The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-11-17
TRAINING ANIMALS TO PERFORM.
Kindness Is All Right, but, Use of the
Whip Often Necessary.


Kindness Is All Right. but, Use of the
Whip Often Necessary.
The trained monkeys, dogs and
ponies which recently appeared in
Washington were remarkable for the
clever manner in which they performed
tricks and acrobatic feats usually gone
through by men and women in circuses,
and their training required months of
work and more patience than is pos
sessed by the average person.
1--WE have offers of hundreds of dogs
at every city we visit" said the trainer,
but it is seldom that we buy any un-
less they strike our fancy with being
especially smart and easy to manage.
THE first thing to teach dog is to
mind, and it is not as easy as you
would think. Kindness is all right, but
firmness is better, and there are few
dogs that can be trained without get
ting a taste of the rod. The adage
about sparing the rod is as applicable
to dogs as it is to children. 1t takes
six months to train dog to follow
with the other dogs and to answer to
his name After that his education be-
gins in earnest. Dogs are not the least
initiative, and while monkey will
pick up a trick by seeing other monkeys
perform it, you have to teach each dog
separately to his work. The old adage
You can't teach an old dog new tricks
does not hold good in our business, and
| it is easier to teach an old dog new
tricks than it is to teach a new dog
| old tricks.
| Dog sense does not run in families,
either. for there are Shellbark and Ma
jor Russian poodles, full brothers, but
Shellbark is a college graduate, while
Major is still in the kindergarten.
Shellbark, the white woolly clown with
brown ears, appears in almost every
act from knocking over the baskets to
running under the hoop, while Major
hauls one of the wagons around and
does odd jobs.
THE stars among the dogs are just
like the stars in the comic opera, grand
| opera, or any theatrical performance.
| All they do is the one speciality and
then they rest. They never appear in
the street parade and for jealousy they
have gotten the human stars beaten all
| hollow. Take Ellis, the white English
collie that rides the pony horseback in
the show and jumps over the pony and
rides in the hurdles. After the show
Ellis lies down and rests, and If any OF
the other dogs make noise around
him there is trouble. for Ellis starts-a
fight. He is jealous, too, and ii any
other dog gets more applause than Ell
lis he sulks and does not want to act
Cyclone is another star. He is the big
white greyhound that made the high
leap, and that is all he did. He makes
d
easy. The smartest dog in the show j:
Dixie, the little white fox terrier witt
black ears, that made the dive from thu
high ladder. 1t took just 30 minutes u
teach him to climb the ladder, but hi
did not like the idea of making thu
jump After 20 or 80 minutes coaxing
however, he jumped, and since then W.
have had no trouble. In an hour hs
learned a trick we have spent week:
trying to teach other dogs, but none
has succeeded like Dixie.
1.-THE French poodles which perform
the act of Mr.. and Mrs. Snyder an;
the Baby Bunch were easy to train
but they are so timid that they never
gain full confidence in themselves ane
at every performance they are afrale
they are going to make mistakes Tn
care which they exercised in sitting II
the chairs and which looked as if the!
We're trying not to rumple their clothes
was caused by their timidity, but th'
audience thought it was good acting, 81
the result is just the same. they nav
to be treated like timid children ane
only coaxing and petting will get then
to go through with their work.
1T required year to teach Ellis, tn
white English collie, to leap on thu
back of the moving pony. He was frs
taught to jump up on the pony while
it was standing, the broad board sad
die which he first rode on being used
After he had learned to jump up or
this board the pony was walked areune
and the trouble began, for Ellis coult
not keep his balance. and it was severa
months before he got expert enough e
stay on the moving. animal; after tina
was accomplished he had to be laugh
to keep his balance on the bare back @
the pony. He could. jump on the pony
all right, but he could not stick there
Finally he found that by standing neal
the pony's shoulders he could brace
| Il tns, Il; tt,,o md nj
has the trick down pretty fine, but ever
now he is not asked to jump on the
pony more than twice ataeach perform
ance. 1T Is star act, and causes more
comment than any other in the show.
OF all the men connected with the show
any one of them could be better spared
than "Old Sam" His name is Sam
Breniser but none of the show people
know his family NAME and it was only
learned by asking Sam himself. With
the show people he is simply "Old
Sam who has charge OF the dogs day
and night when they are not in The
show ring, and when they are Sam Is
in the tent near, dressing the dogs and
monkeys for their acts. Sam feeds tbs
dogs and marshals them to and from
the train to the show grounds when q
new town is entered. He knows tbs
name of every dog, and the dogs know
his voice and obey him. Without him
it would require Is or 20 men to lead
the CANNES about. Sam has two OIL
three dog helpers, who whip in the dis
obedient dogs, but most of them follow
him closely and halt and start at his
word. One of his hardest tasks is to
teach new dog its name when it has
to be changed. He spends hours every
day repeating over and over to the dog
the name it has to bear. and then the
dog is put in to the yard where the
other are confined and it's name called
out. If it does not respond one of he
men enters the yard and brings it out
This is kept up until the dog finally
learns it's name. but even then 1t has
spells of forgetfulness and has to be
L raf ND Lodi ln,.t sIat. nut of q WhlD