THE PSYCHIC DEVELOPMENT OF YOUNG ANIMALS 163 
day, when a puppy watches a fly that has been torment- 
ing him, and then, steadying his head deliberately, snaps 
at it like a mature dog. 
SuGGEsTIvE ActTions.—I prefer this term to “imita- 
tion,” as the latter has become associated, in most 
minds, with the attempt to repeat what has been seen. 
In dogs the first imitative action, or rather suggestive 
action, is seen in play. One bites the other gently, and 
this rouses the tendency to reciprocate. It comes 
before all visual suggestive action. When several 
mature dogs are kept together, one may witness daily 
many interesting examples of imitative action. It has 
an educative effect of the widest influence either for 
good or evil on dogs. Much of sheep-worrying, etc., is 
the result of suggestive action, and is not spontaneous, 
except in so far as it is natural to all dogs to chase. 
In the puppy, from the 40th day onward, suggestive 
action is very common, and this greatly increases the 
activity and hastens the psychic progress of the 
members of a litter of puppies, as compared with a 
single young dog kept apart. 
It often, I have noticed, advances a puppy of a few 
months of age to place him among older dogs; and this 
is sometimes followed by the best physical, as well as 
psychic, results, especially if the young dog be allowed 
to go out for exercise with the older ones, under 
direction, of course, for dogs should not be allowed to 
roam as they will any more than children. They, too, 
soon learn the ways of the street. The manner in 
which this principle of suggestive action was illustrated 
on the 61st day, when in the yard among the older dogs, 
was very striking. 
RESEMBLANCES TO THE MATURE Doc.—Every animal 
is what it is by reason of its inherent tendencies as 
reacted on by the environment, and at this stage it 
may be interesting and instructive to call attention to 
