g 2 MODERN TRAINING. 



CHAPTER V. 



INSTRUMENTS USED IN TRAINING. THEIR USES. 



The spike collar has been the subject of the most un- 

 qualified praise and most unqualified condemnation; it has 

 been claimed that it is applicable and efficient in every 

 branch of a dog's education, and the most extravagant 

 quickness and perfection of results have been ascribed to 

 its use. 



Much can be said for and against it, not from any inher- 

 ent virtues or vices in the collar, but accordingly as it is used 

 skillfully or otherwise. Unquestionably, men of uncontroll- 

 able temper and vicious propensities inflict terrible torture, 

 and sometimes maim or destroy the dog with it, yet it is 

 only a means to their brutality ; in its absence, the whip or 

 boot would more than probably take its place. For such 

 men the collar is wholly unfit as a useful instrument in 

 training, and the men are wholly unfit for trainers. Even 

 in the hands of a novice whose temper and intentions are 

 the kindliest, a great deal of unnecessary pain is inflicted 

 from imperfect knowledge of methods and dog nature, 

 awkward manipulation, and from failure to note the painful 

 effects of punishment. The writer has seen the lesson 

 abandoned and the most disgraceful barbarity exhibited 

 from loss of temper. Such is not dog training in any 

 sense of the term ; and the vicious temper of the trainer 

 cannot be ascribed to the properties of the collar. When 

 used merely to gratify such temper, it ceases to be an in- 



