Training and Management 67 



Recruiting the Dogs 



These are the methods of recruiting the dogs : 

 i. From the dogs' homes. 



2. From the public as gifts through the Press. 



3. From the police stations in all parts of the country. 

 For messenger dogs the following breeds should be asked 



for : Sheep dogs, collies, drovers' dogs, lurchers (and all 

 crosses of the above), Irish terriers, Welsh terriers, Airedales, 

 and deerhounds. 



As each dog arrives, its full description is tabulated in a 

 ledger, with all particulars concerning it, and it is given a 

 collar and a number. It now takes its place among the new 

 recruits and is given a couple of days' rest, after which it 

 may be paraded with the other dogs of its own class for 

 the purpose of testing its capabilities. In analysing the 

 capabilities of the breeds above recommended for message- 

 carrying, experience goes to show that all these have given 

 good results in the field. Fox terriers, besides being too 

 small, are too fond of play, and do not take work seriously. 

 It must be admitted, however, that many of our best dogs 

 were Irish terriers and Welsh terriers. These little fellows 

 were remarkably easily taught, and were tremendously 

 keen on their work. Retrievers, unless they have a strong 

 cross of collie or sheep dog in them, may be ruled out. 

 They were very seldom entirely satisfactory. I put that 

 down to the use of this breed for sport. Under that system 

 of training the dog does his work always more or less under 

 his keeper's control, within sound of his voice, and the 

 habit of independent thinking, which has to be inculcated 

 in the messenger dog, is therefore difficult to instil. The 

 sheep dogs, and by this I mean the shaggy or Highland 

 variety, frequently make good dogs. They are sometimes 



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