You must never allow a fault to pass unrebuked, be it ever so trifling or seemingly excusable. To train a dog properly a man must be always attentively on the watch to nip crime in the bud; and it is the want of this faculty in would-be breakers that is accountable for so many failures, while the possessors of it are succeeding without apparent trouble, or even method.

Let your words of command be few in number, widely differing in sound, and invariable: "Heel," "Down," "Bring it," and "Hi lost," are sufficient burdens for the memory of any puppy.

After the pupil has arrived at answering his name and the whistle, which preliminaries you can teach him at his meal-times, make him understand that he must walk to heel at command. This is easily accomplished, during a few saunters along an enclosed footpath, by tapping his nose sharply with a cut-whip, whenever it is poked into view, and by accompanying these reminders with repetitions of the word Heel.

Next follows the crisis of his education, the learning to drop smartly at signal and to remain down until bidden to rise. For this important lesson, you must employ a long cord securely fastened to a peg in the ground, to which centre you must drag him back every time that he gets up without permission. When he is perfected in dropping to hand, and to the word Down, you can try if he will retrieve some light, soft article like a glove, always giving him a piece of sweet biscuit in exchange, when he returns the glove to your hand. If he will not take to other missives, procure the dried-up corpse of some small bird, and place it where he will be sure to find it of himself. He will certainly pick it up, so you must be ready to call him to you and to give him a tempting morsel in exchange. At once throw the bird away again as far as you can, exclaiming "Bring it" and encourage him to repeat his performance, which will soon extend to the retrieving of a glove. But as soon as he will carry readily, discontinue the practice, until it is wanted for business, as before its association with the gun there is always a danger of the dog getting tired of it.

After this teach your dog to quarter to your hand. This may be done by yourself running with him backward and forward up-wind over a field where you know there is no game, as all these preliminaries are better taught far from extraneous excitements.

His actual introduction to sport, when he is thoroughly grounded, should take place gradually and as follows.

At first let the youngster, trailing after him a long cord, remain, Retriever-like, at the heel of his master, who can wear a light cut-whip attached to his left wrist without interfering with accuracy of aim. The sight of this instrument dangling in front of him at the time of the shot will act on the dog as a powerful deterrent from breaking heel. When practicable, it is even better to initiate him at a drive, sitting by his master, with the end of his long cord securely pegged down.

When the puppy is quite steady at heel, he should be encouraged to hunt close in front of his master, taking his ground in fan-shaped sections; but for a considerable time he should not be allowed to retrieve a rabbit or too many dead birds, until he has learnt to track a wounded partridge through turnips peopled by ground-game. He must never search for a fallen bird till ordered, nor chase one that he has sprung, even for one yard, as these faults will spoil many an otherwise possible shot.

Some men, indeed, there are who from the beginning train their pups - and train them well - on rabbits, but unless you are sure of being one of the Elect, do not attempt this method!

On the other hand the talk about the difficulty of training Spaniels is palpably false, since so many of them manage to become tolerably broken dogs - in spite of the hindrance of their (so-called) breakers.

Fig. 68. - Mr. H. Jones's English Springer Bitch Fansome.

All the preliminary course, which is by far the most important, may be efficiently taught in your own house and garden; and the training of the volatile Cocker (provided he be free from Beagle cross) only differs from that of the sedate Clumber in the length and application of the trash-cord!

The mouth of a puppy can often be "softened" by squeezing his lips over his teeth, and so giving him pain, whenever he has been too intimate with his bird.

Breaking for trials is precisely the same as breaking for your own shooting - nothing extra, nothing occult, is required; but you must of course for either purpose encourage a quick return when retrieving.

The breaking of pups destined to work in teams is precisely similar to the above, excepting that the lesson in retrieving is omitted.

The Society has not yet officially promulgated a description of the English Springer, but it cannot differ greatly from the following: -

Skull

Long and slightly arched on top, fairly broad, with a stop, and well-developed temples.

Jaws

Long and broad, not snipy, with plenty of thin lip.

Eyes

Medium size, not too full, but bright and intelligent, of a rich brown.

Ears

Long, low set, and lobular in shape.

Neck

Long, strong, and slightly arched.

Shoulders

Long and sloping.

Fore Legs

Of a fair moderate length, strong boned and straight.

Body

Strong, with well-sprung ribs, good girth, and chest deep and fairly broad.

Loin

Rather long, strong, and slightly arched.

Hindquarters

Very muscular, hocks well let down, stifles moderately bent and not twisted inwards or outwards,

Feet

Rather large, round, and hairy.

Stern

Low carried, not above the level of the back.

Coat

Thick, firm, and smooth or slightly wavy; it must not be too long. The feathering must be moderate on the ears, and scanty, but continued down the legs to the heel.

Colour

Black, liver, yellow, as self-colours, and pied or mottled with white, or tan, or both.

General Appearance

An active, compact dog, upstanding, but by no means stilty. His height at shoulder should about equal his length from the top of the withers to the root of the tail.

Fig. 67 illustrates the English Springer dog Shirley, belonging to Mr. R. H. Betts. This typical dog has never been exhibited, but he is a wonder at all kinds of work. The appearance of his head is an index to his sagacity, and his style of hunting is characterised by the lowly carried, vibrating tail of his race; while Fig. 68 shows Mr. H. Jones's Fansome, a splendid bitch that won first prize at the Crystal Palace, 1902. In her picture can be studied the ideal proportions of an English Springer - the union of strength and activity.