The steadily increasing interest in the obedience trained
dog has made it necessary for the amateur to seek assist-
ance in order to learn the best approved methods of train-
ing his dog in this type of work. Such knowledge is
necessary not alone for the purpose of training the dog for
obedient deportment in the home, but also for the pur-
pose of enabling the average owner to compete with his
dog in organized obedience test competitions.
Almost from the moment that the American Kennel
Club recognized all such training to the extent of adopt-
ing rules and regulations for it, many books, written pri-
marily to instruct along the general lines of feeding, care
and management, included information on training in
more or less understandable form. And while, spe-
cifically, the training lessons contained in these books
differed a great deal, in the aggregate they were com-
mendable in bringing to the public attention the fact that
training by amateurs, under the right auspices, was not
only possible but highly desirable.
However, some of this earlier counsel, as well as some
that has since followed, failed in certain respects to ac-
complish its aim for this reason alone:
