70 British War Dogs 



courage with which the dogs did their work in the face of 

 every kind of difficulty. There have been many occasions 

 when a situation, at one moment so full of anxiety and 

 uncertainty, has been completely transformed by the 

 arrival, out of the chaos and darkness, of one of these brave 

 dogs bearing its message of information and appeal. 



Now it must here be observed why the training of the 

 messenger differs from that of any other dog. In the first 

 place, the dog has to work entirely on its own initiative, 

 and may be miles away from its keeper. It has to know 

 what it has to do, and to think out how it is to do it. The 

 only training that approaches it is that of the shepherd's 

 dog, where a man may send his dog up the hill-side with 

 directions to gather in the sheep. But the distance is not 

 so great, nor are the difficulties to be encountered to be 

 compared. It is easy to understand, therefore, that the 

 messenger dog has to be trained in such a way that it takes 

 keenest delight and pride in its work. The highest qualities 

 of mind — love and duty — have to be appealed to and culti- 

 vated. Coercion is of no avail, for of what use would this 

 be when the dog is two or three miles away from its keeper ? 

 In fact, it may be said that the whole training is based on 

 appeal. To this end the dog is gently taught to associate 

 everything pleasant with its working hours. Under no 

 circumstances whatever must it be roughly handled or 

 roughly spoken to. If it makes a mistake, or is slack in its 

 work when being trained, it is never chastised, but is merely 

 shown how to do it over again. If any of the men under 

 instruction are observed to display roughness or lack of 

 sympathy with the dogs, they should be instantly dis- 

 missed, as a promising young dog could easily be thrown 

 back in his training, or even spoiled altogether, by sharp 

 handling. 



