iM 



4a 



DOG-BREAKING, 





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attachment to mc. Relying upon Muff's affection, 

 when he dawdled over fetching a bird, I would con- 

 spicuously change my route, and take trouble to 

 evince that I was totally indifferent to his conduct. 

 This course soon brought him to me, when, if not 

 noticed, he took every means to inform me of his 

 return. Then succeeded a word or two of commenda- 

 tion, after which he would renew quartering his beat 

 with additional energy. Neither of the early errors 

 of these dogs would I denominate cussedness — that 

 American expression meaning ^* contrariness^' — but 

 ignorance of the knowledge that while on duty they 

 must not play. A most important thing in dog- 

 breaking is to get the animal that you are educating 

 to understand what you want done, and my very 

 long and varied experience has taught me that as 

 soon as you succeed in this, nowhere will you find a 

 more prompt or ready servant to obey your behest. 



A well-known sportsman says, that when the bird 

 has been dilatorily retrieved, address the dawdler in 

 endearing baby language, to encourage him to 

 prompter efforts in the future. Now, I hold that it is 

 impossible to be too concise and distinct in the lan- 

 guage that the breaker applies on all occasions to 

 dogs. If one word can be substituted for three, or 

 three for nine, invariably make a practice of doing so. 

 '^ manner and intonation when you express your- 

 .vill assuredly make up for your brevity, and never 

 -oort to the whip unless as a dernier ressort. I hold 

 that dogs and horses — the most valuable and affec- 

 tionate of the servitors of the human family — have 

 but to be convinced of the earnestness of their 

 owner's purpose and know what he demands of them, 

 when they will do their utmost to gratify his desires. 



