82 TRAINING THE HUNTING DOG 



latter being acts which, from his standpoint, are at 

 first quite right. 



It thus will be noted that a certain degree of free- 

 dom and association with man is essential to the dog's 

 best education as. a servant in the interests of the gun. 

 Nor are all the advantages of companionship to be 

 charged to the puppy in the matter of training. The 

 trainer is also benefited thereby. It gives him the 

 best of opportunities to study the puppy's peculiari- 

 ties and abilities. He will note whether his pupil is 

 intelligent or stupid, timid or bold, diligent or lazy, 

 calm or excitable, etc. In fact, it will be a distinct 

 gain to him if he cultivates a habit of close observa- 

 tion of the traits and doings of his pupils at all times. 



No two dogs have precisely the same talents, nor 

 the same methods of accomplishing their purposes. 

 Indeed, most dogs vary widely in their powers, and 

 the application of them. Each dog has an individu- 

 ality of his own. He can best perform in his own 

 natural manner. Nothing, therefore, will be gained 

 by any attempts to make him work up to some ideal, 

 even though it be the most famous ideal ever imag- 

 ined. The idea of the ideal can never be communi- 

 cated to the dog. 



