COMING TO HEEL. 23 



the capture of the bird depends upon our absolute silence, 

 at least so far as words are concerned ; therefore he should 

 be taught to advance at the sound of the cluck as well as 

 the word On. 



When well accustomed to the restraint of the chain, he 

 should be taught to come to heel and quhtly walk by your 

 side. We greatly prefer that our dog should keep this p ~si- 

 tion with his head j ust opposite our legs, where wc can see him 

 without turning around, ins' ead of having him behind us. 

 In order to teach him this, quickly and well, you should procure 

 a stick, about two feet long and an inch in diameter, and 

 fasten a snap at one end of it. This you can easily accom- 

 plish with the aid of a bit of leather. Now spring the snap 

 into the ring in his collar and take a little walk with him. 

 We generally manage a few of these first lessons at his usual 

 meal time by placing his dish of food at the proper distance 

 before we take him in hand. He should know nothing of 

 his dinner until you lead him to it. When all is ready lake 

 a firm hold of your end of the stick and walk along at your 

 usual gait, coaxing him to follow. Be sure and have the 

 stick at the right angle to keep him just where you intend 

 to have him go. After one or two steps, and when you have 

 got him well under way, you must say Hed to him, and re- 

 peat the word once or twic3 as you walk along. You can- 

 not expect that his behavior will be entirely faultlesss upon 

 the first trial, but no matter how he takes it, lead him 

 straight to his dinner and at once unfasten him and let 

 him eat. After a few lessons of this kind, he will 

 become perfectly reconciled, and you can gradually ex- 

 tend your walk and occasionally omit giving his food 

 at the end, and he will soon learn to keep his place 

 without the aid of the stick. Then you can ex f end 

 your walks, taking care to be very gradual in the increase 

 of time, and to be very sure that he implicitly obeys you and 

 does not leave his place for even so much as a second's time, 

 until you bid him go on. If this lesson is thoroughly— now do 

 not smile at my frequent ropetition of this word, for it is a 

 word that we are very fond of, and one that we wish to 



