FOR THE FIELD AND FIELD TRIALS. 205 



play, to say nothing of his dangerous nature when 

 irritated. 



Play is the trait of the dog's character in this 

 method which the trainer must utilize in schooling 

 him to be a retriever. In its application there is no 

 fixed or arbitrary rule. The trainer's tactfulness 

 and the puppy's playfulness are the factors. 



No serious punishment is permissible. Anything 

 which stops the puppy from playing, stops the educa- 

 tion at the same time. Disapproval may be shown 

 when the puppy endeavors to rend or mouth the ob- 

 ject to be retrieved, to the end that he may be checked 

 more or less in his destructive tendency, but in that 

 respect disapproval by word and manner is about as 

 far as the trainer may safely venture. 



By gradual and protracted stages the fun of the 

 puppy is more or less imperfectly developed into the 

 act of retrieving, by the exercise of an infinite de- 

 gree of patience, persistency and good temper. 



A palatable morsel, given to the dog when he has 

 retrieved the object thrown out by the trainer, is a 

 gratifying profit to him and therefore an appeal to 

 his self-interest. However, when the edge is gone 

 from his appetite, and therewith his self-interest is 



