234 TRAINING THE HUNTING DOG 



which he cannot escape. The trainer should assume 

 a kind, careless, nonchalant air, and seem to be in- 

 terested in any other thing than his pupil. Above 

 all, the serious, portentous air, such as the trainer 

 has when he is about to give the puppy a thrashing, 

 should be avoided, although such, nevertheless, is 

 quite likely to be the air that the amateur will as- 

 sume. By sternly concentrating the attention on a 

 dog, and advancing on him with more or less hos- 

 tility of manner, the bravest dog will become fear- 

 ful of harm. 



If the dog will not bolt at the report of the gun, 

 no precautions against running away are necessary, 

 but whether in field or yard, the gun as a factor of 

 the lesson should be kept in abeyance for a while. 

 The effort should be directed toward making the in- 

 cident commonplace and unimportant. There should 

 be as much of the pleasurable and as little of the 

 painful as possible in it. A few palatable morsels to 

 eat, some gentle patting on the head and kind words 

 of approval bestowed on the pupil will not be amiss 

 at different timely stages of the lesson. After a 

 time, when the pupil is not so apprehensive of it, a 

 cap is snapped, and the trainer looks at anything 



