'BREAKING AND HANDLING. 145 



When the dog will grasp the cob from the hand when it 

 is on the floor, there is usually next a troublesome stage to 

 teach, /. e., to pick the cob up off the floor. This is caused 

 by the awkwardness of the dog in grasping the cob, he not 

 being conscious of the proper manner of doing it when un- 

 der compulsory teaching, as when he does it voluntarily. If 

 he experience any difficulty in grasping it when it is on the 

 floor, the hand can be lowered to the floor, the backs of the 

 fingers resting on it, then let one end of the cob rest on 

 the floor, the other on the ends of the fingers, thus he can 

 get his lower jaw under it without difficulty. Mr. N. B. 

 Nesbitt, an eminent expert trainer, uses a very ingenious 

 contrivance which fills the requirements of this stage admi- 

 rably. A piece of soft wood, about the size of a corn cob, 

 has a couple of small pieces set cross-wise at right angles 

 in each end, thus forming an object having some resem- 

 blance to a miniature saw-horse. When it rests on the 

 ground there should be space enough underneath it to read- 

 ily admit the dog's under jaw. As this stage is the most 

 difficult to teach, any contrivance which is valuable should 

 not be omitted. If, at this stage, he should become con- 

 fused, it is better to re-commence at a previous stage, and 

 by degrees work him again to this stage. It will thus often 

 save punishment or avoid confusing the dog so much that 

 he does not know what act to perform. 



In exceptional instances the dog may absolutely refuse 

 to lift the cob or other object off the ground and may sit 

 down and throw his nose high in the air. No progress can 

 be made until this fault is corrected. Hold the whip in -the 

 right hand, the rope in the left, whip him lightly over the 

 nose till he lowers it. There is no need of hurry or sever- 

 ity. Every time he raises his nose, repeat the punishment. 

 An expert trainer can hold both the whip and rope in the 

 right hand and can manipulate one or the other as the oc- 

 casion requires. 



