THE DOG 



63 



always and everywhere, by rewards rather than 

 by punishments. A firm oral order, expressed 

 each time in the same words, accompanied by 

 the same movement of the hand or arm, is 

 certain to be efficacious. One of our dogs 

 always stopped short if we raised our hand 

 slightly without saying a word. Even when a 

 turn of the road hid us from his sight, he re- 

 mained in the same place ; but he lay down, 

 which showed some uneasiness of mind. 



A dog is easily taught the simplest tricks, 

 such as jvmiping over a stick or through a hoop, 

 by offering him a dainty with the stick or hoop. 

 High jumps are, however, injurious to the artic- 

 ulations and also to the lungs of young or small 

 dogs. When a dog has seriously hurt himself 

 in doing one of these tricks he (very wisely) 

 will never attempt it again. Dogs that are 

 trained for gymnastic performances in public 

 go through a long and laborious process, the 

 details of which it is useless to give here. 

 Firmness, infinite patience, kindness, and en- 

 couragement more than punishment are still the 

 secrets of success. To the true lover of dogs, 

 however, such exhibitions are far from being 

 a pleasure, wonderful as they are 



Nothing is easier than to teach 

 the d(jmestic dog certain 

 things, such, for instance 

 as shutting the door. A 

 piece of meat should be 

 held against the open 

 door, high enough for him 

 to reach it when standing- 

 upright on his hind legs. 

 When he touches it the 

 door swings to, and at the 

 same moment the teacher 

 says, " Shut the dtx.ir." With 

 a little patience the dog is scxm 

 taught to go to the door and shut it 

 at a simple word of command. A 

 number of such little things can be 

 taught to an obedient dog, but he will never 

 do them with pleasure and good will unless he 

 is continually with his master and understands 

 his looks and signs. Allow^ed to be away from 

 home all day, he will lose interest in these tricks. 



It is in some such way that a dog is taught 

 to "fetch," — a lesson so important for some 

 sporting dogs, requiring, as it does, so many 



Larkfll 



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Kl..Ali\ 111 OHEV OkuEKS 



preliminary exercises. At the word of com- 

 mand, " fetch," every young dog will seize very 

 eagerly a ball or a handkerchief thrown to a 

 certain distance. Will he bring it back } It is 

 exactly here that we must proceed with much 

 patience and reflection. In the first 

 place, the distance ought to be 

 short and the dog should be 

 fastened to a long string. 

 A still better way is to 

 make him sit before you 

 holding articles (not too 

 light) in his mouth, and 

 make him drop them at 

 the word of command. 

 Later he can be trained 

 ti) pick up such articles at 

 distance and bring them 

 lack at the command. Much 

 success has come from using a 

 piece of wood provided with small 

 weights at each end, which can be 

 taken off or put on by means of a 

 peg, so that the article can be weighted at will ; 

 the wood should have small transverse pieces 

 to keep it from lying flat on the ground, thereby 

 making it more difficult for the animal to pick 

 up. Sporting dogs, trained by the excellent 



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