23O TRAINING THE HUNTING DOG 



CHAPTER XVII. 



GUN-SHYNESS AND BLINKING. 



THE dog flees from the sight of a gun or the re- 

 port of it simply because he is afraid, and this dis- 

 play of fear is called gun-shyness. It is one of the 

 most common educational troubles which embar- 

 rass and obstruct the efforts of the amateur. It is 

 commonly the result of his own faulty attempts at 

 training, or the acts of those who are equally 

 thoughtless. 



The novice, in most cases, proceeds on a wrong 

 theory in his endeavor to accustom the dog to the 

 report of the gun. His own knowledge of it is gen- 

 erally and unconsciously made the standard by which 

 to measure the puppy's knowledge. 



Generally the trainer fails to consider that the 

 puppy is wholly ignorant concerning the uses of the 

 gun, and that its terrorizing reports, which cause 

 fear in many boys, also may be to the puppy a cause 

 of intense fear. If the trainer would keep in mind 



