"Never take young Spaniels into large or thick coverts where they can get away from under your eye. Confine your working ground to small bits of covert, patches of turnips, bushes, bits of gorse--any thing, in fact, where you will be likely to have thorough control over them, and where they are in reach of an attendant; whom you should always have with you to turn them to your whistle. I have found it a first-rate plan to take them out on the sides of rivers and ponds, where there are lots of moorhens, and plenty of sedge and rushes; let them hunt in the rushes till they are tired, and a morning's work of this kind will do them more good than anything I know of. They soon become fond of the work; it teaches them to work close, and they are perfectly under the control of yourself and assistant.
"Teach them early to drop to hand and shot, and spare no pains about it; this is a part of a Spaniel's education which is generally neglected. I know many men who, instead of making them drop to shot, make them come to heel, using the words 'come around,' or 'heel.' It answers every purpose; and as it brings every dog to you, and he has to work right away from you again when he gets the signal, it has its advantages in keeping them under control; but, on the whole, I prefer the dropping to shot and wing instantly. It is difficult to make a Spaniel drop to fur; and if you can keep him from chasing, merely putting up hares and rabbits, but not following them after they are started, rest satisfied that little more is necessary or desirable.
"I once saw an interesting thing of this kind. I was shooting with a gentleman near Southampton, in one of his coverts, to a team of small Clumbers; we were both standing in a ride, and saw a charming little bitch feathering near us towards the ride. Just as she got to it, out popped a rabbit and scuttled down the ride, followed out of the covert by the bitch; but as soon as she cleared the wood and was in the ride, close on to the rabbit, which she had not seen till then, down she dropped entirely of her own accord. She had not seen either of us, neither did we know that we were each observing this pretty bit of work until we compared notes a few minutes after, and agreed that we had never seen anything better. It is rather difficult to describe, but to me it was worth all the afternoon's shooting, and it made an impression at the time which is as fresh as ever now. She was, I need scarcely say, thoroughly broken.