The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-04-12

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2 vocabulary he can BIO given. When DO
shut the door. This may be- sasiiy taught
by simply leading him up to It., sni such
other guidance as will constantly suggest
itself. Thon you may teach him TO 90
lame. Make him walk slowly BY you; and,
- he goes, touch the Icy In snch a way -
full not to hurt him. 1rhrse or four lessons
will give him a good counterfeit limp In a
fore leg.
Then no may Idle for his country" Pro-
nounc the words clearly and then roll him
over into the proper position. " no IL 9
bright dog 10 will "catch on quickly nnd
roses which show how truly he has Rrnsped
the idea. Probably he doesn't know that
be is counterfeiting death, but he perceivea
that an apparent entire suspension Of ami
nation and . general air OF objection are
required Of him.
For saying his prayers pose him in a chair
soon be taught to take that position. Then
stand behind him with your hand a couple
of inches above his head. Every time he
lifts his head. press 1t back again. Call
out various orders which are likely to make
him raise his head and catch him every
time he does 1t. Then say "Amsn'' and
take your hand away. 1t isn't hard to make
him understand that that is his signal. II
you've tried this trick and failed--as a
good many owners of dogs have-the rea-
son is that you ave not trained Bingo to
the point of implicit obedience.
The most useful trick of all is jumping,
because it can be turned to 40 many varie-
your left and hold the chain attached to his
COLLAR in your right hand. Hold your whip
in your left hand. OF course you have a
whip although, as / have said, you must
never use II 30 RS to break a dogs spirit.
He may be corrected n little without be-
coming a whipped cur"
Hold the whip, then, n little way from the
floor, md lead the dog over it. He will
walk over at first. Let him understand
that the necessary thing is to pass over
Then lift him "A little with the chin 40 81
to urge him to jump. It won't take him
long to see what's wanted. jumping isn't
altogether out of his daily line of expert
word or words which he shall always asso-
ciate with jumping. A dog that is taught
to jump at the command Ego over' will not
know what you mean if you say Jump
If you intend to make a high leaper of him.
and use a platform such as is a part of the
ordinary stage apparatus, it will be neces-
sary to lead him onto it and then call him
over n small obstacle, working him up
gradually to the idea of a run.
Dogs are good jumpers, especially grey
hounds, which are used for the purpose
most often on the stage. 1t is their ability
in this direction that leads them into a pro-
fessional career. Otherwise their timidity
might exclude them from the "boards.'
They are very susceptible to stage fright. 1t
Parker's jumping ~greyhounds. He can't
learn to face an audience boldly. When
he goes off the stage for the running start
for a high Jump, be ia SO diffident about ap-
pearing again that he creeps in slowly with
all the marks of a genuine first night
in the middle of the stage that he really
u freely. This nervousness hampers
him rs a leaper, and if he had not excep-
tional natural abilities he would be useless
for public exhibitions.
After a dog has learned to jump he may
be taught to walk on his hind legs or his
fore legs alone. 1t is not every dog that
can learn this trick we'll; and contrary to
ones ordinary idea, it is easier as a rule to
teach a dog to walk on his fore than on his
hind legs. The latter method of locomo-
ton requires more strength in the back
than some dogs possess. 1t is easy to
recognize this deficiency when teaching the
animal to "stand up" which must, of
course, precede the walking, just as sitting
up precedes~ standing.
1t is we'll to teach a dog to stand on his
hind feet by holding up before him some
thing tempting in the edible line; and moth
ing suits the canine palate or encourages
effort like fried liver. There may be some
varif ty in tastes here as elsewhere. but ON
the whole fried liver is the most stimulat-
ing d~elicaoy that Gun be used in the school
room.
When you are teaching a dog to walk on
his fore legs it is necessary to hold him up
at first. Don't grasp him such a way as to
prevent his taking the position that it is
easiest for him. He probably knows more
about that than you do; and if you hold