74 
The Shepherd or Police Dog 
nary training, this dummy is placed in some hidden 
corner, the dog is suddenly brought face to face 
with it and will usually speak of his own accord, 
if not a cord can be arranged with which the arm 
can be moved upward, and this will usually bring 
about the desired result. It is a rather curious fact 
that the dogs will bark more readily at a dummy 
than at a live person though the opposite is, of 
course, the case with a dog that has been trained. 
Another important preliminary exercise is the one 
to fetch. The usual procedure in the hands of the 
layman is to take advantage of the dog’s natural 
impulse to play and retrieve but this is entirely 
wrong for a trained dog inasmuch as the dog must 
realize that the retrieving is done upon command 
and exactly at the moment that it is required and 
that in subsequent work the dog will take hold and 
pick up things more readily upon command. The 
usual procedure is to command the dog into the 
“Sit” position, with the left hand hold the lower 
jaw and with the gloved right hand the head is pulled 
up, a pressure of the left hand will open the jaws 
and the right hand is then inserted and the command 
“Fetch” is given. The dog will, of course, make 
an effort to pull away, and this must be prevented. 
The first attempt should be of very short duration 
and the time is gradually increased until the dog 
permits the hand to stay there. Upon releasing the 
hand the dog must always do so upon command 
as “Give” or “Let Go.” Some object is then sub¬ 
stituted, a bag, an old glove, etc., and the dog must 
hold it and release it upon command. When he is 
