FIRST LESSONS. 5 



easy to teach him. He should be very hungry when you 

 commence these first lessons, as his eagerness for the food 

 will cause him to pay you close attention ; and when he un- 

 derstands that as soon as he performs his task his reward is 

 sure, and that he cannot have it before, he will anxiously 

 strive to do whatever you may require of him. You should 

 begin by giving him a taste of a piece of meat, then secure 

 a firm hold upon his collar, and place a small piece upon the 

 ground in front of him. He will struggle with all his strength 

 to get at it, but hold him steadily, and do not say a word 

 until he becomes partially quiet ; then move his nose a little 

 nearer, and, in your ordinary tone of voice, say To ho, 

 with a falling accent upon the last syllable. Do not repeat 

 the words just yet, and when you do be very careful that 

 your voice is not strained and unnatural; we always ac- 

 company this word with the right hand raised warningly, for 

 it may often happen that we wish our dog to come to a halt 

 at some distance from us, and by accustoming him to the 

 gesture he will soon learn to stop a3 far as he can see you. 

 Most sportsmen use this signal to mak3 their dogs charge, 

 but as we shall show further on, when we come to it, the 

 other plan is much better. After a few seconds the dog wil] 

 become more quiet, and you can n peat the words. Now 

 carefuly watch him, and as soon as his attention is fixed upon 

 the meat, and he looks at it steadily for a second, release 

 your hold and cluck to him as a signal that he can now have 

 it, and at once praise and pet him, and give him to under- 

 stand that he has done something wonderful, and that you 

 are pleased with him. We should have stated before that, from 

 the first, whenever you place his food before him you should 

 always cluck to him, as he will thus learn the meaning of 

 the sound, and understand when he hears it that all restraint 

 is removed. 



After the first trial do not try him again until the next 

 time that you feed him; for should you force him he may 

 grow weary and fail to respond with that cheerfulness and 

 alacrity that is so pleasing to see. You must be very care- 

 ful that he does not get at the meat until you give him per- 



