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 ACTIONS. 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 ; arid 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. 



KESEMBLANCES TO THE MATURE DOG. 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 



