can walk comfortably." On the other hand, the birds may lie like stones. Not until you have remained nearly a minute alongside of him let him urge them to rise; and make him effect this, not by a sudden dash, but by steadily pressing on the scent. Bear in mind, as before warned--143--that the confidence with which he can here creep on to a near find may lead, if he is now mismanaged, to his springing on future occasions, from want of care, many a bird at which he ought to get you a shot.

229. If you can contrive it, let your pupil have some little experience in the field before you give him a real lesson in "Gone"--or "Flown." Instead of being perplexed, he will then comprehend you. Should you, therefore, during the first few days of hunting him, see birds make off in lieu of taking him to the haunt--as many breakers erroneously do,--carefully keep him from the spot. You cannot let him run riot over the reeking scent without expecting him to do the same when next he finds; and if, in compliance with your orders, he points, you are making a fool of him--there is nothing before him; and if he does not fancy you as bewildered as himself, he will imagine that the exhilarating effluvia he rejoices in is the sum total you both seek. This advice, at first sight, may appear to contradict that given in 111 and 209; but look again, and you will find that those paragraphs referred to peculiar cases. Should your young dog be loitering and sniffing at a haunt which he has _seen_ birds quit, he cannot well mistake the meaning of your calling out, "Gone, gone."

FOOTNOTES:

[35] The speed with which one of these extremely beautiful, but in every other respect far, far inferior partridges will run, when only slightly wounded, is quite marvellous.

[36] The force of the word "Dead"--preceding the command "Find"--that joyous, exciting note of triumph--ought never to be lessened by being employed, as I have heard it, to stimulate a dog to hunt when no bird is down; or, like the shepherd-boy's cry of "Wolf! wolf!" it will have little influence at the moment when it should most animate to unremitting exertions.

[37] In favor of such unsportsman-like haste they ingeniously argue that a continued noise after firing makes birds lie, from attracting their attention. They say that a sudden change to quiet--and a great change it must be, for a _cha.s.seur_ is always talking--alarms the birds. As an evidence of this, they adduce the well-known fact of its frequently happening that a partridge gets up the moment the guns have left the spot, though no previous noise had induced it to stir.

[38] Had you lost the bird from there being but little scent, it is probable you might have found it by renewing your search on your return homewards in the evening. If a runner, it would most likely have rejoined the covey.

[39] "Toho," rather than "Drop,"--your object now being to make him stand at, and prevent his mouthing game; for you are satisfied that he would have "down charged" had the bird been missed.

[40] Of course, with the proviso that he is not pointing at another bird--187.

[41] Lest the cord should cut the turnip-tops, it might be better to employ the elastic band spoken of in 56.

CHAPTER XII.

SHOOTING HARES. COURAGE IMPARTED.--"BACKING" TAUGHT.

230. Probably you may be in a part of the country where you may wish to kill hares to your dog's point. I will, therefore, speak about them, though I confess I cannot do it with much enthusiasm. Ah! my English friend, what far happier autumns we should spend could we but pa.s.s them in the Highlands! Then we should think little about those villanous hares. We should direct the whole _undivided_ faculties of our dogs, to work out the haunt of the n.o.ble grouse.[42] As for rabbits, I beg we may have no further acquaintance, if you ever even in imagination, shoot them to your young dog. Should you be betrayed into so vile a practice, you must resign all hope of establis.h.i.+ng in him a confirmed systematic range. He will degenerate into a low potterer,--a regular hedge-hunter. In turnips he will always be thinking more of rabbits than birds. It will be soon enough to shoot the little wretches to him when he is a venerable grandfather.

The youngster's noticing them--which he would be sure to do if you had ever killed one to him--might frequently lead to your mis-instructing him, by earnestly enforcing "Care" at a moment when you ought to rate him loudly with the command "Ware"--or "No." But to our immediate subject.

231. Defer as long as possible the evil day of shooting a hare over him, that he may not get too fond--65--of such vermin--I beg pardon, I mean game--and when you do kill one, so manage that he may not see it put into the bag. On no account let him mouthe it. You want him to love the pursuit of feather more than of fur, that he may never be taken off the faintest scent of birds by coming across the taint of a hare. I therefore entreat you, during his first season, if you will shoot hares, to fire only at those which you are likely to kill outright; for the taint of a wounded hare is so strong that it would probably diminish his zeal, and the sensitiveness of his nose, in searching for a winged bird.

232. The temptation is always great to quit for a strong scent of hare--which any coa.r.s.e-nosed dog can follow--a feeble one of birds; therefore it is a very satisfactory test of good breaking to see a dog, when he is drawing upon birds, in no way interrupted by a hare having just crossed before him. If you aim at such excellence, and it is frequently attained in the Highlands, it is certain you must not shoot hares over your youngster.

233. I hope that he will not see a hare before you have shot a few birds over him. The first that springs up near him will test the perfection to which he has attained in his initiatory lessons. Lose not a moment. It is most essential to restrain instantaneously the naturally strong impulse of the dog to run after four-footed game. Halloo out "Drop" to the extent of your voice,--raise your hand,--crack your whip,--do all you can to prevent his pursuing. Of course you will not move an inch. Should he commence running, thunder out "No," "no." If, in spite of everything, he bolts after the hare, you have nothing for it but patience. It's no use to give yourself a fit of asthma by following him. You have only half as many legs as he has--a deficiency you would do well to keep secret from him as long as possible. Wait quietly where you are--for an hour if necessary. You have one consolation,--puss, according to her usual custom, has run down wind,--your dog has lost sight of her, and is, I see, with his nose to the ground, giving himself an admirable lesson in reading out a haunt. After a time he will come back looking rather ashamed of himself, conscious that he did wrong in disobeying, and vexed with himself from having more than a suspicion forced upon him, that he cannot run so fast as the hare. When he has nearly reached you, make him "drop." Scold him severely, saying, "Ware chase"--a command that applies to the chase of birds as well as of hares.--Pull him to the place where he was when first he got a view of the hare,--make him lie down--rate him well,--call out "No," or "Hare," or "Ware chase," or any word you choose, provided you uniformly employ the same. Smack the whip and punish him with it, but not so severely as you did when we a.s.sumed that he tore the bird--end of 221. You then flogged him for two offences: first, because he rushed in and seized the bird; secondly, because he tore it and _tasted_ blood. If you had not then punished him severely, you could never have expected him to be tender-mouthed. On the next occasion he might have swallowed the bird, feathers and all.

234. Should he persist in running after hares, you must employ the checkcord. If you see the hare, at which he is pointing, in its form, drive a peg firmly into the ground, and attach the cord to it, giving him a few slack yards, so that after starting off he may be arrested with a tremendous jerk. Fasten the line to the part of the spike close to the ground, or he may pull it out.

235. I have known a dog to be arrested in a headlong chase by a shot fired at him--an act which you will think yet more reprehensible than the previous mismanagement for which his owner apparently knew no other remedy than this hazardous severity.

236. When you are teaching your dog to refrain from chasing hares, take him, if you can, where they are plentiful. If they are scarce, and you are in the neighborhood of a rabbit-warren, visit it occasionally of an evening. He will there get so accustomed to see the little animals running about unpursued by either of you, that his natural anxiety to chase fur, whether it grow on the back of hare or rabbit, will be gradually diminished.

237. In Scotland there are tracts of heather where one may hunt for weeks together and not find a hare; indeed, it is commonly observed, that hares are always scarce on those hills where grouse most abound. In other parts they are extremely numerous. Some sports men in the Highlands avail themselves of this contrasted ground in order to break a young dog from "chasing." They hunt him, as long as he continues fresh, where there are no hares; and when he becomes tired, they take him to the Lowlands, where they are plentiful. By then killing a good many over him, and severely punis.h.i.+ng him whenever he attempts to follow, a cure is often effected in two or three days. In the yet higher ranges, the mountain-hares, from possessing a peculiarly strong scent, and not running to a distance, are a severe trial to the steadiest dog.

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 repet.i.tion.

243. I knew of a young fellow's purchasing a pointer of an excellent breed from a gamekeeper for a _few s.h.i.+llings_ merely, as the animal had become so timid from over-chastis.e.m.e.nt, that she not only blinked her game, but seldom quitted the man's heels. The lad had the good sense to treat the b.i.t.c.h, 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 chastis.e.m.e.nt 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 const.i.tutionally 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 chastis.e.m.e.nt, and many a one is of so n.o.ble 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 att.i.tude; 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 a.s.sociate. 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.

248. The example for a _few_ days--but only for a few days--of a good stanch dog who is not a hedge-hunter,--has no bad habits, and does not require being called to--will be advantageous to your inexperienced animal.

249. On the old dog's pointing, catch the eye of the young one. If you cannot readily do so, and are not afraid of too much alarming the birds, call to the old fellow by name, and desire him to "toho." The order will make the young one look round, and awaken him to a suspicion of what is going forward. Hold up your right arm--stand still for a minute--and then, carrying your gun as if you were prepared momentarily to fire, retreat, or move sideways in crab-like fas.h.i.+on towards the old dog, continuing your signal to the other to remain steady, and turning your face to him, so that he may be restrained by the feeling that your eye is constantly fixed upon him. He will soon remark the att.i.tude of the old dog, and almost intuitively guess its meaning. Should the old one draw upon his game, still the other dog must remain stationary. If he advance but an inch, rate him. Should he rush up--which is hardly to be expected--at him at once;--having made him drop, catch hold of him, and drag him to the place at which he should have backed--there--if you judge such strong measures necessary--peg him down until after you have had your shot and are reloaded. If by heading the birds you can drive them towards the young dog, do so; and aim at the one most likely to fall near him. Endeavor to make him comprehend that any sign or word to urge on or r.e.t.a.r.d the leading dog in no way applies to him. This he will soon understand, if he has been properly instructed with an a.s.sociate in the initiatory lesson described in 45. After you have picked up the bird let him sniff at it.

250. It is most important that the dog which first winds birds should be allowed to "road" them to a spring without being flurried, or in any way interfered with by another dog. Few things are more trying to your temper as a sportsman, than to see a self-sufficient cub, especially when birds are wild, creep up to the old dog whom he observes pointing at a distance, or cautiously drawing upon a covey. The young whipper-snapper pays no attention to your most energetic signals: you are afraid to speak lest you should alarm the birds, and before you can catch hold of the presumptuous jackanapes, he not only steals close to the good old dog, but actually ventures to head him; nay, possibly dares to crawl on yet nearer to the birds in the hope of enjoying a more intoxicating sniff.

251. All dogs but the "finder" should stand wholly by sight,--just the reverse of pointing. Your dog's nose ought to have nothing to do with backing. If you permit it, he will get the abominable habit of creeping up to his companions in the manner just described--250--when he observes them to be winding birds; and though he may not presume to take the lead, nay, even keep at so respectful a distance as in no way to annoy the "finder,"

yet a longing to inhale the "grateful steam"--as that good poet and capital sportsman, Somerville, terms it--will make him constantly watch the other dogs, instead of bestowing his undivided attention and faculties upon finding game for himself. It is quite enough if he backs whenever you order him, or he accidentally catches sight of another dog either "pointing" or "roading;" and the less he is looking after his companions, the more zealously will he attend to his own duties.

252. If you have any fears that the old dog when he is on birds will not act steadily, should you have occasion to chide the young one, be careful to give the old dog a word expressive of your approval, before you commence to rate the other.

253. When your youngster is hereafter hunted in company, should he make a point, and any intrusive companion, instead of properly backing him, be impertinently pressing on, the youngster should not be induced--however great may be the trial upon his patience and forbearance--to draw one foot nearer to the game than his own knowledge of distance tells him is correct; not even if his friend, or rather, jealous rival, boldly a.s.sumes the front rank. Your pupil will have a right to look to you for protection, and to expect that the rash intruder, however young, be _at the least_ well rated.

254. It is a matter of little moment whether the "backer" attends to the "down charge," or continues to back as long as the other dog remains at his point. It appears, however, best that he should "drop," unless he is so near that he winds the game, when he would be rather pointing than backing--and should, consequently, behave as explained in 187;--for the fewer exceptions there are to general rules the more readily are the rules observed.

255. Should both dogs make separate points at the same moment, it is clear that neither can back the other. They must act independently--each for himself. Moreover, your firing over one should not induce the other to "down charge," or in any way divert his attention from his own birds. He ought to remain as immovable as a statue. Some dogs, whose high courage has not been damped by over-correction, will do this from their own sagacity; but to enable you to _teach_ them to behave thus steadily, game should be plentiful. When you are lucky enough to observe both dogs pointing at the same time, let your fellow-sportsman--or your attendant--flush and fire at the birds found by the older dog, while you remain stationary near the young one, quietly but earnestly cautioning him to continue firm. When your companion has reloaded and picked up his game--and made the other dog "back,"--let him join you and knock over the bird at which your pupil is pointing. It will not be long before he--your young dog--understands what is required of him, if he has been practised--as recommended in 187--not to "down charge" when pointing unsprung birds. In short, it may be received as an axiom, that _nothing ought to make a dog voluntarily relinquish a point so long as he winds birds; and nothing but the wish to continue his point should make him neglect the "down charge" the instant he hears the near report of a gun_.

FOOTNOTES:

[42] A superior dog on grouse more easily becomes good on partridge than a superior partridge-dog becomes good on grouse. Grouse run so much, both when they are pairing, and after the first flight of the young pack, that a dog broken on them has necessarily great practice in "roading,"--"roading," too, with the nose carried high to avoid strong heather--a valuable instructor,--whereas the dog broken on partridge often becomes impatient, and breaks away when he first finds grouse. The former dog, moreover, will learn not to "break fence," and the necessity of moderating his pace when hunting stubbles and turnips, sooner than the latter will acquire the extensive fast beat so desirable on heather, where he can work for hours uninterrupted by hedge, ditch, or furrow; making casts to the right and left a quarter of a mile in length. First impressions are as strong in puppyhood as in childhood; therefore the advantage of having such ground to commence on must be obvious. There are, however, favored spots in Perths.h.i.+re, &c., where game so abounds that close rangers are as necessary as when hunting in England. Alas!