Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-07-20
DOGS OF ALL KINDS.
How They Are Trained and Taught to
Do All Manner of Tricks.
TAfegg0 inns

ana performer, ecnOlng question:
'sWell, you know we divide dogs into two
kinds-lOng and shOrt-haired dogs. Of
the l0ng-haired, st. Bernards are the most
intelligent and therefore the easiest to
train. Indeed, the st. Bernard is the king
Of all dogs, towering as far above all
others in intellectually as he does in
the price he commands, more than 5000
having been paid for a fine st. Bernard.
The dogs are also Of two kinds-the long
and the short coat st. Bernard, though
they both belong to the class of long
haired dogs. OF the two, 1 think the long
coat deserves the preference. The st.
Bernard has natural fondness for snow,
just as newfoundland has an innate love
for the water, and be NAV be called a
snow-dog with as much prOpriety as the
Newfoundland is styled water-dOg. On
being taken where there is snow be will
lie down and roll in it, fill his mouth with
1t, toss it up with his paws, and in every
way possible evince the keenest delight at
coming in contact with it. 1t is this
characteristic, together with his great
size and strength, which so peculiarly fits
him for the noble work of rescuing travel
ers, to which he has so long been devoted
in the Alps.
''Some years ago 1 visited some of the
mOnasteries Of the monks of st. Bernard
for the purpose Of seeing the manner in
which these famous dogs are trained to
their life work. There l realized for the
first time, what a grand, noble thing the
education of even a dog may be, when it
has a high and lofty aim. The monks
begin to teach their dogs in the earliest
stages Of puppyhOOd, and not only is ply
steal and mental training included in
this teaching. but spiritual culture is by
dogs sit in row, each with tin dish
before him containing his repast. Grace
is said by one of the monks, the dogs sit
ting mOtiOnless meanwhile, with reYeren-
TALLY bowed heads. Not one Of them stirs
until the "Amen" is spoken. If some
young nOvitiate should venture to taste
the contents of his dish ere the arrival of
the proper time some of the older dogs
forth with cause him to desist by deep
admonitOry growls' and sharp pullings Of
the ear.
''The intelligence displayed by these
animals in rescuIng travellers is simply
marvellous, though perhaps you will say
it is only memory that they show, for all
they do has been most carefully taught
them by the monks. After a severe snow
storm or an avalanche two dogs are sent
out from the monastery alone. Around
the neck of one is fastened flask of cor
dial and to the back of the other is bound
/ a heavy blanket. If a traveller lies buried
in the snow their keen scent soon brings
them to him. Then they search for the
place where the snow is softest, for they
know that it is the warmth of the ira
Veler's breath that has made it so, ard
that beneath that spot must lie his head.
They scratch away the snow, and when
the unfOrtunate's head and breast are eX-
posed they devote all their efforts to
arOusing him from that lethargic slumber
into which he has fallen, the sure precur-
sor of that terrible end-freezing to death.
I
on the chest and lace. With their mouths
close to his ear they give vent to loud
barks and cries. Meanwhile, two other
dogs, accompanied by the monks, have
| left the monastery short time after the
! former ones, whose trail they follow, the
result being that the almost frozen tray-
eler soon finds himself well-hOused and
| fed and restored to warmth and life.
"Few people have any idea of the i'm
mense number of lives that have been
saved in this manner by these dogs. In
/ the British museum there is the stuffed
skin of Berry the most famous Of all
! st. Bernard dogs, who enjoyed we'll
verified record of having saved forty lives.
"Of short-haired dogs, the most easily
trained Is the pointer. A dog that is very
susceptible to training and one not gener-
ally known is the Chesapeake bay water
| dog, which is of a liver color and bears a
| close resemblance to an Irish setter. The
/ bulldog is much more easy to train and
/ control than is generally supposed. l am
| convinced thathe possesses quite as much
/ brain-pOwer as any of the larger dogs.
/ His appearance is very much against his
/ character for gentleness, and this has
/ caused people to chain and avoid him, so
/ that his disposition, however pleasant ii
I may have been originally, has been made
/ cross and savage by the treatment he has
! received, though he is even now much
! less ferociOus than he is believed to be.
/ No dog is capable of greater affection than
| he, or shows more gratitude for any kind
ness. Pure high-bred dogs of any kind are
/ hard to train for the reason that they are
/ too high-spirited. The mongrels of the
! street can be much more easily trained
! because they can be much more easily
/ controlled.
''In selecting dogs to train, much
| depends upon the purpose for which you
wish to train them. For the canine tricks
/ which we are accustomed to see done by
/ performing dogs upon the stage and in
! cireuses, French and German poOdles are
/ among the best and the most frequently
used. The former are especially good for
this purpose, owing doubtless to the fact
| that the French have made a great
! speciality of educating their pOodles for
| many years, and the progeny of educated
| dogs, like that of educated people, grow
more and more susceptible to cultivation
with each succeeding generation. The
law of hereditary descent is nowhere
better established than among dogs. This
| is strikingly illustrated by my Leo, pure
! Gordon setter or retriever, whose father
and mother were among the most cele-
brated bird-dOgs of the day. Leo has
never been broken to the field, yet so
strongly implanted in him is the impress
sion made upon his parents and other
ancestors by education that he will not eat
birds or fowls of any kind, though it is the
nature of all field dogs to be intensely
fond of that kind of food.
''For leaping the best dogs are hounds,
especially English and Italian grey
hounds"
"What methods are adopted for training
dogs?'
EFThere are two. Kindness is the prin-
| cipal factor of one and brute force of the
other. By the former the dog learns
through love, by the latter through fear.
By the one he is encouraged and re-
warded, by the other his spirit is broken
and he is beaten into submission. The
former, in most cases, is the only proper
method, though l must say that some
dogs, like some children, cannot be in
fiuenced or controlled until they are fully
convinced that you are their absolute
master, a conviction that can only be
brought home to them through the
medium of a severe whipping.
"First of all, win the dogs confidence
and affection. Begin his education early
in puppyhoOd, and make his lesson seem
like play. First teach him to retrieve;
that is, to fetch and carry. Show him
some article, such as a handkerchief, and
when he has worried it for a short time
throw it from you. He will run after it.
When he has picked it up call him to
bring it back to you. He will soon under
stand what you mean, and when this has
been many times repeated he will compre-
bend that when you throw the handker-
chief away you wish him to go and fetch
it, and he will do so without being told or
called.
''Most canine tricks are done by means
Of cues or signals given to the dog by his
master without attracting the attention of
the audience. Let me illustrate this:
Apparently one of the most wonderful
dog feats ever accomplished is that of
picking out any numbers that may he
called for by the audience, which is done
by my dog Romeo, yet it is the simplest
thing in the world. Blocks upon which
are painted the ten numerals from / to
are placed in row upon the stage, and
some one in the audience is requested to
name a number. Perhaps 80 is selected.
D., 10, o,f