Instinct 151 



is done by a very gradual process, and by emulation of 

 fellow-students. The firing drill, of course, demands the 

 greatest effort of self-control ; but when dogs arc trained 

 together in bands, and begin to take an interest in the work, 

 a single individual has the greatest dislike of being left out 

 of anything, in which the rest may be taking part, and he 

 will rather face something, that for a time may seem 

 unpleasant, than be left behind. 



This factor is a great help in training the instinct of 

 courage. When they get accustomed to the sound, the 

 fear vanishes. And so it is with water and other unpleasant- 

 nesses. Rather than let another furry friend reach the 

 other bank, or scale the barbed wire before him, a dog 

 will force itself to tackle these difficulties, which before, 

 it would have considered insurmountable. 



Apart from this trained courage, we can all recall instances 

 of natural pluck and real bravery in dogs, defending some 

 person, or thing they valued, and believed to be in danger. 



Honour 



A sense of right and wrong, or conscience, is very strongly 

 developed in dogs, and the moral sense has to be carefully 

 brought out in the War Dog, as it has to do so much of its 

 work entirely on its own initiative. But it is safe to say, 

 that if you can get a dog to understand a certain duty 

 as a trust, it will rarely fail you. In fact, especially in 

 relation to guarding duties, the dog will often rather lay 

 down life itself than betray its trust, and when there is 

 complete understanding and trust between the messenger 

 dog and its keeper, the honourable return of the dog with 

 the message is assured. 



Until this co-operation is attained, however, there are 



