BREAKING AND HANDLING. 79 



thing at a time, distinct and separate from all others, should 

 be taught till the dog understands and remembers it; he will 

 thus be saved much perplexity and confusion, constant ad- 

 vances will be made, and the trainer will save his temper. 

 It may appear to be a dilatory system, but it is the quickest 

 and the best in the end. Any forgetfulness should be 

 treated kindly, a lapse of memory being excusable. Repe- 

 titions of the lessons will correct forgetfulness, while pun- 

 ishment is ineffective and injurious. In powers of memory, 

 all dogs, except in rare instances, excel; but in the excep- 

 tional case, the infirmity should not be mistaken for obsti- 

 nacy. It can be determined by the dog's apparent 

 willingness to obey, but inability to do so from confusion of 

 ideas, or when given an order to perform a certain act he 

 may perform another entirely different act which he has 

 been taught; his hesitancy and doubtful air at times under 

 these circumstances indicate his feeling of uncertainty as to 

 correctness. This confusion of ideas may be caused in 

 clogs of good memory, by attempting to teach, hastily and 

 imperfectly, several things during the same lesson palpably 

 an unskillful method. 



While a small part of the dog's education is necessarily 

 compulsory, the punishment required is much less than is 

 commonly supposed. The trainer should endeavor to whip 

 as little as possible. All beginners trust too much to force, 

 regardless of the temperament of the dog. Generally the 

 more experience a trainer has had, the less he uses the 

 whip, although it can never be entirely dispensed with; but 

 it can be reduced in its application to a minimum. 



Due weight should be given to the important and pertinent 

 facts that, in giving the lessons, the dog's attention can be 

 held too long; that he can become mentally and physically 

 weary; that he can be overworked; that he can become dis- 

 gusted by bad treatment or can acquire a decidedly obstruct- 



