CH. ii.] USE OF CHECKCOED. 15 



arm. If he does not instantly drop, jerk the checkcord 

 violently, and, as before, drag him back to the exact 

 spot where he should have crouched down. Admit of 

 no compromise. You must have implicit, unhesitating, 

 instant, obedience. When you quit him, he must not 

 be allowed to crawl an inch after you. If he attempt 

 it, drive a spike into the ground, and attach the end of 

 the checkcord to it, allowing the line to be slack ; then 

 leave him quickly, and on his running after you he will 

 be brought up with a sudden jerk. So much the better: 

 it will slightly alarm him. As before, take him back to 

 the precise place he quitted, do this invariably, though 

 he may have scarcely moved. There make him again 

 "Drop" always observing to jerk the cord at the 

 moment you give the command. After a few trials of 

 this tethering, (say less than a dozen) he will be certain 

 to lie down steadily, until you give the proper order or 

 a signal (21), let you run away, or do what you may to 

 excite him to move. One great advantage of frequently 

 repeating this lesson, and thus teaching it thoroughly, is, 

 that your dog will hereafter always feel, more or less, in 

 subjection, whenever the cord is fastened to his collar. 

 He must be brought to instantly obey the signal, even 

 at the extreme limit of his beat. 



26. Most probably he will not at first rise when he is 

 desired. There is no harm in that, a due sense of the 

 inutility of non-compliance with the order to " Drop," 

 and a wholesome dread of the attendant penalty, will 

 be advantageous. Go up to him, pat him, and lead 

 him for some paces, "making much of him," as they say 

 in the cavalry. Dogs which are over-headstrong and 

 resolute, can only be brought under satisfactory com- 

 mand by this lesson being indelibly implanted, and I 

 think a master before he allows the keeper to take a 



