Modern Breaking 139 



thoroughly he is convinced that something is 

 wrong. The proper procedure is for the 

 breaker to display the utmost composure and to 

 totally ignore the noise, the dog, and all his ef- 

 forts to escape. This composure reassures the 

 dog; he observes that his master is not af- 

 fected by the noise and gradually comes to 

 study the noise and its effects on his own ac- 

 count, and eventually arrives at the conclusion 

 that there is nothing to fear. 



This, however, is a mental operation that 

 must be entrusted entirely to the dog without 

 any interference on the part of the breaker, who 

 should understand that all this cannot be ac- 

 complished in one lesson or afternoon, but may 

 take weeks. If trap shoots are not available, 

 the owner can accustom the dog to the dis- 

 charge of a gun by firing a pistol several times 

 before or while the dog is being fed, two or 

 three times a day. Hunger will go a long way 

 to overcome the dog's fear of the gun. For 

 instance, if a dog is kept chained to a kennel 

 and is not fed for twenty-four hours, and the 

 feeding dish is placed in front of his kennel, 

 he will immediately go to eating. If an attend- 

 ant fires a small pistol some distance away, with 

 the greatest fear the dog will rush back to the 

 farthest corner of his kennel. Then take the 

 dish away and leave him to his own reflec- 

 tions. It may take him some time to recover 



