BREAKING. 77 



easily done in the same way, the pull upon the cord showing that 

 the blast of the whistle is equivalent to the command. To avoid 

 confusion later, the whistle call to come should be of a special 

 character. That is, when at field work, it will often be necessary 

 to attract the dog's attention to stop or drop him, or to change the 

 direction of his beat, and for this purpose a single blast is most 

 convenient, llence the call to come should be two quick sharp 

 blasts. The dog will quickly notice the difference, and with a 

 little practice will simply look round in one case, and come in in 



the other. 



STOPPING. 



To teach this we lead the dog, having him well in hand, and 

 after walking a few steps come to a sudden halt, and with the 

 command " ho," bring him to a stop, keeping a steady strain upon 

 him, and repeating the command if he attempts to move. The 

 halt on our part gives significance to the strain upon the cord, and 

 thus our wish is explained in a twofold manner, appealing both to 

 the dog's natural inclination to imitate and also to his recognition 

 of the cord. If he attempts to come in, we control him by a pull 

 in the opposite direction, which his position by our side renders 

 easy. Many breakers use the command "toho," but the more 

 brief and decided the commands can be made the better they are 

 for use and for the dog, hence we prefer the single syllable to 

 two. 



As soon as the dog will stop quickly and maintain his place, we 

 work him at a little distance, and practise him under all variety of 

 circumstances, making him stop without the cord, while we are still 

 walking, and while we walk away from or around him, thus teach- 

 ing him that our own actions are no longer to be imitated, and that 

 they are entirely independent of the command to him. 



Next comes the substitution of signals for words. The signal to 

 stop is given by raising the open hand at arm's length above the 

 head, and must at first be accompanied by the " ho" as explanatory, 

 the word being dropped as soon as possible. The order to advance 

 from the stop is simply " on," and is given from the first with a for- 



