Agreement with my observations in a previous column wasn't what caught my eye in your letter. It was a "wonderful companion all year long…on the trout stream and in the house" regarding your old dog, which tied in with preparing this column. You were pleased that my remarks reflected your experience. I was thankful you recognized how smart each thinks the other is.

Regarding your inquiry about very slow learning setters (apply to any breed), I can only hope you'll find my observations as sagacious as those prompting your letter.

Generally, Brits do pretty good stuff at a much earlier age than the "average" setter.

However, the caveat about individuality within each breed applies. Whether dunces outnumber geniuses in one breed or the other is arguable.

I would agree with you that on average, were there such, the bobbed-tail versatile breeds "get it" younger and have become very popular because of that. Other contributing factors (their pros and cons would make an article in itself), particularly trainer/owner preferences, training approach and effort expended, profoundly affect what's natural and inherited.

Patience, patience, patience, and a very gentle persuasion is required of a trainer, amateur or pro, who undertakes the training of either a setter or Brittany. Because I'm essentially an impatient old man, I substitute perseverance and, hopefully, understanding and some skills applied differently to both setters and Brits than to breeds with less delicate dispositions. Training "normal" reps of either breed, whether because of lack of precocity or sensitive dispositions, is a labor of love.

It's doubtful I possess the character to process to fruition a nice dog who is a very slow learner. A Simple Simon taxes my non-existent patience. I can do it. Have done it. Don't like to. It requires additional time when getting paid for a fun job more easily done with representatives of other breeds.

"Normal" setters, in whatever you consider reasonable time, will come around if you "love" that breed or individual. Hobby time and effort aren't the monetary concerns they are for professionals who pride themselves on completing satisfactory training jobs "even on a stump, if it has four legs and a tail." The same goes for those trainer/owners who have a "thing" for their favorite Brits.

Pro trainers have different breeds they "get along best with." Whether training for bird shooters or trial and test competitors, they choose to work with what responds best to their ideas and personalities. They work hard and time is money, dictating that they specialize or train predominantly those "easy to train" breeds they favor. As a well-seasoned bird hunter and dog man you rate the right, and have the privilege, to be tolerant for as long as you want.

But to bite the bullet and keep the nice, younger dog only as a companion (or put in good home with non-hunters), because he hasn't become biddable afield at age five, could be a wiser choice, although longer, more careful training time is conceded a necessity to develop a really good grouse dog. For practice hunting, no domestically-raised replicates are available to assist the required actual hunting of wild game that is necessary to develop a ruffed grouse virtuoso.

"Time's Winged Chariot" is closer to my tail than to yours. But even when I believed there was "world enough and time enough" for me, nothing would make me keep a gun dog around unless by age two to three it was showing me something special or was accomplished at providing frequent and enjoyable wing shooting.

But, as noted earlier, all regulations either have exceptions or were meant to be broken. So have at it! Mistakes made by all of us are not necessarily tragic and can become cherished memories.