FOR THE FIELD AND FIELD TRIALS. 23! 



that his own early boyhood, with its timidity, ignor- 

 ance and immaturity, is a better standard by which 

 sympathetically to understand and school the puppy, 

 he rarely, if ever, would have cases of gun-shyness. 



Men of excellent sense in other matters assume 

 as a matter of course that a dog and gun were made 

 as natural corollaries of each other, and hence could 

 be used together as if they were litter brothers. Any- 

 thing short of success in the application of the the- 

 ory is ascribed to the dog's nature. 



To punish a dog for his fears adds to and con- 

 firms him in them. The fact that so many dogs are 

 cured of gun-shyness is positive proof that they never 

 would have been afraid of the gun if they had been 

 properly accustomed to it from the beginning. It is 

 a self-evident fact that if a dog's shyness of the gun 

 can be allayed, after he has acquired a fear of it, by 

 proper treatment, before he has any fears of it at 

 all he can be familiarized with its use, without 

 causing him alarm. A little care at first in familiar- 

 izing the puppy with the noise of the gun will often- 

 times save many weeks or months of later trouble, 

 and add so much more to his usefulness. 



However, the trainer will have cases of gun-shy- 



