The evening tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 189?-190?, 1897-05-03
TRICK DOGS AND CATS AND THEIR
WAYS OF LEARNING.

hearsing the other morning when report.
er obtained entrance into the theater to
ask Leonidas how he trained his animals.
They were doing circus tricks with evident
zest, when lie told them to sit down in
their chairs and remain there until he
called them. Their prompt and cheerful
obedience would have gladdened any heart.
II train my dogs and cats, explained
the master In response to u question, by
kindness and patience-oh, so much pr
tience! The main thing is to get them to
understand what you want them to do
and then they do IL quickly enough. am
sure dogs and cats reason up TO certain
point. They can reason sufficiently to un
derstand what want thom to do. 1t isn't
limitations, because l never show them
what ! want done, but explain what ]
wish and tell them to do it. Dogs have
more reason than cats and are far easier tc
train. Cats are, like women, capricious
One must coax them all the timo. If you
let a cat know that you are trying TO make
Ii do thing, II won't do 1t. One must be
always kind to them"
"Humph!" Srnntcd the Interpreter. 81
wish you could SEQ him and his sistor-in
law"
Leonidas smiled blandly and, all uncon.
scious Of the comment added TO the text,
went on:
''I'd rather train co dogs than one cat
IL didn't have that black spaniel Cerbe.
rus, / woulu never undertake to train q
cat. Cerbcrus was tho first dog / even
trained, and he saved one Of these cats
from drowning, and she follows him. and
all the other cats follow her. But about
the training An old dog or cat can be
taught to do all sorts of things, but IL il
much easier TO teach young ones. You
have seen imbeclle people. Well, we have
imbecile cats and dogs, too; 30 1t is well tc
select cats for training with view tc
their intelligence. The wolf dogs learn
mere easily than any other. Different
kinds of dogs excel in different kinds OF
stage work. Any dog that looks like
fox is excitable and does quick work that
other dogs, say a poodle, couldn't do a,
all Some dogs do their work with a per.
feet understanding, while others do theirs
mechanically. This is usually the fault OF
the trainer and results from beating tho
animals.
lone must love animals and under
stand them in order TO train them. I've
been in this business all my life. l trained
horses to do all kinds of tricks and bad
never thought about training dogs and
spaniel one day when was exhibiting my
trained horses. was standing on West.
minister bridge and saw child fall into
the water. That spaniel, Cerberus. jumped
in and rescued the little one, and said
would own that dog. I soon taught it tc
dive for my purse when l dropped it into
15 feet OF water. Not long after that Ger.
berus saved the cat from drowning.
thought it would be a good idea TO teach
the cat some tricks too. 1t takes two years
to train cat well, but much less time /:
required to educate smart dog. ! worked
with Cerbcrus and the cat he saved three
years, and then 1 began to enlarge my
company.
"1o teach them new tricks tell them
what want done and fatter them into
doing it. For instance, when wanted tc
teach Mimisse, the cat, to climb up rope
the full height OF the stage, open and enter
"a basket attached 10 parachute, which
let loose, L held her on the rope and said,
Up, up, upp and petted her all the while.
Soon she knew that it would please me ii
she would go up and UP she started. When
she got to the top, told her TO open the
basket and get in Sho understood that,
because she opens and enters basket
which my Great Dane holds in his mouth.
let the parachute down very gently al
first, but after she had done the trick sew.
eral times l could bring 1t down as sud
denly as 1 pleased. The time required fol
learning q new trick depends on the trick
and upon the individual intelligence OF
each one Of the pupils.
"Some men train animals by hunger.
/ don't believe in that method, for you
can't rely on them, particularly not on
cats. A oat will prowl around and get
something to ent somehow, and then when
the time comes for it to act 1t won't act
30 as to be fed afterward, for 1t is already
satisfied feed my dogs and cats at
O'Clock every afternoon, for I'm convinced
that they do better work when not hungry.
sit is not necessary to rehearse trained
animals every day. They are SO familiar
with what they do, they learn their lessons
so we'll, that they do not forget. In fact,
they often perform better IL they don't
practice much after they've learned q
thing, for they don't get 50 tired Of It."
"Do you ever punish your dogs and
catss" asked the reporter.
Hell say No, " said the interpreter
in an "aside'' before putting the question
TO the Greek, "but he does all the same.
He beats tho dogs like fury occasionally,
but not often"
"Oh, it's very seldom i have to whil
one of the dogs" answered Leonidas, land
wouldn't dare punish the cats at all
They are too contrary. Why believe II
stfi!cR enc Of those cats she would never
act again.
"It takes long tino to get an idea into
a cats head. When I was teaching my
company the circus net, almost gave ur
in despair. The dogs act as horses and this
cats as riders. A dog trots around the
ring, passing under a chair on which sits
a cat. AS the dog comes out from undof
the chair the cat springs on his back and
jumps on the chair ssain when the circus
is completed. II Is very hard for the cats
to get good grip, especially on tho short
haired dogs, and they used their claws at
hrst to keep them from falling of. This
hurt the dogs, and they would shake the
cats on. IL took me months 10 teach the
unnte that thev rux,sf hold on bv tha pressure