CANINE PSYCHOLOGY 
105 
to a pointer dog that did the same trick. His signal 
was that his handler held one of the cards in his 
hand, as if from forgetfulness, and kept clicking the 
corner of it with his thumb-nail when the dog’s head 
was near the desired card, stopping the click when 
he began to get “cold,” as the children say in hide 
and seek. I nearly got licked by an excitable little 
Englishman, whose dog really knew three or four 
articles by name. I taught a dog this latter trick 
when I was a boy, and therefore knew just how diffi¬ 
cult it was to teach one to refrain from picking up 
the wrong card, merely by ceasing this almost in¬ 
audible clicking. 
Any spirited retriever will pick up any old thing 
with the greatest glee, given a chance, and can be 
taught the difference between a few articles. My 
dog knew five—hat, whip, handkerchief, key ring 
and coin. 
I know well that my dogs take hints from my ac¬ 
tions and attitudes, as they do from those of their 
kennel mates. I take advantage of this in the early 
stages of training. When teaching one to “Whoa,” 
I stop myself; to drop, I squat down; to turn to 
hand, I run a few steps in the desired direction. If 
I stop suddenly in an attitude of attention, my dogs 
stop and half back me if close by; if a little way off 
they hustle back to see what I have found. If I 
carry my gun at the “ready,” walking slowly, they 
