Fifty Years a Hunter and Trapper: Autobiography, experiences and observations of Eldred Nathaniel Woodcock during his fifty years of hunting and trapping.Woodcock, E. N. (Eldred Nathaniel)
General
Fifty Years a Hunter and Trapper: Autobiography, experiences and observations of Eldred Nathaniel Woodcock during his fifty years of hunting and trapping.
Woodcock, E. N. (Eldred Nathaniel)
Hunting; Trapping
I said, "Go on Am, and we will see who the dog will follow." He
started off and the dog only looked at him. Am stopped and told the
dog to come on. The dog got around behind me. A said, "If I wanted
you to come you would come or I would break your neck." I said, "No,
Am, you won't break Pont's neck when I am around, it would not look
nice."
I started on my way, Pont following after I had gone a little ways. I
spoke to Pont, patted him on the head and told him what a good dog he
was. He jumped about and showed more ways than one how pleased he
was. He showed plainly the disgust he had for his master.
It so happened that the first trap that I came to was a trap set in a
spring run, and it had a coon in it. I allowed Pont to help kill the
coon, and after the coon was dead I patted Pont and told him what
great things we had done in capturing the coon, and Pont showed what
pride he took in the hunt, so much so that he did not like to have Am
go near the pelt. I saw from the very first day out that all Pont
needed was kind treatment and proper training to make a good help on
the trap line.
I was careful to let him know what I was doing when setting a trap,
and when he would go to smell at the bait after a trap had been set,
I would speak to him in a firm voice and let him know that I did not
approve of what he was doing. When making blind sets, I took the same
pains to show and give him to understand what I was doing. I would
sometimes, after giving him fair warning, let him put his foot into a
trap. I would scold him in a moderate manner and release him. Then
all the time when I was resetting the trap I would talk trap to him,
and by action and word, teach him the nature of the trap. Mr.
Trapper, please do not persuade yourself to believe that the
intelligent dog cannot understand if you go about it right.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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