90 
THE AMATEUR TRAINEE, 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
THE SPOIEEX) HOG. 
From numerous causes many dogs become spoiled 
to such an extent as to render them absolutely worth¬ 
less in the field subservient to the gun. The com¬ 
plaint is often heard that such and such a dog was 
at one time the best dog imaginable, but has been 
spoiled by some cause or another until now he is of 
no use whatever; if his faults could be overcome, 
this particular dog would be a world beater, etc. 
Considering that all faults are acquired through 
accidents or lack of proper handling, they can be 
corrected, just as a dog is trained to perform in a 
certain manner, and then can be broken from doing 
so. Any dog otherwise worth the trouble, can be 
freed of acquired faults, no matter how aggravated 
these may be, and restored to his former usefulness 
by beginning with him in the training as would be 
the case with a perfectly green dog, giving the parts 
wherein the faults lie special attention, to make 
quite perfect. Age need not be considered, but 
time and tact on part of the trainer, to properly and 
judiciously apply the methods of systematic train¬ 
ing, will be important factors in dealing with such 
cases. The matured dog has acquired a good deal 
of intelligence, and his reasoning power is gener- 
