570 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Oct. 7, 1911. 
dog trains on without punishment if he does not 
need it; if he does need it, it should be given 
-to him. 
Some dogs require very little punishment; 
•others require a great deal. If the dog needs 
painful correction, punish him; if he does not, 
do no punish him. Whatever may be the choke 
of terms, this is the correct procedure under 
either; it is all a matter of training or a matter 
of breaking, or a matter of both, as the trainer 
pleases. However, at no time does a dog need 
punishment simply because the trainer is angry 
at him. It then is an emotion of the trainer 
entirely distinct from training. 
The dog is naturally fond of company. He 
prefers the society of his fellows, though he 
recognizes the domination of man, and has a 
profound affection for him. Nevertheless, his 
purposes when seeking prey are quite inde¬ 
pendent of man and quite selfish in their un¬ 
checked, natural play. He may love his master 
with a fervor unlimited, but it is no factor 
when he is in hot pursuit. From the untrained 
dog’s point of view, the chase and its possibil¬ 
ities are strictly a matter between himself and 
the rabbit, in manner similar to the relation 
between dog and dinner. The whistle, loud 
commands and praise, he them alike ignores. 
This self-interest, displayed by the dog, is an 
important factor in his training. There must 
always be sufficient incentive of a selfish nature 
to induce his best effort. His trainer may have 
some of the same property. 
There are writers who solemnly affirm that 
the instinct to hunt is by nature implanted in 
the dog for the benefit of man, or at least for 
such relatively small number of men as can 
sally forth afield to kill birds. The nature and 
acts of the dog oppose this egotistical opinion 
on every point. The dog never enjoys himself 
better than when on a self-hunting outing; the 
proceeds of his efforts he needs for food, and 
so uses when he is permitted to do so. When 
on his predatory excursions he rather avoids 
than seeks the company of man. Moreover, if 
the instinct were implanted in the dog for 
man’s benefit, no training would then be neces¬ 
sary. The dog’s natural efforts are for his own 
advantage. In a domesticated state he seeks 
his prey in a manner similar to that in which 
he seeks it in bis predatory excursions when 
wild. It is his method of obtaining a food sup¬ 
ply, the wherewithal to satisfy the cravings of 
hunger. Meat is his natural food. He craves 
it as the ox craves grass when hungry, each 
■eating according to its nature. 
Man does not care for the grass as food for 
himself, and not wanting it, he does not deem it 
worth while to assert that the ox seeks grass 
instinctively for the benefit of man. He does 
want the dog’s choicest prey, therefore it is 
quite an easy matter to assert that the dog- 
chases rabbits and other game for him. Such 
animals as he rejects he credits to the dog's 
own account, and commends him as a great 
destroyer and consumer of vermin. However, 
as the dog is naturally carnivorous and utilizes 
his prey for food, the facts seem to indicate 
that his seeking instincts are for his own or¬ 
ganic preservation. 
The dog takes a fierce pleasure in the pursuit 
and capture. Over and above the obtaining of 
a food supply thereby, he finds a savage de¬ 
light in them. Thus sheep-killing dogs and 
wolves, when they attack a flock of sheep, kill 
far more than they need for food. Most dogs 
will attack a rat or rats at sight, and never 
cease their efforts till the last one is killed or 
escapes. 
By a course of education, either direct or in¬ 
direct, all domestic dogs are taught what ani¬ 
mals they may kill and what ones they may not. 
This is not always an easy task, as any one who 
has been out in the country with some mature, 
city-bred setters and pointers on their first out¬ 
ing, can testify. The farmer's sheep and poul¬ 
try then have cause for alarm. 
This instinct to pursue and kill is dog nature, 
and, moreover, it is a good dog nature. 
Checked to proper limitations and schooled to 
the sportsman’s purposes, it is what makes the 
dog a useful servant. He has the inclination, 
intelligence and capabilities for hunting; these 
the sportsman applies to the furtherance of his 
own pleasure. 
Left to his own inclination entirely, the dog 
hunts for himself, but his passion for hunting 
is so great that he will submit to much restric¬ 
tion in his efforts, and great loss in respect to 
what he captures, before he will desist. Yet. 
too much restriction may lessen his ardor; too 
much punishment may suppress all effort. 
So far as teaching the dog how to hunt is 
concerned, the trainer is in that relation hardly 
worth considering; but he is an all-important 
factor in giving the dog the necessary oppor¬ 
tunities to learn. These being given, the man¬ 
ner of seeking, or whether he seeks or not, lies 
with the dog. 
The beginner generally falls into the error 
of attempting to train the dog before the latter 
knows anything about practical field work. The 
true method is to permit the dog to seek and 
find in his own manner, and then school his 
efforts to the use of the gun. Any efforts di¬ 
rected toward improving the dog’s natural 
methods of hunting are likely to end in failure, 
or are likely to mar them. 
If a dog is naturally deficient in speed, nose, 
stamina, industry, intelligence, etc., no trainer 
can supply the quilities which nature omitted. 
It is impossible to make a good dog out of a 
naturally poor one, though the reverse is 
possible. 
In this connection it may be mentioned that 
a good pedigree is not necessarily a guarantee of 
a good worker. A poor dog with a fine pedigree 
is no better than a poor dog with no pedigree 
at all. The test of field merit is the test of the 
individual himself. The excellence of an ances¬ 
try may be something entirely apart from any 
qualities possessed by the individual, or it may 
be possessed in a greater or less degree by him; 
it all is as it may happen to be. The dog as 
a worker may stand or fall on his own merits. 
In character, intelligence, stamina, industry, 
selfishness and unselfishness, etc., dogs vary 
quite as much as men vary, and there are no 
hard and fast rules for the training of either. 
He is the best teacher of man or dog who can 
best understand the capabilities of his pupil, 
so modifying or combining methods that they 
are presented in the best manner to the pupil’s 
capacity and the circumstances of the particular 
case. To determine m'ce’y all these points re¬ 
quires close observation and good temper. 
The teacher must always keep in mind the 
two standpoints, his own on the one hand as 
a teacher imparting knowledge, and on the 
other that of the dog whose intellect is rela¬ 
tively weak, whose ability to acquire ideas is 
relatively limited, and whose nature is such that 
the lessons of servitude are repugnant to him. 
Although comparatively slow in learning the 
lessons inculcated by his trainer, the dog is 
quick to learn how best to apply his powers for 
the benefit of his own needs. 
i'he beg.nner who feels his way carefully along 
will make much better progress than he whose 
efforts are marked by inconsiderate haste. It 
is easily perceived that if the trainer does not 
endeavor to understand the nature and capacity 
of his pupil, his efforts to teach will be far 
frotn good. 
Let the amateur consider that the dog's edu¬ 
cation is properly a matter of weeks and months 
instead of a matter of a few lessons carefully 
given or many lessons forcefully given; that the 
trainer's haste does not in the least add to the 
dog's ability or inclination to learn, and that 
a puppy is an undeveloped creature which needs 
age for the proper development of its reason¬ 
ing powers. 
[to be continued.] 
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