3O TRAINING THE HUNTING DOG 



All his acts are founded on knowledge acquired by 

 experience. As instincts are quite independent of ex- 

 perience, the distinction is apparent. 



All instincts are much alike as displayed, one ani- 

 mal with another. They may vary in the degrees of 

 intensity, but they are the same in kind. The moth- 

 er's love for her offspring, the instinct of self-preser- 

 vation, etc., are manifested much alike by every in- 

 dividual. On the other hand, acts of reason vary 

 greatly in their manifestations concerning the same 

 object. For instance, out of several methods by 

 which a purpose may be accomplished, as in the pur- 

 suit of a rabbit, some dogs adopt one method, some 

 another, according to the governing circumstances 

 at the time, such as the dog's knowledge of methods 

 derived from prior experience ; his ability to discrim- 

 inate as to methods ; his ability as to bodily powers 

 that is, whether he has sufficient speed to rush and 

 capture at once, or, being slow, whether to make a 

 long race on the basis of endurance, etc. The same 

 dog, indeed, not infrequently employs different 

 methods at different times to accomplish the same 

 purpose, accordingly as experience improves his 

 knowledge or maturity improves his intellect, or as 



