LESSONS IN "FETCHING."--RETRIEVERS.
86. Though you may not wish your young pointer (or setter) to perform the
duties of a regular retriever (292), still you would do well to teach him,
whilst he is a puppy, to fetch and deliver into your hand anything soft
you may occasionally throw for him, or leave behind you in some place
where he will have observed you deposit it, while he is following at your
heels. In a little time you can drop something _without_ letting him see
you, and afterwards send him back for it. A dog thus made, who is your
intimate companion, becomes so conversant with every article of your
apparel, and with whatever you usually carry about you, that, should you
accidentally drop anything, the observant animal will be almost certain to
recover it. On receiving your order to "be off and find" he will
accurately retrace your footsteps for miles and miles, diligently hunting
every yard of the ground. Of course the distances to which you at first
send your dog will be inconsiderable, and you should carefully avoid
persevering too long a time, lest he get sick of the lesson. Indeed, in
all his lessons--as well in-doors as out--but particularly in this, let it
be your aim to leave off at a moment when he has performed entirely to
your satisfaction; that you may part the best of friends, and that the
last impression made by the lesson may be pleasing as well as correct,
from a grateful recollection of the caresses which he has received. In
wild-duck shooting you may be in situations where you would be very glad
if the dog would bring your bird; and when it is an active runner in
cover, I fear you will be more anxious than I could wish--221--that the
dog should "fetch." It is probable that he will thus assist you if he be
practised as I have just advised; and such instruction may lead, years
hence, to his occasionally bringing you some dead bird which he may come
across, and which you otherwise might have imagined you had missed, for
its scent might be too cold, and consequently too changed, for the dog to
have thought of regularly pointing it.
87. Mark my having said "deliver into your hand," that your young dog may
not be satisfied with only dropping, within your sight, any bird he may
lift, and so, perhaps, leave it on the other side of a trout stream, as I
have seen dogs do more than once, in spite of every persuasion and
entreaty. With a young dog, who retrieves, never pick up a bird yourself,
however close it may fall to you. Invariably, make him either deliver it
into your hand or lay it at your feet. The former is by far the better
plan. If the dog has at one moment to drop the bird at your will, he is
likely to fancy himself privileged to drop it at another time for his own
convenience. In other respects, too, the former is the safest method. I
have a bitch now in my recollection, who frequently lost her master
slightly winged birds,--which she had admirably recovered--by dropping
them too soon on hearing the report of a gun, or coming on other game--for
off they ran, and fairly escaped, it being impracticable, by any
encouragement, to induce her to seek for a bird she had once lifted.
88. I observed it was something soft which you should teach your dog to
fetch. Probably you have seen a retriever taught to seek and bring a
stone, upon which, in a delicate manner, the tutor has spit. Does it not
stand to reason that the stone must have tended to give his pupil a hard
mouth? And what may, later in life, cause him much misery, in dashing at a
bounding stone, he may split a tooth. Dogs of an advanced age suffer more
in their mouths than most of us suspect.
89. Should your pup be unwilling to enter water, on no account push him
in, under the mistaken idea that it will reconcile him to the element--it
will but augment his fears. Rather, on a warm day, throw some biscuit for
him, when he is hungry, close to the edge of the bank, where it is so
shallow as merely to require his wading. Chuck the next piece a little
further off, and, by degrees, increase the distance until he gets beyond
his depth, and finds that nature has given him useful swimming powers. On
no occasion will the example of another dog more assist you. Your
youngster's diving can never be of service; therefore throw in only what
will float. Otherwise he might have a plunge for nothing, and so be
discouraged; and evidently it should be your constant aim to avoid doing
anything likely to shake his confidence in you.
90. If you ever have occasion to teach a dog to dive and retrieve, first
accustom him, on land, to fetch something heavy, of a conspicuous color.
When he brings it eagerly, commence your diving lesson by throwing it into
the shallowest parts of the stream. Only by slow degrees get to deep
water, and let your lessons be very short. Never chuck in a stone. The
chances are twenty to one that there are several at the bottom not very
dissimilar, and the young dog ought not to be subjected to the temptation
of picking up one of them in lieu of that he was sent for. Should he on
any occasion do so, neither scold nor caress him; quietly take what he
brings, lay it at your feet, to show him that you want it not, and
endeavor to make him renew his search for what you threw in; do this by
signs, and by encouragement with your voice, rather than by chucking
stones in the right direction, lest he should seek for them instead of
searching for what you originally sent him.
91. Some teachers make a young dog fetch a round pin cushion, or a cork
ball, in which needles are judiciously buried; nor is it a bad plan, and
there need be no cruelty in it, if well managed. At least it can only be
cruel once, for the dog's recollection of his sufferings will prevent his
picking up the offending object a second time. Others, after he is well
drilled into "fetching," and takes pleasure in it, will make him bring a
bunch of keys. There are few things a dog is less willing to lift. Most
probably they gave him some severe rebuffs when first heedlessly snatching
at them; and the caution thereby induced tends to give him a careful,
tender mouth. A fencing master, I knew in France, had a spaniel,
singularly enough for a Frenchman, called "Waterloo," that would take up
the smallest needle.
92. When your dog has picked up what you desired, endeavor to make him run
to you quickly. Many who teach a dog to fetch, praise and encourage him
while he is bringing what he was sent after. Clearly this is an error. It
induces the dog to loiter and play with it. He thinks he is lauded for
having it in his mouth and carrying it about. Reserve your encomiums and
caresses until he has delivered it. If you walk away, the fear of your
leaving him will induce him to hurry after you. Let a dog retrieve ever so
carelessly, still, while on the move, he will rarely drop a bird.
93. Dogs that retrieve should be gradually brought to lift heavy, flexible
things, and such as require a large grasp, that they may not be quite
unprepared for the weight and size of a hare; otherwise they may be
inclined to drag it along by a slight hold of the skin, instead of
balancing it across their mouths. Thus capacious jaws are obviously an
advantage in retrievers. The French gamekeepers, many of whom are capital
hands at making a retriever--excepting that they do not teach the "down
charge,"--stuff a hare or rabbit skin with straw, and when the dog has
learned to fetch it with eagerness, they progressively increase its weight
by burying larger and larger pieces of wood in the middle of the straw:
and to add to the difficulty of carrying it, they often throw it to the
other side of a hedge or thick copse. If the dog shows any tendency to a
hard mouth they mix thorns with the straw.
94. I ought to have mentioned sooner that you should commence teaching a
puppy to "fetch" by shaking your glove--or anything soft--at him, and
encouraging him to seize and drag it from you. Then throw it a yard or two
off, gradually increasing the distance, and the moment he delivers it to
you, give him something palatable. Should you, contrary to every
reasonable expectation, from his having no inclination to romp or play
with the glove, not be able to persuade him to pick it up, put it between
his teeth--force him to grasp it by tightly pressing his jaws together,
speaking all the while impressively to him--scold him if he is obstinate
and refuses to take hold of the glove. After a little time retire a few
paces, keeping one hand under his mouth--to prevent his dropping the
glove,--while you lead or drag him with the other. When you halt, be sure
not to take the glove immediately from him--oblige him to continue holding
it for at least a minute--lest he should learn to relinquish his grip too
soon,--before you make him yield at the command "give;" then bestow a
reward. Should he drop it before he is ordered to deliver it, replace it
in his mouth and again retreat some steps before ordering him to "give."
He will soon follow with it at your heels. If you have sufficient
perseverance you can thus make him earn all his daily food. Hunger will
soon perfect him in the lesson. Observe that there are four distinct
stages in this trick of carrying--the first, making the dog grasp and
retain--the second, inducing him to bring, following at your heels--the
third, teaching him not to quit his hold when you stop--the fourth,
getting him to deliver into your hands on your order. The great advantage
of a sporting dog's acquiring this trick is that it accustoms him to
deliver into your _hands_; and it often happens that you must thus teach a
dog to "carry" as a preparative to teaching him to "fetch." It certainly
will be judicious in you to do so, if the dog is a lively, riotous animal;
for the act of carrying the glove--or stick, &c.--quietly at your heels
will sober him, and make him less likely to run off with it instead of
delivering it when you are teaching him to fetch. As soon as he brings the
glove tolerably well, try him with a short stick. You will wish him not to
seize the end of it, lest he should learn to "drag" instead of "carry."
Therefore fix pegs or wires into holes drilled at right angles to each
other at the extremities of the stick. He will then only grasp it near
the middle.
95. This drill should be further extended if a
REGULAR LAND RETRIEVER
be your pupil. Throw dead birds of any kind for him to bring--of course
one at a time,--being on the alert to check him whenever he grips them too
severely. If he persists in disfiguring them, pass a few blunted knitting
needles through them at right angles to one another. When he fetches with
a tender mouth, you will be able to follow up this method of training
still further by letting him "road"--or "foot," as it is often termed--a
rabbit in high stubble, one--or both, if a strong buck--of whose hind legs
you will have previously bandaged in the manner described in 56. Be
careful not to let him see you turn it out, lest he watch your proceedings
and endeavor to "hunt by eye." Indeed it might be better to employ another
person to turn it out. Keep clear of woods for some time--the cross scents
would puzzle him. If by any chance you have a winged pheasant or
partridge, let him retrieve it. You will not, I presume, at the
commencement select a morning when there is a dry cold wind from the
north-east, but probably you will wish to conclude his initiatory lessons
on days which you judge to possess least scent. The more he has been
practised as described in 39, the better will he work; for he cannot keep
his nose too perseveringly close to the ground. With reference to the
instructions in that paragraph, I will here remark, that before you let
the dog stoop to hunt, you should have placed him by signal (31) near the
spot from which you had begun dragging the bread. In paragraph 190 an
instance is given of the manner in which a dog who retrieves should be put
upon a scent; and why that mode is adopted is explained in 184.
96. It is quite astonishing how well an old dog that retrieves knows when
a bird is struck. He instantly detects any hesitation or uncertainty of
movement, and for a length of time will watch its flight with the utmost
eagerness, and, steadily keeping his eye on it, will as surely as yourself
mark its fall. To induce a young dog to become thus observant, always let
him perceive that _you_ watch a wounded bird with great eagerness; his
imitative instinct will soon lead him to do the same. This faculty of
observation is particularly serviceable in a water retriever. It enables
him to swim direct to the crippled bird, and, besides the saving of time,
the less he is in the water in severe weather, the less likely is he to
suffer from rheumatism.
97. As an initiatory lesson in making him observant of the flight and fall
of birds, place a few pigeons, or other birds, during his absence, each in
a hole covered with a tile. Afterwards come upon these spots apparently
unexpectedly, and, kicking away the tiles--or, what is better, dragging
them off by a previously adjusted string,--shoot the birds for him to
bring; it being clearly understood that he has been previously tutored
into having no dread of the gun. As he will have been taught to search
where bidden--IV. to VIII. of 119,--nothing now remains but to take him
out on a regular campaign, when the fascinating scent of game will
infallibly make him search--I do not say deliver--with great eagerness.
When once he then touches upon a scent, leave him entirely to himself--not
a word, not a sign. Possibly his nose may not be able to follow the bird,
but it is certain that yours cannot. Occasionally you may be able to help
an old retriever (296), but rarely, if ever, a young one. Your
interference, nay, probably your mere presence, would so excite him as to
make him overrun the scent. Remain, therefore, quietly where you are until
he rejoins you.
98. When we see a winged pheasant racing off, most of us are too apt to
assist a young dog, forgetting that we thereby teach him, instead of
devoting his whole attention to work out the scent, to turn to us for aid
on occasions when it may be impossible to give it. When a dog is hunting
_for_ birds, he should frequently look to the gun for signals, but when he
is _on_ them he should trust to nothing but his own scenting faculties.
99. If, from a judicious education, a retriever pup has had a delight in
"fetching" rapidly, it is not likely he will loiter on the way to mouth
his birds; but the fatigue of carrying a hare a considerable distance may,
perhaps, induce a young dog to drop it in order to take a moment's rest.
There is a risk that when doing so he may be tempted to lick the blood,
and, finding it palatable, be led to maul the carcase. You see, therefore,
the judiciousness of employing every means in your power to ensure his
feeling anxious to deliver _quickly_, and I know not what plan will answer
better--though it sounds sadly unsentimental--than to have some pieces of
hard boiled liver[18] at hand to bestow upon him the moment he surrenders
his game, until he is thoroughly confirmed in an expeditious delivery.
Never give him a piece, however diligently he may have searched, unless he
succeeds in bringing. When you leave off these rewards do so gradually.
The invariable bestowal of such dainties during, at least, the retriever's
first season, will prevent his ever dropping a bird on hearing the report
of a gun--as many do--in order to search for the later killed game.
100. Should a young retriever evince any wish to assist the cook by
plucking out the feathers of a bird; or from natural vice or mismanagement
before he came into your possession,[19] show any predisposition to taste
blood, take about two feet (dependent upon the size of the dog's head) of
iron wire, say the one-eighth of an inch in diameter, sufficiently
flexible for _you_, but not for _him_ to bend. Shape this much into the
form of the letter U, supposing the extremities to be joined by a straight
line. Place the straight part in the dog's mouth, and passing the other
over his head and ears, retain it in position by a light throat lash
passed through a turn in the wire, as here roughly represented. The
flexibility of the wire will enable you to adjust it with ease to the
shape of his head. When in the kennel he ought to be occasionally thus
bitted, that he may not fret when he is first hunted with it. It will not
injure his teeth or much annoy him if it lie on his grinders a little
behind the tushes.
[Illustration]
101. Sometimes a retriever, notwithstanding every encouragement, will not
pursue a winged bird with sufficient rapidity. In this case associate him
for a few days with a quicker dog, whose example will to a certainty
animate him and increase his pace. It is true that when he is striving to
hit off a scent he cannot work too patiently and perseveringly; but, on
the other hand, the moment he is satisfied he is on it, he cannot follow
too rapidly. A winged bird, when closely pressed, seems, through
nervousness, to emit an increasing stream of scent; therefore, though it
may sound paradoxical, the retriever's accelerated pace then makes him
(his nose being close to the ground) the less likely to overrun it; and
the faster he pursues the less ground must he disturb, for the shorter
will be the chase.
102. Retrievers are generally taught to rush in the instant a bird falls.
This plan, like most other things, has its advocates and its opponents. I
confess to being one of the latter, for I cannot believe that in the long
run it is the best way to fill the bag. I think it certain that more game
is lost by birds being flushed while the guns are unloaded, than could be
lost from the scent cooling during the short period the dog remains at the
"down charge." Unquestionably some retrievers have so good a nose, that
the delay would not lead to their missing any wounded game however
slightly struck; and the delay has this great advantage, that it helps to
keep the retriever under proper subjection, and diminishes his anxiety to
rush to every part of the line where a gun may be fired, instead of
remaining quietly at his master's heels until signalled to take up the
scent. Moreover, a retriever by neglecting the "down charge," sets an
example to the pointers or setters who may be his companions, which it is
always more or less difficult to prevent the dogs, if young, from
following. But I once shot over a retriever which I could hardly wish not
to have "run on shot." On a bird being hit he started off with the
greatest impetuosity, kept his eye immovably fixed on its flight, and
possessed such speed that a winged bird scarcely touched the ground ere it
was pinned. He would, too, often seize a slightly injured hare before it
had acquired its best pace. The pursuit so soon terminated that possibly
less game escaped being fired at than if the retriever had not stirred
until the guns were reloaded. On a miss he was never allowed--indeed
appeared little inclined--to quit "heel." Of course a trainer's trouble
is decreased by not breaking to the "down charge," which may induce some
to recommend the plan; though it is to be observed, that this class of
dogs is more easily than any other perfected in it, because the breaker
nearly always possesses the power of treading upon or seizing the
checkcord the instant a bird is sprung.
103. The nature of your shooting will much influence you in deciding which
of the two methods to adopt; but should you select the one which the
generality of good sportsmen consider to be most according to rule, and to
possess the greatest beauty, viz., the "down charge," rather lose any
bird, however valuable, so long as your retriever remains young, than put
him on the "foot" a second before you have reloaded. Undoubtedly it ought
to be taught to every dog broken for sale, as the purchaser can always
dispense with it should he judge it unnecessary--it can soon be untaught.
It is clear that not "quitting heel" until ordered is tantamount to the
regular "down charge," but I think the last is the easiest to enforce
constantly. It is the more decided step.
104. Large retrievers are less apt to mouth their game than small ones:
but very heavy dogs are not desirable, for they soon tire. And yet a
certain medium is necessary, for they ought to have sufficient strength to
carry a hare with ease through a thicket, when balanced in their jaws, and
be able to jump a fence with her. They should run mute. And they should be
thick coated: unless they are so,--I do not say long coated,--they cannot
be expected to dash into close cover, or plunge into water after a duck or
snipe when the thermometer is near zero.
105. It is usually allowed that, as a general rule, the best land
retrievers are bred from a cross between the setter and the
Newfoundland--or the strong spaniel and Newfoundland. I do not mean the
heavy Labrador, whose weight and bulk is valued because it adds to his
power of draught, nor the Newfoundland, increased in size at Halifax and
St. John's to suit the taste of the English purchaser,--but the far
slighter dog reared by the settlers on the coast,--a dog that is quite as
fond of water as of land, and which in almost the severest part of a North
American winter will remain on the edge of a rock for hours together,
watching intently for anything the passing waves may carry near him. Such
a dog is highly prized. Without his aid the farmer would secure but few of
the many wild ducks he shoots at certain seasons of the year. The patience
with which he waits for a shot on the top of a high cliff--until the
numerous flock sail leisurely underneath--would be fruitless, did not his
noble dog fearlessly plunge in from the greatest height, and successfully
bring the slain to shore.
106. Probably a cross from the heavy, large headed setter, who, though so
wanting in pace, has an exquisite nose; and the true Newfoundland, makes
the best retriever. Nose is the first desideratum. A breaker may doubt
which of his pointers or setters possesses the greatest olfactory powers,
but a short trial tells him which of his retrievers has the finest nose.
107. Making a first-rate retriever is a work of time, but his being
_thoroughly_ grounded in the required initiatory lessons facilitates
matters surprisingly. Indeed after having been taught the "drop"--22, 24,
25,--to "fetch"--92 to 94--and "seek dead" in the precise direction he is
ordered--XI of 119,--almost any kind of dog can be made to retrieve. The
better his nose is, the better of course he will retrieve. Sagacity, good
temper, quickness of comprehension, a teachable disposition, and all
cultivated qualities are almost as visibly transmitted to offspring as
shape and action; therefore the stronger a dog's hereditary instincts lead
him to retrieve, the less will be the instructor's trouble; and the more
obedient he is made to the signals of the hand, the more readily will he
be put upon a scent. Dogs that are by nature quick rangers do not take
instinctively to retrieving. They have not naturally sufficient patience
to work out a feeble scent. They are apt to overrun it. A really good
retriever will pursue a wounded bird or hare as accurately as a bloodhound
will a deer or man; and if he is put on a false scent, I mean a scent of
uninjured flick or feather, he will not follow it beyond a few
steps--experience will have shown him the inutility of so doing. (297.)
108. Avail yourself of the first opportunity to make a young retriever
lift a woodcock, lest in after life, from novel scent, he decline touching
it, as many dogs have done to the great annoyance of their masters.
Ditto, with the delicate landrail.
109. The directions given about "fetching" led me to talk of retrievers;
and, having touched upon the subject, I thought it right not to quit it,
until I had offered the best advice in my power. I have but one more
recommendation to add before I return to your setter--or pointer--pup:
carefully guard a young retriever--indeed any dog bred for the gun--from
being ever allowed to join a rat-hunt. Rat-hunting would tend to destroy
his tenderness of mouth, nay, possibly make him mangle his game. But this
is not all. It has often gradually led good dogs to decline lifting hares
or rabbits, apparently regarding them more in the light of vermin than of
game. Some dogs, however, that are not bad retrievers, are capital
ratters, but they are exceptions to the general rule. Indeed, you should
never permit your dog to retrieve any kind of ground or winged vermin. If
the creature were only wounded it might turn upon him. He in self-defence
would give it a grip, and he might thus be led to follow the practice on
less pardonable occasions. Remember, that a winged bittern or heron might
peck out his eye.
FOOTNOTES:
[18] A drier and cleaner article than you may suppose, and which can be
carried not inconveniently in a Mackintosh, or oil-skin bag--a toilet
sponge bag.
[19] If a retriever has the opportunity, while prowling about, of gnawing
hare or rabbit-skins thrown aside by a slovenly cook, it will not be
unnatural in him, when he is hungry, to wish to appropriate to himself the
hide, if not the interior, of the animals he is lifting.