1 88 TRAINING THE HUNTING DOG 



bring the act and the object in direct and painful as- 

 sociation. After a time, if the dog at the first view 

 of a fleeing rabbit, forgets himself on the impulse of 

 the moment, and starts to chase, the warning cry Hi ! 

 Hi! Hi! will check him, and on second thought 

 he will desist. The punishment must be persisted 

 in until the - dog ignores the rabbit temptation 

 reliably. 



The correction for unsteadiness to shot and wing is 

 also administered ,on the theory of associating the 

 errors with pain, but in practice much more care 

 needs to be exercised than in breaking the dog of rab- 

 bit chasing. By injudicious punishment, it is quite as 

 easy to teach the dog to forbear hunting birds at all 

 as it is to forbear chasing rabbits. There is a degree 

 of punishment which will deter the dog from chasing 

 and breaking in ; there is a further degree which will 

 deter him from hunting at all, and there is still a 

 further degree which will cause him to blink. He 

 should never be punished so severely or so persist- 

 ently that he shows hesitation or loss of confidence 

 in himself or handler. It is much better to make 

 haste slowly, accomplishing advancement safely, 

 {Step by step, than it is to take the chances of 



