2l6 TRAINING THE HUNTING DOG 



have recollections of implicit obedience only as a 

 means of avoiding pain. Their impressions con- 

 cerning it are lifelong. 



A tender mouth can be insured under this system 

 if the trainer has ordinary skill. Also, under it, the 

 dog can be taught to retrieve whether he is old or 

 young. The discipline further conquers and sub- 

 jugates him in a general way, without impairing his 

 independence or breaking his spirit. 



Any hurry in the training sh6uld be carefully 

 avoided. The dog must have ample time to compre- 

 hend the purposes of his trainer, and to remember 

 what associated acts free him from pain. 



After the dog will pick up the object and fetch 

 it mechanically, the so-called natural method is ap- 

 plied, and the dog is then petted, flattered and re- 

 warded in his work, to the end that his enthusiasm 

 and self-interest may be evoked. 



In the force system, the progress may be roughly 

 differentiated into stages namely, that in which the 

 dog merely opens his mouth mechanically when he 

 hears the command "Fetch!" as a preventive or 

 avoidance of pain; that in which he will actively 

 engage in an effort to grasp the object when h hears 



