Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1883-05-19
Educated CANNES.

ly gambols of three dogs. There was1
nothing about the appearance of the
CANNES to indicate fine breeding, nor
were they SO handsome as to cause re-
mark; but in their play they went
through so many eccentric motions and
were so utterly oblivious to the many !
overtures that were made to them by
passers-by that it was easily seen that
they were dogs of no ordinary intelli-
gence. The jumping on his hind legs
of a little one, and the gravity of a good
sized Newfoundland as he occasionally
stopped his scufi1ing and sat straight up
to view the scene, and the ease with
which a white mixed bull and coach
would occasionally clear the top of the
seats, was the cause of much specula-
ton. When anyone undertook to get
close enough to attempt a pat on the
head, all three would run to a bench
where sat a young man reading a news
paper, and forming a semi-circle about
his feet, the dogs would look into his
face as if waiting instructions as to how
they should receive such advances on the
part of strangers. Not receiving an APP
parent answer, they would go about
their play again. It was Prof. Gleason,
who heads the list of successful dog
trainers. Dog-training is an art that
has been tempered with more or less by
almost everyone who ever owned a dog,
but few have the patience and perse-
verence necessary to become proficient.
81 am q great believer in dog phrenolo-
gy," said Prof. Gleason yesterday, con-
versing about dogs. s.You will find that
the disposition and intelligence of
any dog can be told by the forma-
ton Of his head, as readily as
Prof. Fowler or any other p~hrenologist
can tell the characteristics, and, to a
certain extent, measure the intelligence
Of a human being. Usually you will
find the mastif, Newfoundland, and all
dogs of that class, high above the eyes
and higher and broader at the back Of
the head. With such a formed head
you will find a large. amount of intelli-
gence; while you take a greyhound, for
instance, with a long low head, and you
will find that he is not possessed of any
where lee the intelligence of his larger
headed species. I know from actual
experience that a dog reasons and thinks
as truly as he breathes; they are not al
ways governed by instinct. In selecting
dogs to break, however, 1 am not at all
influenced by the breed, but take
is a good deal like you will find children
in the same family, one is bright and in
telligent, while very often another is
dull and no good. In selecting q dog l
always thoroughly examine him, no
matter what his breed is, and if he
shows up bright I go to work on him.
Usually a French poodle is the easiest
dog to train in neat little tricks, while
the greatest leapers are a cross between
a greyhound and a setter. A greyhound
really could learn to Jump better, but
they are afraid. The biggest jump on
record is twenty-eight feet over an OBJ
ject six feet high, off a solid leaping
chair. This was done by the dog
.'Prince," trained by me. The mos
difficult dog to train is the greyhound
and next to him comes the pug. New
fo%undlands, mastifs, st. Bernards, etc.
are easy dogs to train, but they are toe
heavy for trick dogs; but they display
wonderful intelligence and are quick te
learn anything that is in their power te
do, such as carrying, watching, etc.
Bloodhounds have the greatest scent
and are easily trained to follow a trail.
A bull dog is about an intermediate an.
imal to train; they are not wonderfully
apt, o are they very hard to learn.
while the greatest dog to remember his
master is the Scotch terrier, and he is
also a very intelligent dog to train.
"The meanest and most treacherous
dog is the Spitz. They will bite theil
master as quick as any one else, and
they are more inclined to hydrophobia
than any other, because, when it gets
hot weather their blood becomes very
thin.
"When you commence training a dog
you must first find out his disposition
and nature, for there are some dogs you
can whip and others that you can not.
Take, for instance, a high-spirited, ner,
vous dispositioned dog, very high over
the eyes, and pet him, teach him small
tricks, then gradually increase to harder
ones, and make him like you, and you
will have a performing dog that will
work himself to death at the sound Of
your voice. A bull dog is the only one
that you have to use the whip IN. After
he is broken he will performif he knows
he has to and you have a whip in your
hand. 1 never whip a dog for what he
does not know. If he knows a trick
and refuses to do it, or fights with the
others, then I whip him. The hardest
thing to teach a dog is to do a trick
blindfolded, and my dog Lyon is the only
one in this country that does. l have
!, tried for months on many dogs, but he
is the only n ever succeeded with; he
is also the only dog that will jump
through a hoop which l throw in the
air, meeting it as it comes down. Lyon
also does two tricks which he learned
himself by seeing other dogs perform
them, and it seems to give him the
greatest pleasure when | call on him tc
perform them, while George, the clown
dog, is the only n [ could ever teach
to play mad.
mo, never do the starving act in
order to get my dogs to work, well
knowing they will be fed as soon rs the
performance is over, nor I never get
anything out OF them by feeding. Igive
their meals just as / get my own, and
they obey every word l say to them.
They will lie sleeping in their cage while