THE DOG 



63 



always and everywhere, by rewards rather than It is in some such way that a dog is taught 



by punishments. A firm oral order, expressed to "fetch,"— a lesson so important for some 

 each time in the same words, accompanied by s|)orting dogs, requiring, as it does, so many 



the same movement of the hand or arm, is 



certain to be efficacious. One of our dogs 

 always stopped short if we raised our hand 

 slightly without saying a word. E\-en when a 

 turn of the road hid us from his sight, he re- 

 mained in the same place; but he la)- down, 

 which showed some uneasiness of mind. 



A dog is easily taught the simplest tricks, 

 such as jumping ox'er a stick or through a hoop, 

 by offering him a dainty with the stick or hoop. 

 High jumps are, however, injurious to the artic- 

 ulations and also to the lungs of )'oung or small 



dogs. When a dog has seriously hurt himself 

 in doing one of these tricks he (very wisel}') 

 will never attempt it again. Dogs that are 

 trained for gymnastic performances in ijublic 

 go through a long and laborious process, the 

 details of which it is useless to give here. 

 Firmness, infinite patience, kindness, and en- 

 couragement more than punishment are still the 

 secrets of success. To the true lover of does, 



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KlI.AOV TO OllEV Oruers 



preliminary e-\ercises. At the word of com- 

 mand, " fetch," e\'er)' )T)ung dog will seize \'er)' 

 eagerly a ball or a handkerchief thrown to a 

 certain distance. Will he bring it back .' It is 



however, such exhibitions are far from being exactly here that we must proceed with much 



a pleasure, wonderful as 



Nothing is easier than to 

 the domestic dog cert; 

 things, such, for instance 

 as shutting the door. A 

 piece of meat "should be 

 held against the open 

 door, high enough for him 

 to reach it when standing 

 upright on his hind legs 

 When he touches it the 

 door swings to, and at the 

 same moment the teache 

 says, "Shut the door." \^ 

 a httle patience the dog : 

 taught to go to the door and shut it 

 at a simple word of command. A 

 number of such little things can be 

 taught to an obedient dog, but he will ne\er 



L ARl I I I BKl\f,h k 



OF G.\in-; 



and reflection. In the first 

 ;, the distance ought to be 

 lOrt and the dog should be 

 fastened to a long string. 

 A still better way is to 

 make him sit before }'ou 

 holding articles (not too 

 light) in his mf)uth, and 

 make him dr(.)p them at 

 the word of command. 

 Later he can be trained 

 :i ])ick up such articles at 

 distance and bring them 

 at the command. Much 

 has come from using a 

 piece of wootl pro\'ided with small 

 weights at each end, which can be 

 taken off or ])ut on b)' means of a 

 peg, so that the article can be weighted at will ; 



do them with pleasure and good will unless he the wood should ha\'e small trans\erse pieces 



is continually with his master and understands to keei^ it from l)'ing flat on the ground, thereby 



his looks and sio-ns. Allowed to be away from making it more difficult for the animal to pick 



home all day, he will lose interest in these tricks. up. Sporting dogs, trained by the excellent 



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