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LETTER XXXII 



HOW TO TEAIN A EETEIEVEE 

 IS EIGHT LESSONS 



LESSON I 



OBEDIENCE 



THE first lesson for a retriever puppy to learn is 

 obedience, and that he has one master only to love 

 and obey yourself. * 



Most retriever puppies start life as pets of servants 

 or children, and from being frequently fed on tit-bits, 

 and caressed by many hands, are ready to run to 

 anyone \vho notices or feeds them, and as a result 

 have a good deal to unlearn. 



For this reason never allow your puppy to roam 

 about a house, cottage, or stables ; if you have not a 

 railed-in kennel, keep him loose in a small yard, or 



* Do not commence the initiatory training of your puppy till he is 

 fully three months old. If you begin to bother him too soon you may 

 easily puzzle and worry your pupil beyond his endurance, and any 

 correction, however slight* may terrify and spoil him. A puppy, 

 even at four months, is but a baby, and his disobedience at that 

 age is rather the playfulness of infancy than actual wilfulness of 

 disposition. 



