163 THE DOG IN HEALTH. 



old dog is invaluable. Some form of check that will make 

 the dog defeat or punish himself is preferable to direct 

 administration of punishment by the trainer. 



Gun-shyness is but an exaggerated form of fear of 

 unusual noises, and must be treated accordingly. Let the 

 dog be gradually introduced to louder and louder noises, 

 never being allowed to escape, but made to see that no 

 harm is meant him or can happen to him. As to whether 

 it is worth while to attempt to cure the worst cases will 

 depend much on other circumstances, such as the dog's 

 breeding, general intelligence, "nose," etc. It may or 

 may not be inherited. 



The author, in conversation with a very successful 

 trainer of horses, once asked : " Can you teach any horse 

 these things ? " "I can do so, but it would not in many 

 cases be worth while," was the reply. The same may be 

 said of dogs : some of them are not adapted for certain 

 kinds of work and acquirements to a sufficient degree, to 

 make it worth while to persevere in teaching them ; just 

 as some boys would never become expert enough at certain 

 vocations to warrant their pursuit. But before abandoning 

 a well-bred specimen that seems to possess courage, " go," 

 and fair general intelligence, it might be well to get the 

 advice of some second person of much experience. Many 

 dogs, unpromising at first, have become a great success 

 afterward. The ability to read dogs very thoroughly is 

 given to but few men, and these, provided they have 

 patience, good temper, and perseverance, must of course 

 make the best trainers. 



Though we have spoken chiefly of the training of 

 hunting dogs, it is simply because that is usually more 



