DOGS, AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS. 3G5 



farther ; throw it over the house or some building ; hide 

 it, he will soon obey your every command. Enforce 

 obedience at all times. Do not correct him in anger, nor 

 whip him unnecessarily ; but when necessity demands it, 

 have no hesitancy in punishing him for faults or omissions 

 he has committed or omitted. In teaching the puppy 

 to lie down, the expression generally used is, " Down, 

 charge." The word, " Down " is better, because it con- 

 veys the command to the dog without unnecessary words. 

 The fewer words one uses the better. Teach the dog 

 to associate words Avith actions in this way. Tell him 

 to " down, " at the same time pressing him down with 

 your hand. He soon learns that when he is told to 

 "down," if he doesn't mind, } r our hand will force him. 

 Connecting the command with the raising of your hand, 

 he soon learns to drop at sight of the uplifted hand, as 

 readily as at the word. Practice and discipline are 

 what makes him perfect in this respect. When you 

 are ready to teach him to retrieve from water, don't 

 throw him in the first time you happen to have him 

 near it. Don't throw him in at all, for you will frighten 

 him and delay his learning. But select some bright 

 day, some place where the water is shallow and warm, 

 and go down with him to its edge. When the atmosphere 

 offers strong inducements for him to take a bath, throw 

 sticks on the verge of the stream, where he can wade ; 

 gradually extend the distance, and in a few days he 

 will bring from the water as well as from land. 



When the dog retrieves, insist that the object brought 

 shall be delivered into your hand , don't let him drop 

 it at your feet or any other place. Don't let him jump 

 up on you, but teach him to come to you with the duck 

 in his mouth, to sit on his haunches and hold the bird 



