The Opelousas courier., 1893-09-02
TEACHING DOGS TRICKS
NOT HARD IF THE TRAINER HAS
PATIENCE.
Always Conduct Lessons in the Same
Way-Some Simple Tricks That
Any Person Can Teach.

Any Person Can Teach.
X NY one can train a dog with
N patience and a little knowl-
NJ edge of the canine character.
6 Some dogs are more easily
trained than others just as some boys
are better behaved than their com
panions.
Be kind to a dog and you a tame
him and make q friend of him. Never
strike a dog if you do not want to
make a brute of him and to end the
training process then and there. The
more you beat a dog the more stupid
he becomes.
The limits of discipline permissible
in training a dog are scolding and q
slight flip or the nose or ear to accom-
pany the admonitions. In extreme
cases you may threaten him with a
whip or even crack it before him, but
never let him feel the lash. On the
other hand, whenever q dog has done
what is wished, pat him, caress him
and encourage him in every way.
Dogs have an extremely retentive
memory for kindness rs well as for
cruelty, and a dog is perhaps the only
animal which can read sorrow in its
owners face and prefer sympathy in
an Nnmistakable way.
The first thing to teach a dog in the
training process is to make him bring
back an object which is at first thrown
to him and afterward simply thrown
neal him. The second lesson is to get
him to put it back where he found it.
It is best to wait till afdog is a year
old before commencing the training,
but some animals begin to learn at six
months.
If there is any difficulty in getting
an otherwise intelligent dog to go
through his initiation as above, the
simplest plan is to prepare a collar
with spikes turned inward. A buckle
| is so arranged that a slight pull on the
lsord passing through it and leading to
the hand of the operator, will at once
apprise the dog that he has done
wrong, without hurting him. To the
end of the cord is attached a sort of
paper windmill arrangement, similar
to those which are freely sold on the
streets Of the city. If this little paper
windmill is thrown to any distance
and the dog fails to pick it up it is at
tached to the cord and revolved before
the dogs eyes. In the course of four
or five lessons the dog soon learns to
bring back the paper windmill without
the remonstrance of the inverted spike
collar.
The4next thing is to aceustom the
dog to distinguish between commands,
thus: Seekl Bring it back! Give it
up! It requires but little practice to
cause the dog to lay down the object
or to bring it back after the laying
down process is repeated and the call
is made for another effort. It is really
the first lesson, and till it is mastered
all succeeding efforts will be fruitless.
Always repeat the command in the
same way. Never say to your pupil
"Bring this back" one time and
ssBring back" the next time. Ii you
teach a dog a number of tricks always
make Hill no tuS" 4A 1A0 o0hn0 O1oO1'
These rules may seem unimportant,
but they are not. They will save you
weeks of trouble.
The next thing is to habituate the
dog to seek and replace an object sim
ply by word of command, without in
dicating where the object is. Then he
may be trained to distinguish between
objects, as, for instance, a glove and
q key, always remembering that he
must not be whipped for mistakes, but
always rewarded by earesses and deli
cacies for any correct effort.
The dog, after distinguishing the
form of objects, may be taught to dis
tinguish colors. He will soon learn
the difference between q white, blue,
red or yellow handkerchief. About
this time by the anne process of COM
mand, encouragement and reproof lot
the mildest kind, there will be no
trouble in accustoming him to dis.
criminate between such articles of fur.
niture as tables, bureaus and chairs.
The next step is a big one. but not q
hard one. It is to enable the dog to
know the letters Of the alphabet. To
do this the letters must be marked out
map size-at least eighteen inches to
each letter, and each letter separately
mounted. You now ask the dog to
bring you ga" after showing it to
him. A caress is his reward. If he
brings B you scold him. You COM
mence the trial on these two letters,
gradually adding @, D, etc. In doing
this the animal must always have a
special drill on the newly added letter
that he may familiarize himself with
it. When you have once succeeded in
getting the dog to distinguish between
| accustomed and unaccustomed objects
you have got at the whole secret Of
dog tricks.
The dog will pick out a single card
from a pack after proper training. Al
ways the principle obtains in anima.
training large object at first; 9
smaller one of the same kind afterward.
In teaching the animal to bring you
/ either cards or dominoes, it is a GOOD
plan to have a duplicate in your hand
Show him this; then show him the
larger card or model domino on thu
wall. Take the cards first, the domi
noes afterward. A dog which can dis
ti1,guish the four from the six of domi
noes has advanced very far in training
but such a dog has never felt the in
dignity of the lash.
It is a good plan for any one wishing
| to train dogs to feed them himself ant
l a1I.-~o ooo o1eo +a IL ~ VIII J~n.-