SOUND OF THE GUN, ETC. 29 
and familiar sound, let him hear you explode a 
cap at a distance, when you call to him. Follow 
the same methods of procedure as before, and 
each day bring the sound nearer, until at last the 
snapping of a cap over his head will fail to startle 
him. Now, instead of a cap, use a charge of 
powder. It should be light at first, and finally a 
full charge. If, in the same way advised, he is 
gradually accustomed to the sound of the gun, it 
will have no terrors for him; on the contrary, he 
will learn to love and welcome it. 
During the employment of this system, it will 
be well to occasionally seek the aid of an assist- 
ant, who will fire while you are with the pup, and 
are closely watching him. If any evidence of 
fear is noted, you must lay aside the gun and 
return to the first method advised, and again pass 
through the different stages of the exercise. 
This course which I have recommended is a 
conservative one. True, in some instances, if the 
gun is used from the first, and the pup is gradu- 
ally accustomed to its sound, possibly the result 
will be the same. It might not be as well, how- 
ever, for there is more or less danger in the 
method; while in the slower and more tedious 
