BREAKING AND HANDLING. 6l 



which he did not comprehend, and immediately thereafter 

 punish him for disobedience, such tutor would not be es- 

 teemed for his skill ; yet such course would not be less 

 absurd than the analogous one pursued by some amateurs. 

 Other serious faults are irregularity of effort and inattention 

 to details. The amateur may give the lessons properly for 

 two or three days, then miss them for two or three weeks, 

 and the clog is supposed to remember all, regardless of the 

 fitful training. Proper care is not observed in correcting 

 little imperfections of detail. Faults which could be 

 corrected without trouble at their inception are permitted 

 to grow and gain strength from habit, and are impatiently 

 treated only when they injuriously affect the general train- 

 ing. Not infrequently a novice impulsively attempts to 

 teach a whole system, or important branch of a system, or 

 correct a grave fault, at one attempt, whereas he should 

 have taken days or weeks. He, in his inexperience, is 

 predisposed to believe that there is a fictitious valuation of 

 the benefits accruing from a close observance of small de- 

 tails, hence he ignores them. Strict attention, systematically 

 perfecting even the slightest details, is necessary to achieve 

 success in training. Desultory efforts are but a short re- 

 move from no effort. 



The amateur, besides being punctual and considerate, 

 must acquire a habit of watchfulness and observation. To 

 accomplish this requires constant effort of the will at first, 

 but by cultivation it will become habitual. After a time, 

 the trainer, if possessed of the proper qualifications, will be 

 able to correctly interpret ev.ery action of the dog and an- 

 ticipate his acts by his expression. 



Some novices have the fault of training continually. The 

 dog should not be made to feel that his life is one inter- 

 minable lesson. While giving a lesson, the trainer should 

 be painstaking and skillful, but when the lesson is ended, 



