Dogs and All about Them

Many of the older field trial men hold tenaciously to the opinion that the modern exhibition Setter is useless for high-class work, and contend that if field-trial winners are to be produced they must be bred from noted working strains. Doubtless this prejudice in favour of working dogs has been engendered by the circumstance that many owners of celebrated bench winners care nothing about their dogs being trained, in some cases generation after generation having been bred simply for show purposes. Under such conditions it is not to be wondered at that the capacity for fine scenting properties and the natural aptitude for quickly picking up a knowledge of their proper duties in the field is impaired. But there is no reason why a good show dog should not also be a good worker, and the recent edict of the Kennel Club which rules that no gun dog shall be entitled to championship honours until it has gained a certificate of merit in field trials will doubtless tend towards a general improvement in the working qualities of the breeds whose providence is in the finding and retrieving of game.