He said he had asked his grandmother many times to tell him about the way she was trained, and she said that she was one of a litter of five puppies. Now her owner wished to know which of the puppies had the best nose, so he used to approach the tightly boarded side of their yard on tiptoe, and put his eye at a knot-hole.
“Oh! I see,” I exclaimed, “that was to find out which pup discovered him first.”
“Yes,” replied King Harry. “My grandmother was always the first to wind him, so he gave her special training. When she was four months old, he taught her to lead quietly, neither pressing forward, nor holding back on the chain. Next, she was taught to follow, and to come at a whistle.”
“All this was for obedience, I suppose,” I remarked.
“Yes, and to form her character,” said King Harry. “Next she had to learn to jump in and out of a buggy—there were no automobiles then—to climb fences, to swim creeks, to get accustomed to the noise of a town, and to become used to strangers, but never familiar with them. She was not allowed to play with children, nor with other dogs—just with her owner, Tim Dobson.
“When she was eight months old, Dobson took her to the woods. A stranger held her by the collar, and Dobson started off with an old towel in his hand. He kept shaking it at my grandmother, who strained at her collar, and was finally released by this assistant.”
“Why the towel?” I asked.
“To make her anxious to play with it, and to reach her master. This was the overtaking lesson, and it was repeated several times, then came the lesson in trailing. Dobson hid behind a tree, and when he was out of sight, the assistant released grandmother. As soon as she reached the place where she last saw Dobson, she dropped her nose to the ground. She never had much trouble in owning a trail——”
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Recognising the scent of the person she was following—she had a grand nose, and Dobson used to keep bits of meat in his pocket to reward her for quick work. She was taught to bark on trail, and bay at hiding-places. Then when she was well educated along this line, Dobson changed places with his assistant.”