A. C. Smith

Gun Dogs - Their Training, Working and Management A. C. Smith

GUN DOGS THEIR TRAINING. EXTRACT CHAPTER ONE: THE BEST DOG FOR THE ONE-DOG. It is the most modest shooting man, who has to consider the question of expense, is often puzzled to know which suitable dog for his purpose. We have, therefore, invited several authorities to give their opinions on the subject. That these opinions should differ is inevitable. Ye can but publish them as received, and leave it to the one dog man to form his conclusions as to which is most likely to meet his circumstances. There is no question perhaps more frequently asked of the man known as knowledgeable in the matter of sporting dogs than that the beginner at shooting, who proposes to keep but one gun-dog, invariably puts 'What is the best kind of sporting dog for me to get?' By this he means to ask advice on his choice between a pointer, one or the various breeds of setter, or the equally various breeds of retriever, and the still more numerous sorts of spaniel now evcrywhere so popular among shooting men. To answer his question satisfactorily it is necessary to know something of the sort of shooting for which he goes in whether he is a member of a syndicate, each of whom is supposed to provide his own dog, for instance or whether he has a small shoot of his own to which he likes occasionally to invite his fricnds preferably wilhout their dogs. In each case the character of the shoot, the nature of the game with which it is stocked, its area, and the size of the bag expected, must all be considered. For what is called a rough shoot and there is no more sportsmanlike and enjoyable form of shooting than rough shooting a very different kind of dog is required from that necessary on a big shoot where partridges are driven and pheasants hand-reared. On such there will be a keeper, and the dogs employed will probably be in his hands and worked by him, or by an assistant, neither of whom will welcome very graciously the dog of the one-dog man in the syndicate which employs them...