FOR THE FIELD AND FIELD TRIALS. 233 



or taking advantage of the opportunity to self-hunt; 

 others seek the first place which affords concealment, 

 and tremblingly hide therein; or, terror-stricken, 

 others may lie down a few yards away and curl up 

 apathetically; or they may range at a safe distance 

 from the handler and outside of his control. Some 

 will be afraid at the sight of a gun ; others will show 

 no fear of it till it is placed at the shoulder as if to 

 fire it, while others, again, have fear only of the 

 report. 



There are three essentials to be observed in curing 

 gun-shyness namely, the dog must not be permitted 

 to run away, the gun must be used in a manner 

 which impresses as having no reference to him 

 at all, and the trainer must have his pupil's confi- 

 dence and affection, for if the pupil is afraid of both 

 gun and trainer (gun-shy and trainer-shy), the pros- 

 pect of a cure is not hopeful. Fear of the trainer, 

 if such there be, must first be allayed before any suc- 

 cessful attempt can be made to cure the dog's gun- 

 shyness. 



There are different methods of cure. If the dog 

 is inclined to run away when his gun fears are ex- 

 cited, he should be taken into an inclosed yard, from 



