6 4 MODERN TRAINING. 



thereto he adds the weakness of finding fault with his dog, 

 gun, cartridges and friends, and never finds a fault in him- 

 self,' he cannot hope to be higher as a trainer than he is as 

 a companion, unless he amends, which is hardly presum- 

 able, as there are very few precedents therefor. He who 

 can be heard in the adjacent counties when a bird is 

 flushed, or he who goes to the other extreme and praises 

 his dog irrespective of the accuracy or inaccuracy of his 

 work, can accept it it as an unalterable fact that as a 

 skillful trainer he has mistaken his calling or diversion, as 

 the case may be. 



If the amateur fails in training a dog which possesses the 

 proper natural qualities, the failure can only be ascribed to 

 his own deficient skill or industry; for dog- training, as prac- 

 ticed at present, is an established art, and is followed as a 

 profession year after year by a number of men. Given a 

 dog having the required natural capabilities, there is not the 

 least doubt as to successful training. Any part the dog will 

 not perform willingly can be made compulsory. 



It is absolutely necessary that the trainer either has a good 

 temper, or self-control over such temper as he has, which 

 practically is the same thing in dog training. All trainers 

 are more or less impatient and irritable in their first efforts, 

 but it is a weakness which should be suppressed as much as 

 possible. The ideal trainer who is always patient and serene 

 does not exist. By self-discipline a trainer can learn to 

 control his temper; if he has not the will power to so control 

 it, he is not the proper material for a trainer. Just so often 

 as he loses his temper and inflicts unnecessary punishment, 

 just so often does he do wrong and obstruct progress. No 

 matter how refractory or stupid a dog may be, nothing is 

 gained by gratifying ill temper. If the trainer's temper is 

 impatient or fiery, yet controllable, it is no obstacle to suc- 

 cessful training; indeed, the expert trainers, as a class, are 



