244 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



ally introduced to louder and louder noises, never being allowed 

 to escape, but being made to see that no harm is meant liim or 

 can happen to him. As to whether it is worth while to attempt 

 to cure the worst cases will depend much on other circumstances, 

 as the dog's breeding, general intelligence, nose, etc. It may or 

 may not be inherited. 



The author, in conversation with a very successful trainer of 

 horses, once asked : " Can you teach any horse these things ? " 

 ^' I can do so, but it would not in many cases be worth while," 

 was the reply. The same may be said of dogs : some of them are 

 not adapted for certain kinds of work, and acquirements by 

 nature to a sufficient degree, to make it worth while to persevere 

 in teaching them ; just as certain boys would never become expert 

 enough at certain vocations to warrant their pursuit. But before 

 abandoning a well-bred dog that seems to possess courage, " go," 

 and fair general intelligence, it might be well to get the advice 

 of some second person of much experience. Many dogs, unprom- 

 ising at first, have become a great success afterward. The ability 

 to read dogs very thoroughly is given to but a few men, and 

 these, i:)rovided they have patience, good temper, and persever- 

 ance, must of course make the best trainers. 



Though we have sjjoken chiefly of the training of hunting 

 dogs, it is simply because that is usually more elaborate. All 

 training is based essentially on the same principles, for the mind 

 of the trainer and that of the dog are relative constants, while the 

 circumstances are the variables. 



In every instance the dog, from the earliest period, must know 

 the trainer as his master, as one who knows his own mind and 

 always is to be obeyed. But, in order to insure this, the princi- 

 ples we have already endeavored to enforce must be faithfully 

 and intelligently applied ; and it is very important, we repeat, 

 that nothing be undertaken that can not be performed, and every 

 advance in instruction approached by slight gradation and fre- 

 quent repetition. All sound training must constantly keep in 

 mind the individuality of the animal. The assumption that all 

 dogs can be treated just alike is as erroneous as that all stomachs 

 may have the same diet. 



A dog kept constantly in a kennel can never attain his highest 

 psychical development ; and it is the author's experience that it 

 does every dog good to bring him into the house occasionally for 

 short periods and allow him to mingle with the family. It raises 

 the animal in his own estimation, and attaches him to his master, 

 for whom he will have increased respect. 



