Training of Truffle Dogs. 403 



gently, when he is inattentive either to the whistle or the call. 

 This must be daily practised and repeated, till he comprehends, 

 and is obedient to, his master's voice or signal. If very stubborn, 

 he must, like a setting dog, be led by a cord, and, upon a 

 whistle or call, be so long pulled in, till he is at last obedient of 

 himself. Then a beginning is made with fetching and carrying, 

 which is the thorough base of a good truffle dog. This is fre- 

 quently learnt in play by the young poodle, with which force is 

 not nearly so necessary as with the young setting dog, the latter 

 being often obstinate. To teach the dog to fetch and carry, a 

 light piece of wood, or a wisp of straw made up for the purpose, 

 is thrown before him. If he fetches it, he is praised and re- 

 warded with a morsel of bread, &c. ; if he does not fetch it, he 

 must be instructed to do it. The piece of wood is placed in his 

 mouth ; let him carry it a few steps, and caress him at the same 

 time. The docile poodle soon comprehends what is required of 

 him. If he fetches the wood, potatoes, apples, pears, bulbous 

 roots, and even truffles, are then thrown before him. These 

 objects he fetches just as willingly as the piece of wood. Care, 

 however, should be taken that dead animals be not thrown to 

 him ; as by this his love of the chase might easily be awakened. 

 Whenever he fetches a bulbous root, &c., he must be rewarded 

 with a small piece of white or brown bread, and at the same 

 time he must have a truffle to taste. Although this is the cause 

 when he seeks for truffles that he sometimes breaks into them, 

 yet it is essentially advantageous ; because by this means he be- 

 comes perfectly acquainted with the object which he is hunting 

 for, like a hound that is permitted to eat game. If at that time 

 of the year no truffles are to be had, let a little old cheese, which 

 has nearly the same effect, be given to the dog. But let both 

 be given to him, not only at the very time of his training, but as 

 a dessert at his usual time of feeding, during the whole time of 

 his instruction. 



If the dog fetches every thing without distinction, as metal, 

 gold, beans, &c., and is no longer stubborn, the elementary 

 instruction, or chamber-training, is finished, and the train- 

 ing in the field is now proceeded to. This is begun by 

 the dog's " seeking what is lost, or fetching it." This is first 

 done with wood, with fruit, and with truffles, which are so 

 hidden somewhere on the surface that he may easily find 

 them. The instructor may also now begin to form artificial 

 truffles, when no natural ones are to be had. They are prepared 

 from strong-smelling cheese and fresh bread, which are mixed 

 and formed into the shape of a truffle, to which is added a little 

 of what is called truffle oil ; that is, olive oil in which truffles 

 have been boiled. If the dog does his duty, and easily finds the 

 objects he has been accustomed to seek, the natural or artificial 



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