BREAKING AND HANDLING. 69 



his trainer and his lessons. He will learn also that, after a 

 very short experience, the dog will comprehend his aggres- 

 sive purposes and can read his intentions so well that he 

 can anticipate them by the expression of his trainer's coun- 

 tenance alone, even if the trainer's voice is sweetly modu- 

 lated, and his manner seductive. 



The primary education, as with all other animals, high or 

 low, is the most difficult to teach; but, after the dog has 

 learned his master's ways and comprehends some of the 

 acts and orders, the remainder of the education is acquired 

 with greater ease; indeed, if given judicious opportunity, he 

 will learn a great deal himself by his observational powers 

 alone. His character must be studied and understood, 

 every dog, in this respect, differing from every other dog.' 

 By closely observing the habits, temper, disposition and in- 

 telligence of dogs, the trainer cannot fail to observe the 

 diversity of character which exists. Also an astonishing 

 number of intelligent acts and ideas will be noted, among 

 which will be the one that the dog has a very correct esti- 

 mate of his master's disposition and habits. If the latter 

 does not believe that the dog is a rational animal, he would 

 do wisely to study him still more closely, try to understand 

 why he does certain intelligent acts, note his fixed habits of 

 life, power of memory, will, etc., and then if he can not 

 believe that the dog has reasoning powers, he can, without 

 prejudice, conduct the training as if he did believe it, and 

 he will progress with much more satisfaction to himself and 

 comfort to the dog. 



In the estimation of the average novice, a dog is a dog 

 without any distinguishable differences of character or 

 intelligence from those of every other individual dog, in 

 about the same sense that one brick of a certain lot is sim- 

 ilar to all other bricks of that lot, the natural inference then 

 being that only one formal, arbitrary system is required in 



