244 MODERN TRAINING. 



care, he may not notice anything unusual, and would con- 

 jecture that birds were scarce or the dog had not found-any. 

 The dog could run day after day without making a find, 

 unless he happened to run into a bevy when the wind was 

 unfavorable. The most unremitting kindness must be 

 shown. Sometimes encouraging him to kill a crippled bird 

 will restore his confidence; sometimes giving him opportu- 

 nities to chase rabbits, or to flush or chase birds, will have 

 a like effect. Opening birds that have been killed and per- 

 mitting him to eat the entrails will sometimes stimulate his 

 desire to kill. If the evil is corrected, the subsequent 

 training must be very mild. Constant work and association 

 should be depended upon to complete it. 



If the dog is excessively timid, take an unbroken dog 

 with him and by imitation and rivalry he may learn to chase 

 rabbits and birds. If the handler's presence is a source of 

 dread, it is better to give him free opportunity to self hunt, 

 or chase rabbits with hounds. Few dogs can resist the in- 

 clination to chase when they hear other dogs open on a 

 trail. If the dog is persistently distrustful of his handler, 

 a change to other hands will be beneficial. 



The better way is to avoid the fault by careful training, 

 which can be done in most cases. The trainer should not 

 always consider what he applied the punishment for, but 

 what the dog considers he applied it for. If the trainer 

 whips the dog for flushing or chasing, and the dog, con- 

 struing it as punishment for hunting birds, stops hunting 

 them, the trainer necessarily must govern his methods there- 

 after by the dog's peculiarities. Usually an experienced 

 handler can detect or anticipate the turning point between 

 unsteadiness and blinking, and modify his treatment accor- 

 dingly. Just one whipping too much, or a gun fired at an 

 inappropriate juncture when the dog is more or less gun- 

 shy, may entail weeks of the most irksome training, since 



