222 TRAINING THE HUNTING DOG 



feet further on, till he overtakes and closes his mouth 

 on it. 



Some dogs soon develop an enthusiastic inclina- 

 tion to enter into the matter as an amusement at this 

 stage, but no more playfulness should be permitted 

 than is necessary to make the lessons cheerful and 

 successful. The grave and gay should be properly 

 blended. 



If the dog, however, refuses to be amused, the 

 trainer lowers the cob an inch or two below the level 

 of the dog's mouth, and forces him to grasp it in the 

 new position. Lesson after lesson the cob is low- 

 ered little by little as the dog becomes proficient, till 

 at length he will take it from the trainer's hand held 

 at the level of the floor. 



At this stage the dog in most instances requires 

 extra patience in conducting his lessons. He has 

 been habituated to associating the cob and hand to- 

 gether, and has looked to the moving hand as the 

 thing to follow when ordered to "Fetch." Hence, 

 when the trainer places the cob on the floor, uttering 

 the command and taking his hand away, the dog is 

 likely to follow the moving hand instead of grasp- 

 ing the cob. To overcome this, the trainer places the 



