taken out for short walks, in order to accustom them to pass
traffic, and if possible they should have a steady old dog to lead them;
for even the placid cow coming home to be milked, will prove an object
of terror to them and probably cause them to bolt home. With the
exercise of patience and kindness, such fearsome journeys will soon be
made with safety, and moving objects will cease to be regarded; in fact
a bold hound will be likely to prove far too venturesome, and his
hair-breadth escapes from being run over will occasion much anxiety.
After the pups have got accustomed to getting out of the way of fast
traffic, it is excellent training for them to learn to follow a bicycle,
Fig. 144; but the rider must go slowly at first and only short
distances, in order not to overtax the strength of the young hounds. A
good rule is to slow down when the animals lag behind, and if they show
any signs of fatigue, and are not stopping merely to make
investigations, it is time to go slowly home. They will soon be able to
gallop as fast as any ordinary rider can safely steer her bicycle, and
will sometimes show their freshness and play, by catching hold of her
skirt with their teeth, as once happened to me and gave me a fall.
Foxhounds are however so intelligent that the animal who playfully
caused my discomfiture, looked sorrowfully at me as I lay sprawled out
with my machine on the ground, and I feel sure that when I reproached
him, he understood the drift of my remarks, for he never afterwards
attempted to touch my skirt, though he has often come bumping into me,
when flying for protection from some imaginary enemy. It is impossible
to be really angry with these most affectionate irresponsible beings,
for they are brimful of the exuberance of youth, and if they roll over
each other in the middle of the road just under the front wheel, it is
advisable to try and get out of the way. A good plan when this road
playing begins is to keep the break going, ready for "happenings."
Riding with pups is excellent practice in bicycle control! From bicycle
exercise we passed to the higher stage of taking out the pups with
horses, but I regret we did not continue the bicycle training, because
one day the bolder hound of the two (Fig. 145), who had several narrow
escapes by reason of his insane propensity for running into the middle
of the road and jumping up at the muzzle of an advancing horse, met with
a serious accident, to wit, a fractured f