Photograph by George G. McLean
Gyp Has An Ax to Grind
Did you try to teach your dog to retrieve by ducking him? How silly! How soon would you learn to swim by that method? Begin by letting him think he is bringing you his play-ball, although really you are pulling it by an attached string. Insist on his giving up the ball every time. Do it again and again till he is out of the primer class. Throw the ball a few feet at first, then farther and farther away till he has that trick "down fine."
When the water is well warmed by the spring sunshine, take him to the shore and repeat the same lessons patiently, a little each day. If you have an old retriever with you the youngster will be ambitious to "go him one better" and will learn more quickly.
It is necessary in training dogs to consider the inborn instincts of the breed. A terrier is a "nat'ral ratter" and needs little training for that, but you would have to train a long time to get a spaniel to catch rats.
A dog on the farm can be trained to save the boys a lot of steps. We had a shepherd dog once which was a famous runner. When my father suspected that the cattle were breaking into the cornfield, he would go first to the top of the knoll by the house, hold Nimp up in his arms, point in the direction of the cows. Nimp would whimper and squirm and when let down was off like a streak of brown lightning. He would not go in a bee-line, but followed first the road, then the line fence to where the marauding cattle were at work. By the time my father or one of the boys on horseback reached the break in the fence the fleet-footed dog would be hustling those cows. If he didn't actually get them back into pasture he kept them moving so that they got no more green corn than was good for them. "Good old dog" was all Nimp expected for little deeds of kindness like this. He wagged his head, hung out his long pink tongue, and almost smiled with satisfaction. There was no doubt that he was pleased with having outwitted the cows, for which he had small respect.
Teaching a collie to herd sheep or goats is a special sort of business; experienced shepherds can teach you how it is done. Training hunting dogs is also a work for experts. Anybody knows that a poorly trained dog makes the difference between real sport and disgusting failure. A young man with a real aptitude for training dogs for various forms of hunting can find opportunities to turn this genius into cash.