76 M od e rn B r ea k i n g 



"to-ho" by patience and kindness, and without 

 the use of a whip, so there is no danger of cow- 

 ing the young dog ; and it educates the breaker. 

 These are the reasons for introducing a lesson 

 that is sometimes considered obsolete. 



Before this lesson is given the dog should 

 be taken for a short walk, just to get him in 

 a nice humor. Place the dish of food on the 

 ground and hold him near it, saying in a 

 pleasant voice, "To-ho." This should be re- 

 repeated, and if the dog twists about, as he is 

 most likely to do, no attention should be paid 

 to it. The breaker should gently straighten 

 him out toward the dish and say, "To-ho," oc- 

 casionally in a low tone. 



The dog must not be kept at this too long, 

 and the breaker must not look for anything like 

 an approach to what is desired. If he does, he 

 will be disappointed and annoyed. All he can 

 expect is to familiarize the young dog with the 

 word and the handling. The dog will not get 

 even a faint idea of what is wanted. After 

 he has been allowed to eat a few mouthfuls, 

 he should be led away, and then put through 

 the lesson again. All this should be done in a 

 spirit of good nature bordering on playfulness. 

 The breaker, if he has any notions of force in 

 his head, should get rid of them, for he will 

 make more haste by going slowly at this period. 

 In fact, it will be well to bear this injunction in 



