GUN-SHYNESS AND ITS CURE. 43 
however, he can encounter the ordinary experi- 
ences of life without fear, and the sound of the 
gun alone causes excessive fright, then there are 
many chances in his favor, and a cure may, under 
judicious management, be expected. There is 
truth in what one sportsman has said: “I would 
a thousand times rather own a gun-shy dog that 
had plenty of nerve and hunt in him when 
without a gun, than a timid one that was not 
gun-shy.” 
A variety of methods for the treatment of gun- 
shyness have been recommended. As is the case 
in many physical disturbances, a measure which 
may be efficacious in one patient may prove 
valueless when administered to another. Some 
have advised taking a dog into the field and firing 
one hundred and fifty to two hundred shots near 
him; the object being to partially deafen him, 
and so diminish his sensitiveness. This method 
scarcely recommends itself. 
Over some young dogs, those older and well 
trained have a decided influence, and if they are 
taken out day after day together, the former being 
securely held with a long cord so he cannot run, 
and otherwise unnoticed, the fault may be over- 
