A DOG THAT PLAYS CARDS.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 4, Issue 90, 1 October 1915, Page 2 (Supplement)

A DOG THAT PLAYS CARDS.

HOW FIFINE WAS EDUCATED

Fifine is a lady! She is gay. volatile, obstinate, luxurious, short-tempered, easily bored, adores flattery, has a marked sense of humour, and a passion for doing as she pleases. In a word, she is a red-haired beauty and shares the characteristics of other redhaired beauties. She is not the easiest subject for experiments in education, particularly as she is a toy Cocker spaniel with strong hunting instincts, and despises tricks. But Fifine has learned to distinguish the cards in a pack. If she could be taught this after she was three years old, average dogs can be educated and will show far more remarkable results if the training starts when they are puppies. Telling of Fifine's education, her mistress says: "In training P'ifine I took advanta'ge of her colour sense. I began by putting three cards on the floor, the queen of hearts, between two black cards, and then said, distinctly, putting my finger on it, 'That Is the queen of hearts.' When Fifine had put her nose on it I gave her a tiny bit o? biscuit. Then I told her to give me the queen of hearts. After some persuasion she did, and got a reward of biscuit. I kept her at it for about ten minutes, till she well understood' that if she gave me the queen of hearts she got a reward, and I praised her, which she enjoyed almost as much as the biscuit. The next day I began again, but changed the position of the queen of hearts each time, though never having over three cards on the floor and the other two being always black. After three days of numerous short lessons. never over fifteen minutes at a time, she knew the queen of hearts from any three cards, the other two being court cards, even if spades or clubs. "Fifine evidently enjoyed the excitement and flattery of showing off her accomplishments before people, but too many people confused her, and she flagged after from three to five experiments. It is essential that she gets a

small reward after each success, and I never let her stop on a failure even if I have to point out the card. After six months I tried an experiment with small suit oards. Putting three on the floor and not pointing to any, I named one, which Fitine had not been taught. She gave it to me at once. There was something almost uncanny about this, only explicable by that intimate connection between a dog's mind and its master's which all those who have been blessed with a dog's love recognize.