THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
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'<o3G.l
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KENNEL SECRETS
HOW TO
BREED, EXHIBIT AND MANAGE
DOGS.
By “ASHMONT.”
New edition, revised.
BOSTON :
LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY. 1907.
636-7
COPYRIGHT, 1893,
BY J. LORING THAYER PUB. CO.
COPYRIGHT, 1904,
BY LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY.
Printer*
8. J. pARKmLL <fe Co., Boston, U. 8. A.
£3 C.l
Pi
“When some proud son of man returns to earth, Unknown to glory, but upheld by birth,
The sculptor’s art exhausts the pomp of woe, And storied urns record who rests below.
When all is done, upon the tomb is seen,
Not what he was, but what he should have been. But the poor dog, in life the firmest friend,
The first to welcome, foremost to defend,
Whose honest heart is still his master’s own, Who labors, fights, lives, breathes for him alone, Unhonor’d falls, unnoticed all his worth,
Denied in heaven the soul he held on earth; While man, vain insect! hopes to be forgiven, And claims himself a sole exclusive heaven.”
\
NOTE.
The design of this work and the results attained are so evident a formal introduction is unnecessary.
Possibly the elementary character of many of the pre- cepts given will occasion surprise, yet all must agree that it is over trifles that they are likely to stumble, especially where health is involved.
Not a few popular beliefs have been antagonized, but seldom other than those which owe their force to antiquity ^petition.
/stical speculations and ungrounded theories, cal- ?d to invite confusion, have been excluded in so far ■^ble ; and the measures advocated are such only as ses proved sound by observation and e '
VI
NOTE.
friend Mr. Chas. H. Mason, for great kindness, sterling criticisms, many valuable suggestions and constant assist- ance in the revision of the manuscript, in which has been incorporated much that was drawn from his vast fund of experience.
The generosity of fanciers in providing materials for illustrations is also warmly acknowledged, and it is much regretted that all photographs furnished could not have been reproduced to appear herein. But the intent being educational purely, manifestly only the best avail- able specimens of the various breeds should be repre- sented.
Notwithstanding his obvious reluctance to observe the time-honored custom and indulge in a preliminary discus- sion of his work, and his very decided preference to leave the reader to fashion his own conclusions as to its merits, the author is impelled to emphasize the exceeding of these illustrations of dogs, being as they are perf true to life and of subjects which, with only an occa. exception, have reached the front ranks, while n/5 ' - a re the nearest approaches to perfec;
CONTENTS
PART I. —MANAGEMENT.
CHAPTER I.
THE NATURAL DIET.
PAGE
The dog of to-day. — Diet best suited to him. — Familiar faults in feed- ing. — Quantity of meat required daily. — Influences which modify it . — Force of individual peculiarities. — Dangers of excess of meat. — Rela- tions between effects of animal and vegetable foods. — The right pro- portions of the ingredients of a mixed diet. — Allowances that should be made for existing circumstances. — Distinct lines on which to for- mulate diet-tables 3
CHAPTER II.
VARIETIES OF ANIMAL FOODS.
Proportions of meat required by puppies. — Penalties for over-feeding. — Special value of raw meat. — Prejudices against it duly considered. — Relation between an animal’s disposition and his food. — Meat and the scenting powers. — Important facts about common foods. — When horse-flesh is wholesome. — Milk in its various forms. — Eggs as a food and medicine. — Their action in health and disease. — Fish, how it should be cooked and served ........ 19
CHAPTER III.
* VEGETABLE FOODS.
Capabilities of dogs’ digestive powers. — Special effects of vegetables on the blood. — The various starchy foods. — Wheat and its products. — Much about bread remnants. — Prejudices against corn meal. — The foundations for the same. — Right method of use. — Oatmeal, and its
vii
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CONTENTS.
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peculiar effects. — Rice, and its admirable qualities. — Nutritive value of barley and rye. — How starches should be cooked. — The propor- tions of them allowable . . . . . . . . , ir
CHAPTER IV.
DIETARY FOR PUPPIES.
The right period for weaning. — Essential preparatory steps. — Various foods to be used. — Proper quantities of each. — Number of feedings demanded. — Of what each should consist, up to the eighth month. —
The great secrets of puppy-raising. — Means of preventing deformi- ties. — Many absurd notions combated. — Ruinous results of over- feeding. — Treatment of common affections by dietetic means . . 49
CHAPTER V.
GENERAL DIETARY.
The foods, quantities, and combinations for toys. — Of what each meal should consist. — Special directions for feeding the overweighty. — Rules against over-feeding. — Many valuable hints for novices. — How mature dogs should be fed. — The number of meals they should have. — Methods of preparing meat. — Quantities required under various con- ditions of life. — Foods that should be associated with it. — Requisite proportions of each. — Treatment of dainty feeders. — In total loss of appetite 65
CHAPTER VI.
KENNELLING.
The most primitive kennels. — Their glaring defects. — A suitable kennel.
— The best situation for it. — Complete directions for builders. — Its various furnishings. — Absolute requisites to health. — To secure free- dom from vermin. — Method of fumigation by sulphur. — Important considerations in large kennels. — Precautions to be observed in stable quarters. — An efficient deodorizer 81
CHAPTER VII.
EXERCISE.
Physiology of exercise. — Baneful results of too close confinement. — Yards for puppies. — Prime requisites. — Infinite importance of clean- liness.— Yards for mature dogs. — Economy and efficiency duly con-
CONTENTS.
ix
PAGB
sidered. — Devices for exercising in cities. — How to estimate the amount of work imperative for puppies. — For the mature. — Special requirements for dogs in the stud ....... 93
CHAPTER VIII.
THE DRINKING WATER.
Dangers in foul water. — Some important physiological facts. — Preva- lent theories that are unsound. — Symptoms caused by denial of suffi- cient water. — Excess rarely, if ever, to be feared. — One of the first essentials in all kennels. — Difficulties in maintaining healthfulness where there are many inmates. — Water for puppies. — Its peculiar beneficial action on digestion 109
CHAPTER IX.
WASHING AND GROOMING.
When frequent washing is imperative. — Injurious effects of cheap soaps.
— The required articles of toilet. — General rules for washing. — Egg
shampoos. — Necessary treatment after bathing. — Remedies where the coat is harsh. — Influences which greatly injure fine hair. — Abso- lute essentials to its health. — When it falls out. — The common causes. — Safe and efficient hair restorers 116
CHAPTER X.
TROUBLESOME INSECTS.
Nature and habits of fleas. — Agents that are obnoxious to them. — The most potent preventive. — Powerful flea-destroyers. — Insect powders.
— Tinctures of the same. — Cheap and potent solution of carbolic acid.
— Real facts as to flea-soaps in general. — To afford relief from flies. —
Sure remedies for lice. — For the removal of wood-ticks. — Treatment
of kennels when infested 129
PART II.— EXHIBITING.
CHAPTER I.
PREPARATORY WORK.
The real danger of infection at shows. — Infinitely less than generally supposed. — Much of interest about distemper and mange. — Amount of work required. — Expedients where opportunities are limited. — Er-
X
CONTENTS.
roncous notions that are productive of much harm. — How sporting dogs are often injured. — Medicines commonly used for conditioning.
— Serious results which follow their use ...... 143
CHAPTER II.
THE FEEDING.
Special requirements of common varieties. — The most nutritive and di- gestible foods. — Number of meals required daily. — The methods of preparation. — Forced or spoon feeding. — The feeding of toys in general. — An absurd notion dispelled. — The foods they should have.
— How the same should be cooked. — At which meals they should be given. — The quantities and proportions of each. — Remedies to be found in the feeding-pan. — Dietetic treatment of the overweighty . 155
CHAPTER III.
CONDITIONING THE COAT.
When the work of improvement should commence. — Character and amount of grooming required. — Expedient to be resorted to in ex- treme cases. — Special precautions to be observed in all instances. — Where novices are liable to be at fault. — The last wash before the show. — Formula for the best kennel soap. — Washing with eggs. — How to wash a Yorkshire terrier. — Each step in the process fully de- scribed ...... 166
CHAPTER IV.
TO AND FROM THE SHOW.
A suitable crate. — Injunctions as to feeding while on the cars. — A mistake that has often proved fatal. — Choosing a caretaker. — Rules which he should observe. — A provision against mange and eczema. —
The return journey. — Precautions against the transmission of conta- gion.— Disinfection after home is reached. — Dietetic restrictions that are advisable. — The only medicinal treatment generally required. 177
CHAPTER V.
ON THE BENCH.
The feeding. — When the appetite is impaired. — A common custom to be avoided. — The first essential to the maintenance of good condi- tion.— Before the judges. — Ring etiquette. — Grave mistake of many
CONTENTS.
xi
PAGE
exhibitors. — Golden rule for all to follow. — Hints for show manage- ments. — Delusions about disinfectants. — Unwarrantable inflictions upon dogs and visitors. — Measures of relief advised . . .185
PART III.— BREEDING.
CHAPTER I.
SELECTION OF SIRE.
Methods of the average breeder. — Glaring faults uncovered. — Why failures are so common. — The prime essentials to success. — Lines on which sires should be chosen. — Breeding sporting dogs. — Advan- tages of in-breeding. — Its pernicious effects. — Influence of the previous sire. — Unsound theories combated. — Where misalliance occurs. — Importance of pedigree. — Many valuable hints for beginners in breeding *97
CHAPTER II.
IN SEASON.
Too early mating and maturity. — Effects on the mother. — On the off- spring.— Is mating at the first season justified? — The method of “shaping.” — Maturing periods. — Signs presented during the “ rut- ting season.” — When to mate is possible. — Successful service. — Absolute essentials in both subjects of a union. — One common cause of great mortality among puppies. — Breeding at every season. — Obesity and sterility. — When a cure is possible. — The treatment required. — The right condition for breeding ..... 214
CHAPTER III.
BEFORE WHELPING.
Exercise during gestation. — Its infinite importance. — Essential precau- tions. — Signs of pregnancy. — Some pronounced absurdities. — Diet of the bitch in pup. — Highly instructive experiments. — The real effects of raw meats. — Bone-making materials. — The one that promises best. — The whelping quarters. — Important measures against worms. — Bed and bedding. — Popular fallacies regarding them. — Abuse of cathartics and laxative foods ...... 229
CONTENTS.
xii
CHAPTER IV.
TREATMENT OR THE MOTHER.
RAGS
First signs of whelping. — Companionship advocated. — Puerperal mania. — Hints for attendants. — Danger to puppies from crushing. — Measures of prevention. — Temperature of the whelping quarters. — Phenomena of labor. — After treatment of the mother. — Of the pup- pies.— The puppy-eating habit. — The various influences which cause it. — The remedy required in most cases. — Diet after whelping. — Of what each meal should consist. — Constant liberty for the nursing mother 243
CHAPTER V.
CARE OF THE NEW-BORN.
The favorable season for whelping. — Degrees of heat required by puppies. — Fatal faults emphasized. — When the milk secretion is scanty. — Milk fever. — Foster mothers. — Considerations in making selections. — Nourishing artificially. — By various animals. — Weeding out litters. — When suffocated by the mother. — Impediments to nursing. — Remedies for sore breasts. — Poisoning by the mother’s milk. — How it maybe detected. — Treatment of the mother. — Of the puppies 260
CHAPTER VI.
EARLIEST PUPPYHOOD.
Infinite importance of warmth. — A cause of many failures in breeding.
— Ill effects resulting from sleeping-boxes. — Measures for the re- moval of vermin. — Treatment of colic. — Hygiene of the puppy quarters. — Poisons generated in milk. — Grooming and washing. — • Prevention of deformities. — Golden rules for fanciers. — Worthless puppies. — The destroyer to be used. — Cautions against over-stock- ing.— Notions about teething. — Operation of docking. — The re- moval of dew claws ......... 281
CHAPTER VII.
TRAINING.
Earliest education of puppies. — House-breaking. — Introduction to new homes. — Qualities essential in the educator. — Right methods of re- straint and correction. — Perversity and self-will. — Power of kind-
CONTENTS.
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ness. — Some very annoying habits. — The use of the whip. — Happy effect of association. — Training of watchers. — A dangerous method.
— The right way. — Retrieving and its advantages .... 304
CHAPTER VIII.
INTESTINAL PARASITES.
The course of infection. — The most potent means of prevention. — Symptoms of worms. — Peculiar action of the pests. — How they cause death. — Post-mortem appearances. — Treatment of nursing puppies. — After the weaning. — Dangers in anthelmintics. — Much of interest about santonin. — The first mixture to be used. — A stronger preparation. — Definite rules for estimating doses. — Relief in desper- ate cases 314
CHAPTER IX.
POTENT WORM-DESTROYERS.
Directions for treatment of toys. — Areca nut. — Its peculiar action. — Safety lines. — Rule for adjusting doses. — Best methods of adminis- tration. — Remedy for tape-worm. — General treatment for worms. —
A shot-gun mixture. — Its preparation. — Influence of diet on worms.
— Preventive measures. — Liability of infection in kennels. — Precau- tions which should be applied 331
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS,
Sir Bedivere Frontispiece
PAGE
Mastiff, “ Beaufort ” 4
Mastiff, “Minting” io
Mastiffs, “ Orlando ” and “Beaufort” 22
St. Bernard, “ Sir Bedivere ” 28
Smooth-Coated St. Bernard, “Keeper” 36
St. Bernards, “Empress of Contoocook” and “Lady Glad-
wyn” 38
Great Dane, “Hannibal the Great” ..... 42
Great Dane, “Ivanhoe” 44
Great Dane, “ Ulric ” 46
Great Danes, “Ivanhoe” and “Dorothy” .... 50
Great Danes, “Earl of Warwick” and “Sol” ... 52
Newfoundland, “Pirate King” 60
Bloodhounds, “Burgundy” and “Judith” .... 66
Deerhound, “Hillside Romola ” 70
Deerhound, “Olga” 76
Greyhound, “ Fullerton ” 78
Greyhound, “ Gem of the Season ” 82
Greyhound, “ Balkis ” 84
Irish Wolfhound, “Tara” 90
Her Grace the Duchess of Newcastle and Russian Wolf- hound 94
Russian Wolfhounds, “ Kaissack,” “ Kaissack II.,” and
“Nagrajdai II.” 98
Russian Wolfhound, “ Groubian ” 100
Smooth-Coated Retrievers, “Moonstone” and “Darenth” . 104
CURLY-COATED RETRIEVERS, “TlVERTON VICTOR” AND “BLACK
Gipsy” 106
Pointer, “Beaufort” 114
Pointers, “ Ilma ” and “Prince’s Boy” 118
English Setter, “Monk of Furness” 126
XV
XVI
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
Irish Setter, Irish Setter, Irish Setter, Irish Setter,
' Tim ”
‘ Norn a ”
‘ Laura B.” ‘ Kildare ”
FECTION ” )
DDIE” $
1
“ Lady Grizzle,
Gordon Setter, “ Heather Lad ”
Irish Water Spaniels, “The Siiaugran ” and “ Shaun Clumber Spaniels, “Duke” and “Friar Boss Field Spaniel, “ Bridford Perfection Sussex Spaniel, “ Bridford Giddi Cocker Spaniels, “Fascination” and “Lily Obo Field Spaniel, “Darkie”
Collie, “ Metchley Wonder”
Smooth-Coated Collie, “ Pickmere Collie, “Chrysolite”
Collie, “ Wellesbourne Charlie’
Old English Sheep Dogs, “ Sir Cavendish, and “Lady Cavendish'
Whippet, “Zuber”
Dalmation, “Water Lily’
Bassett, “ Bet ” )
Dachshund, “ Janet ” $
Beagles, “Royal Krueger” and “Frank Forest” >
Basset Puppy, “ Syringa ” $
French Bull Dog, Champion “ Rico ”
Bull Dogs, “Harper,” “Graven Image,” “ Ivel Doctor,’ “King Lud,” “Holy Terror,” and “ Britomartis ” . Boston Terriers, Champion “ Sportsman ” and “ Lady Dainty Bull Dog, “Sancho Panza’
Boston Terrier, “ Rossie Richards Boston Terrier, Champion “Monte Boston Terriers, Champion “Lord Derby,” Champion “ Remlik Bonnie,” and Champion “ Boylston Reina”
Bull Terrier, “ Streatham Monarch”
Wire-Haired Fox Terrier, Champion “Meersbrook Bristles” ; Bull Terriers, “Nelson,” “Edgewood Wonder,” and “Tar
QUIN ”
Airedale Terriers, “ Cholmondeley Briar” and “Colne
Crack”
Airedale Terrier, Champion “The New King Fox Terriers, “Valuer,” “Venio,” “ Raby Mixer,” and “ Grouse II.”
A
PAGE
I32
138
146
150
152
158
162
172
178
182
198
202
204
210
212
220
222
224
226
228
230
232
234
236
238
240
246
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
XV u
PAGE
Fox Terriers, “Starden’s King,” “Beverwyck Punster,” “Ripon Stormer,” and “Vesuvienne” .
Fox Terriers, Old Champions, “ Belgrave Joe,” “ Spice,” “ Old
Trap,” “Vesuvian,” and “ Veni ”
Fox Terriers, New Champions, “Norfolk Handicraft” and
“Norfolk Veracity ”
Scotch Terriers, “Teaser” and “Tiree” .
Scotch Terriers, “ Kilroy ” and “Kilcree” .
Scotch Terriers, “Bradeston Dundee,” “Kildee,” and
Champion “The Laird”
Irish Terriers, “ Dunmurry,” “ Brickbat,” “ Breadenhill,”
AND “ STERNFIELD VlC ”
Welsh Terriers, “Dim S^son^eg ” and “Bon Gout” \
Dandie Dinmont Terrier, “Amphion”
Chow-Chow, “ Mandarin’s Gift ”
SCHIPPERKE, “ COPLE SOPHIA”
Bedlington Terrier, “Jack Warkworth ”
Skye Terriers, “Silver Queen,” “Carlo III.,” and “Old
Burgundy”
Pugs, “King of Diamonds,” “Mayor of Leeds,” “Lord Clo- ver,” and “ Bonsor ” ........
Black Pugs, “Little Nap” and “Doatie Darling” )
Black Corded Poodle, “ Joe II.” $
Toy Spaniels: Blenheim, “Dandy;” Ruby, “Ruby Princess;” Prince Charles, “King of the Fancy;” Japanese, “ Senn- Sation;” King Charles, Champion “Perseverance” .
Toy Spaniels: Blenheim, “Bowsie” and “ Beaconsfield; ”
King Charles, “Duchess II.” and “Jumbo II.”
Italian Greyhounds, “Sappho” and “Juno”
Black- and-Tan Terriers, “Broomfield Sul- tan” and “Buffalo Lass”
Toys: Maltese Terrier, “Hugh;” Yorkshire Terrier, “Ted;” Japanese Spaniel, “ Nank-i-Poo; ” Pomeranians, “Black Boy” and “Rob of Rozelle”
250
252
254
266
270
274
278
282
292
294
300
306
318
324
332
338
PART I.
MANAGEMENT.
KENNEL SECRETS.
CHAPTER I.
THE NATURAL DIET.
Men differ as to the origin of the dog, but all agree that he is of the family of carnivora and that he was a flesh-eating beast in his wild state. Admitting this em- inently plausible theory the question at once arises, Has domestication created or developed in him the power, which his master possesses in an eminent degree, of accommodating himself to changes of foods as to other altered conditions and thereby rendered him capable of subsisting quite as well on a mixed diet, of vegetable and animal substances, as he once did on a diet exclu- sively animal ? Scientific reasoning and experience answer in the affirmative ; yet this solution is not uni- versally accepted, and there are many who, arguing mainly from structural peculiarities, insist that he is purely a flesh-eater still and that animal foods alone arc suited to his requirements.
3
4
KENNEL SECRETS.
The evidence to sustain this argument, which appears on anatomical investigation, merely shows that he is and has been fitted for flesh eating. And admitting him to be physically so constituted as to be able to derive from an exclusively animal diet all that is necessary to his support and health, he can scarcely be regarded now as other than omnivorous, or in other words as capable of subsisting on a varied diet made up of vegetable and animal substances, as on one entirely animal.
Many centuries have passed since he was redeemed, and in all these he has been the companion and friend of man. Sharing as he has the mixed diet of his master he surely must have felt the force of habit, to which no animal can be insensible, and acquired at least a tolerance for vegetable foods if not an actual need of them. It is by virtue of this force that man becomes so truly om- nivorous ; and that inferior animals can do the same abundant evidence has been offered in the results of experiments, which have shown that in respect to food changes in their nature have been effected and even hereditary forms of body suited to the altered conditions induced and perpetuated. Cats, for instance, have accom- modated themselves to a mixed diet and become similar in form to the herbivorous or vegetable-eating animals by considerable increase in length of their bowels over other members of their family yet untamed.
It is certainly not reasonable to suppose that this power to accommodate to altered conditions in the matter of diet and to assimilate their forms is denied all animals but cats. Far from it, it is easier to believe that it can be acquired by all v/arm-blood animals, and that many of them that are now either purely flesh-eaters or vegetable-eaters would become omnivorous had they wits to aid them or were they educated up to the changes.
THE MASTIFF, “BEAUFORT
THE NATURAL DIET.
s
Contrast the primeval condition of the dog with that to-day. Once he provided for himself, and the tremen- dous amount of exercise he was forced to take while searching for food gave him not only a voracious appetite but powers of digestion equal to any burden he could put upon them. Now he is fed regularly and given some exer- cise but not nearly the amount he had in his wild state. Surely he of to-day cannot have the high health and vigor of his ancestors, nor can his digestive and excretory organs bear as heavy burdens as theirs were wont safely to bear. As a matter of fact allow the average dog of these times to gorge himself with flesh as his kind were accustomed to do of old, and indigestion, if not a severer penalty, would be exacted for even a single indulgence.
When speculating as to the proper diet of mankind it is quite the rule to insist that the stomach recognizes its own wants and the appetite is a perfectly safe guide.
This is true now neither of the human nor canine race, although it doubtless was so when those races were created, but since then they have been exposed to influences which in time perverted their appetites, until they could not be any longer relied upon as infallible guides.
Consider the appetite of man. There are many articles of food popular with him now v/hich were really nauseating to him at first, and he literally was obliged to learn to like them; and once he did so, he thereafter longed for them quite as intensely as for the foods for which he had a natural craving. “Gamey” meats, clams, lobsters, and various vegetables are among the foods which to many were distasteful at first. Tobacco is even a better illustration of this acquired taste.
Indeed, nature is most indulgent and ever ready to mod- ify her laws and requirements to conform to adverse condi- tions in man. Likewise with dogs, let one be denied
6
KENNEL SECRETS.
animal food, or the quantity allowed be only very small, but there be vegetable foods in abundance, then with the latter she will endeavor to make him content, and pos- sibly thrive on them as he would on animal foods.
But to enter into a discussion of this question is not at all necessary. The dog can safely be regarded as capable of digesting and assimilating vegetable as well as animal foods. Furthermore, a mixed diet now unquestionably best meets his requirements.
Doubtless, it is universally admitted that animal food is absolutely necessary to the dog; and it must generally be accepted that a varied or mixed diet is best suited to him ; a fairly good idea of the different substances which should make up this diet also prevails ; but beyond this the ma- jority of owners are sadly wanting. About the required proportion of the various ingredients they know little or nothing, and are singularly prone to be highly generous in the use of vegetable foods and sparing of animal food, whereas it should often be the reverse. They are apt, also, to lose sight of the great difference in relation to both quantity and quality which habits of life demand, i.e. between the habits of those that are worked hard, as in the field, and those living lazy, luxurious lives, as house pets and watchers. They moreover make small account of the different requirements by the puppy and the mature dog ; and seem to be still less mindful of the fact that marked individual peculiarities frequently exist. Again, very many of them appear indifferent on the matter of cooking, which oftener than otherwise is imperfect, and in consequence the foods so treated not only fail of their purpose, but, acting as irritants, cause indigestion and other disturbances. Finally, with no small proportion of them combinations of the different foods are mere questions of convenience, they holding to
THE NATURAL DIET.
7
the notion that the all-important essential is quantity, and, food being food always, quality is a trivial matter. These are some of the most noticeable faults which appear in the practices of breeders of to-day, and in the face of them it is not surprising that failures are so frequent and such a large proportion of dogs are so often out of condi- tion if not the victims of disease.
The first point of essential interest and importance to be considered is the proportion which the several ingre- dients of the mixed diet should bear to one another. Unfortunately no rule which will admit of wide applica- tion can be fixed here, for the requirements are influenced by the age, amount of exercise, condition of health, seasons of the year, individual peculiarities, etc. A puppy, young and growing, needs in proportion a more generous quantity of animal food — milk or meat — for muscle and bone building than he will after he has matured and his structure is complete. During the hunt- ing season and while his muscles are being constantly drained as it were by his work a dog can not only assimi- late more meat, but actually requires a much larger pro- portion, than he that is kept much of the time on the chain and allowed but little exercise. This important fact can perhaps be given greater prominence by the assurance that an excessive indulgence in meat has much the same effect upon dogs as upon members of the human family ; and surely no one will gainsay that while men who work hard, as with the pick and shovel, can eat freely of meat twice and three times daily and be none the worse for it, were students, book-keepers, or others of sedentary occupa- tions, to attempt such a diet, in a short time they must become dyspeptic, bilious, and otherwise disordered.
In estimating the daily quantity of meat some modifica- tion is allowable and often demanded according to the
8
KENNEL SECRETS.
physical condition. Considering the fact that this food tends to produce firmness of muscle with an absence of superfluous fat, while vegetable food on the other hand tends to increase the deposition of fat, manifestly in many instances of underweight it is advisable to give less meat and more vegetable food. In some instances, also, the requirements are the reverse of these, and, as always with bitches that are too fat, it is necessary to feed largely if not entirely on meat until good form is restored.
This, by the way, bears specially on bitches that are not in-pup. And yet such treatment would be safe for those that were, provided with them the increase in the amount of meat was made gradually and there was a corresponding gradual increase in the amount of exercise. But lest the reader draw wrong conclusions here it is urged that assuming the bitch to be one that had been accustomed to a diet consisting of about one-third meat, to put her on to all meat while she was in whelp would be hazardous were she afterward given the same amount of exercise which she had been having and no more. Furthermore, during gestation a bitch could not safely bear the amount of work that a dog fed entirely on meat must have had she been given but an average amount of exercise up to that period.
In estimating the daily quantity of meat an allowance must be made for the season of the year, since the diges- tive and all other functions of the body vary under the influence of cold and heat — the former stimulating them and the latter depressing them. And manifestly were these variations ignored and the same quantity of meat given daily all the year around, diarrhoea and other disturbances of the digestive organs would be likely to occur in hot weather ; moreover, the tendency to skin diseases attended with intolerable itching would then be decidedly greater, in
THE HAT HEAL DIET.
9
consequence of the system being clogged with impuri- ties, which are inevitable where the excretory organs are unnecessarily taxed, as they always are when too much animal food has been taken into the stomach.
Possessing as they do the power of accommodating themselves to changes in diet, quite pronounced indi- vidual peculiarities in relation to tolerance of certain foods must often be encountered in dogs, and these must be considered in estimating the quantity of meat required.
For instance, toy terriers cannot bear much meat because they are peculiarly susceptible to its stimulat- ing effect and are quickly and seriously disturbed by an excess ; the results of which are an impairment of the integrity of the blood, a feverish condition of the system, skin eruptions and falling off in coat.
Again, there are physiological drains upon the constitu- tion, such as that felt by the nursing mother or by the dog much used in the stud, and unusual demands upon it, as in sickness, which have to be provided for by an increase of the daily quantity of meat.
It must be remembered, also, that in many morbid con- ditions this food must be almost wholly relied upon, not alone because there is a decided repugnance for nearly all other foods but because this is the only one that languid digestion can readily dispose of.
Meat produces a greater feeling of satiety than any other food and forms a greater stay to the stomach because that organ is the seat of digestion and is occupied by it for a longer time. And this fact has a bearing on the question of quantity, for obviously a dog fed once a day only can dispose of and more than likely requires a greater quantity of meat daily than another given two or three meals each day.
IO
KENNEL SECRETS.
It is plainly evident from this that dogs cannot be fed by rule, and that the proportions of ingredients of their diet must be intelligently estimated and varied according to existing circumstances.
Before going further it will be well to compare briefly the relations and effects of animal and vegetable foods. The former are identical in composition with the struc- tures to be built up and kept in repair. On the other hand, although no such identity appears in vegetable foods, yet to a marked extent they agree in composition with animal foods, and all that is necessary for the human body at least can be supplied by the vegetable kingdom solely. But the process required for the digestion of vegetable foods is more complex than that required for animal foods, and while the digestive apparatus of man, built upon a more extended scale, can properly dispose of both kinds of foods with nearly if not quite equal ease, ov'ing to its much simpler construction that of the dog is better adapted to animal than to vegetable foods ; and although it can successfully deal with the latter its capa- bilities in this direction are narrower than those of the digestive apparatus of man.
In other words the dog is so constituted physically that he can digest both animal and vegetable foods, and from them when in correct proportions he will obtain all the nutritive principles required for the growth of his body and to replace the wear and tear upon its tissues. But although vegetable foods may contain all that he requires for these purposes, such is the peculiar construction of his digestive apparatus, unlike his master, it would scarcely be possible for him while under ordinary conditions to subsist on them alone, being unable to extract from them goodly proportions of their nutritive properties. Conse- quently, while it is perfectly proper to give him vegetable
THE MASTIFF, “MINTING-’
THE NATURAL DIET.
II
foods he should have animal foods as well, for were he deprived of them he would be likely in time to lose health and vigor.
While the proportions of the animal and vegetable ingredients of the diet cannot be fixed to suit all cases because of the many elements of variation, it can safely be said that where the former is meat one-third is about the right proportion for dogs in general that are not in training or being hard worked in the field.
This estimate is based on “ solid ” meat and without regard to the water in which it is cooked, for that — the broth — is scarcely more than stimulating and only slightly nutritious ; yet it contains some important elements and should never be thrown away, but always used to soften the bread or other starchy food and returned to the meat.
Now, in order to pass this point and reach a closer estimate one must be guided entirely by the existing cir- cumstances, and weigh in every instance the individual peculiarities, the conditions present, etc., etc. And what is of great importance he must duly consider the amount of exercise allowed, and accept without qualifications the rule that, within limits of course, the less exercise the less meat.
For instance, a man has a number of dogs that he cares for himself, but he cannot devote much time to them because he is at business during the day, and while absent they must be confined to the kennels. He is accustomed to let them out every morning and evening and allow them to scamper off into the fields for perhaps fifteen minutes, but rarely for a longer time, and this is about all the exercise they have except what they make for themselves in their yards or runs. The proportion of meat for them should be about one-fifth.
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But supposing that this same man besides allowing his dogs their short morning and evening romps took them out every day for a sharp walk of half an hour. Then he could properly give them about one-fourth meat.
Assuming again that he is less devoted to busi- ness, has much leisure and contemplates working his dogs, and besides their short outings mornings and nights he has them out for an hour every day, during which time they cover a good bit of ground, he would then need to increase the quantity of meat and make the proportion about one-third, or perhaps a trifle over this.
Or if it was his custom, besides letting them out for a few minutes’ frolic every morning and night, to give them a long walk on chain every day, or slow work behind a horse for twenty or more miles, his dogs might have nearly three-fourths meat.
While were they greyhounds and he had them in train- ing, or hounds that he was working hard in the chase, or pointers, setters, or the like, that were doing almost daily hard work afield, they might have a diet consisting entirely of meat.
In a word, it is safe to assume that the more exercise a dog has the more meat he will digest readily and properly dispose of without ill effects.
Apropos of this, some trainers of greyhounds feed with a large proportion of farinaceous foods and claim a good showing, but, as one writer has in substance said, this is not decisive, and even better results might possibly have been attained had an all-meat diet been given.
There are breeders also who contend that more than one-third meat is demanded by all dogs, whether or not they are closely confined or being trained, or hard worked afield, while nearly as many insist that dogs on an average find ample support in a diet composed of six, eight, or
THE NATURAL DIET.
13
even a greater number of parts of vegetable foods to one of flesh.
At this point it is well to remind the reader who is at either extreme that circumstantial evidence is by no means always conclusive. Also, that no two breeds, nor even two members of the same breed, are so constituted that the food suitable for one is precisely as suitable for the other.
Now it is an indisputable fact that some breeders feed very largely on meat and their dogs do well. Not unnat- urally therefore they believe it to be the all-important food. On the other hand there are some who rely almost wholly on vegetables and starches, and they in turn are as strongly convinced that their diet is the only appropriate one for all dogs.
A novice accepts the theory of the first and feeds on flesh, but he does not meet with the success which he anticipated, and his dogs go wrong in the course of a few weeks and eventually become wrecks. Another tries the other theory, and with much the same ending — his dogs in time going to pieces.
The result of these unfortunate experiments would at first thought seem positive evidence that both theories were absolutely wrong, yet literally they proved merely that the diets employed were unsuited to the victims under the existing conditions. But had these dogs been placed under precisely the same conditions as those of the breeders whose radical views were accepted, then the results would undoubtedly have been different, and very likely each novice would have become an ardent advo- cate of the theory he adopted.
The fact is, there are many other influences which bear quite as heavily for or against the health of dogs as the dietetic, and one rightly fed may go wrong because of insuf-
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ficicnt exercise, improper cooking, damp, draughty quar- ters, neglect of cleanliness, foul drinking water, etc., while another fed indifferently, on food poorly suited to his wants, may yet remain in good health under kindly hygienic influences.
Equally as correct conclusions regarding the potency of these influences can be drawn from the experiences of men, for they act upon them as on dogs. Sailors, for instance, on fairly long voyages are forced to subsist largely on beef and pork which are submitted to methods of curing that render them so indigestible the nutritive properties retained are in such form that a goodly pro- portion can be extracted only with exceeding difficulty. These meats, with biscuits — very often “weevilly” — and canned goods for only rare change, make up the most of their bill of fare. Yet where can be found a healthier, hardier class than this — and all due to the pure air they are in and the hard work they are required to perform. But put these same men on shore in close-built cities or towns, let them live indolently and on the same kinds of food they had on shipboard, and they must soon decline in health and vigor.
On this subject man is singularly inclined to jump at conclusions. One calls attention to the fact that he is of a family of giants and that neither he nor any other mem- ber of it had scarcely any meat during childhood. He sees the city youngsters of to-day fed on mixed diet con- taining a large proportion of meat, and from this he rea- sons that their undergrowth and washed-out appearance are due to the meat. Yet he fails to realize that in his early years he doubtless consumed in the form of milk and eggs nearly if not quite as much animal food as they, and that in consequence of their peculiar situation in life these foods in fresh and pure state, and in abundance, are gen-
THE NATURAL DIET.
15
erally denied them, and meat is therefore substituted. He forgets, also, that he lived under very different hygienic conditions from theirs — he in the open country and in pure air, while they are in cities, which are rightly called the “graveyards of the human race moreover, that from his mother or his father there came to him a sturdy inheri- tance, while to the youngsters he looks down upon were more than likely bequeathed infirmities which had been in their families for several generations.
Men have theorized over their own diet for scores of years yet they are no nearer agreement now than they were in the beginning. One calls attention to the fact that Scotch Highlanders, the Irish, the peasantry of Italy, Spain, and Portugal, Chinamen, and other races thrive on oatmeal, potatoes, corn, chestnuts, olives, rice or lentils, with little or no meat, and that in Scotland a mountaineer will walk thirty or forty miles a day on oatmeal cakes or porridge with a little barley broth and a modicum of milk or butter, while an Indian palanquin-bearer will carry his burden twenty-five or thirty miles a day with only two meals of unleavened cakes and a little ghee.
Another points to the Eskimos, to the fishing popula- tion of Norway, and to the Pecherais of the southern end of South America, who subsist most of the time wholly on animal food ; also to the fact that for months the hunters of the West have little or no food but the flesh of the animals they kill.
What do these facts prove ? Merely that man can live on vegetable or on animal foods. There is nothing con- clusive in all this. Neither the flesh-eaters nor the vege- table-eaters as a whole are superior races ; and it is a sig- nificant fact that when the East Indian rebellion against the English occurred not many years ago some of the hardest fighters among the Hindus were the sepoys who had been accustomed by the English to a mixed diet.
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All this in relation to man’s diet, while seemingly for- eign, has a bearing on the diet of dogs, for he is singularly inclined to consider that their requirements are much the same as his own. But such reasoning is not always sound, for the dog is of a different order of animals and of dif- ferent structure, and although he has accommodated him- self to other than his natural diet there must be limits to his powers in this direction. Nor docs it follow that if one man is right and his dog is doing well on some peculiar diet all others who feed differently are in the wrong.
There is an old saw, “What is one man’s meat is another’s poison.” Nearly all mankind to whom they are accessible can safely eat strawberries, but still now and then is encountered a person on whom they bring out a most annoying rash. Nature’s first food for every child is animal — milk — and yet there are not a few peo- ple who are made ill by it. The egg is certainly one of the most harmless of foods, nevertheless instances are on record where the merest trace of it has caused con- vulsions.
But ignoring these idiosyncrasies, which are fortunately but rarely encountered in man, while if they exist in dogs they can scarcely be any more common, two persons sel- dom meet who are fond of and can digest with equal ease the same kinds of foods, and such being the case indi- vidual peculiarities surely must occur occasionally among their humble companions so often fed from the table.
Another fact which has a bearing on the question under discussion is, that the immediate results of diet are by no means to be accepted as final. In other .words, because a man or a dog apparently keeps healthy and strong for several years on nearly all meat or on nearly all vege- ■> tables, it does not follow that the chosen diet is a suitable one, for it might be doing harm and hidden
*
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THE NATURAL DIET. 1/
changes be going on which must sooner or later result disastrously.
And now to the conclusions. Physicians and sanita- rians after drawing from the accumulated experience of men under various circumstances have generally agreed that with healthy people living in the open country, not working very hard, and having an abundance of good wholesome vegetable foods, meat is not necessary ; while on the other hand it is necessary where the air is not pure, the wear and tear on the nervous system is great, and the work is hard.
Practically the same conclusion must be reached with dogs after an intelligent study of them under various con- ditions. While their nature is such they must have some meat always, the quantity must be adjusted to the amount of work given them. And notwithstanding the potency of the force of habit which enables a dog to accommodate himself to quite decided changes from his natural diet, if he has been very active and accustomed to much meat from puppyhood up, and the quantity of this food is sud- denly reduced and he is given a diet composed largely of vegetables, and allowed to continue to take as much exer- cise as usual, he will surely fall off in condition. Now apply the same radical treatment to another dog that has been accustomed to a vegetable diet and give him meat in large quantities but no more work, and evil results are as certain.
Obviously therefore although men differ widely on this matter, and one contends that a diet of meat is best for his dogs, while another stoutly maintains that his require this food only in very small quantities and that vegetables and starches are nearly sufficient for their support, it does not follow that one or both must be wrong.
Limiting the question to them, both may be right, for
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the dogs of one because of being worked hard may actu- ally demand a diet largely of flesh, while the dogs of the other in consequence of being much confined may require but a small proportion of this food; and neither kennel would do well on the diet of the other. But for either of the owners of these dogs to assert that his is the only true theory, and that it should be accepted by all, and the entire canine race, no matter how placed, should be fed accordingly, is manifestly absurd.
Here again one is confronted with the theory that in all animals, including man, the stomach recognizes its own wants, but which, perhaps strangely, is not so generally accepted when applied to the quantity of food that is evi- dently required. If the appetite be ravenous the average caretaker is not likely to assume it to be trustworthy evi- dence and feed accordingly, but, as a rule, he jumps to the conclusion that it is an indication of perversion, therefore ,* practically ignores it. Whereas it should be not only con- sidered seriously, but often the appetite be satisfied, or at least the quantity of food allowed be much more generous, the fact being in mind always that with older pups or matured dogs it is very generally an indication of worms. If harboring them, certainly the victims must have the extra support which their appetite craves.
CHAPTER II.
VARIETIES OF ANIMAL FOODS.
As stated in the foregoing, puppies while young and growing require in proportion a more generous quantity of animal food for muscle and bone building than they will after they are mature and their structures are com- plete. This does not mean, however, that they should have a greater proportion of meat than mature dogs, for while yet they are very young, milk will supply them with all the needed materials ; but it must prove insufficient after a time, and this comes much sooner with the large than with the small breeds.
Narrowing the question to meat, as with mature dogs much depends upon existing circumstances. Manifestly a mastiff puppy requires more meat than a pointer, and a Yorkshire still less than the latter. Again, in all litters of reasonable size there are some that need more stimu- lating food than others, consequently they must be given larger proportions of meat.
In solving this problem the age must of course be con- sidered, also the amount of exercise taken. For instance, in the first three months puppies are much less active
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than they are during the three following, consequently even were they able properly to digest large quantities of meat soon after the weaning they must not be given them lest their blood and systems be rendered impure thereby. But as they grow older and exercise more, and by this means more quickly eliminate the waste from their bodies, the proportion of meat can be safely increased, although in all instances it must be done gradually, and in some it will be found that the increase required from month to month need not be very great.
It is absolutely impossible, therefore, to fix a rule to govern the proportion of meat for puppies. Considering them as a whole, however, also the quantity of milk that they generally take and the number of meals they have daily, it can safely be accepted that about one-fourth is near right for them after they are three or four months old. But as already intimated it should be larger where they are of the largest breeds, provided always the increase is well borne and the growth more rapid and sturdy under it. On the other hand, the proportion should be less for smaller breeds, many of which will thrive and keep healthy and strong on a diet in which meat only appears occasion- ally and then in small quantities.
For excess in animal foods there are fixed penalties, and under some conditions of life they are more severe than for those of excess in vegetable foods. While the latter tends to the production of obesity, which in itself is a very serious matter, as with brood bitches, and to dis- eases especially of the skin, as eczema, the former strikes deeper, and lessens greatly functional activity and leads to an accumulation of impurities within the system.
These effects were well illustrated in two mastiffs, bred by the writer, which a few years ago excited much interest in breeders of their variety, for the reason that they were,
ANIMAL FOODS.
21
as far as known, the largest pair ever raised from the same litter. Both were sold to the same gentleman, the dog puppy in the tenth week and his sister when eight and one-half months old. Their purchaser being an ardent believer in the theory that flesh alone is appropriate food for the dog, fed almost solely on it, and at the tenth month they were each accustomed to eat between four and five pounds daily. Marvellous development was the result, but it was attained at a terrible cost, for the dog died at maturity of what was called a cancerous disease, and his sister followed him in less than a year ; she, according to the report of her owner, “breaking out with fearful sores, wasting rapidly and dying after a short illness.”
It is reasonable to assume that these mastiffs living lazy, luxurious lives, were destroyed by excess of animal food. And it is a significant fact that the sister, which had been fed on a mixed diet until eight and one-half months of age, yielded to the excess after suffering from it for about the same length of time as her brother.
While considering the evil consequences of excess in animal food attention can properly be directed to the effects of excess in foods properly combined and in cor- rect proportions. Among the most constant of these are disordered digestion, derangements of the bowels, vitiated secretions, torpid action of the vital organs generally, obesity, perverted nutrition, and as concomitants, fatty degeneration and organic diseases. Chronic or perma- nent distension of the stomach is another disastrous con- sequence of habitually overloading this organ ; which, while it is doubtless frequently acquired after maturity, for obvious reasons far more often occurs during the early months of puppyhood. And it is well to add that once it becomes permanent it can never be overcome ; and in after life there is always a tendency to indigestion, nutri-
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tion invariably suffers, and as a rule the victims are low in flesh no matter how wisely and generously they are fed.
The question of preparation of animal food deserves a passing notice. Undoubtedly flesh can be rendered more digestible by the means of cooking, and where that is rightly done, all things considered, it can justly be held as best under the usual conditions of life. But when the processes of cooking are faulty and the way in which they are conducted is indifferent, speaking generally, it is safe to say that meat in its raw state would be better suited to digestion, provided it was in a form which rendered it easily accessible to the digestive fluids — that is, if it was torn or bruised and in small pieces.
Boiling is the method usually resorted to in kennels, it being the most convenient. Aside from the faults of practice it is open to some quite decided objections, the most pronounced of which is, that it renders the muscular fibre difficult of digestion whether the same is a mass of hard strings, as it were, or finely divided. Soups in which the meat has softened down and “boiled away” are highly nutritious, yet although broken up in minute fragments the muscular fibre is scarcely more digestible than it was while in one mass ; moreover these fragments are now enveloped in the gelatine of the meat, — extracted by the long continued high heat, — and this to some extent prevents their being acted on by the digestive fluids.
Notwithstanding this lessened digestibility of the meat, dogs are capable of disposing of these soups to good advan- tage if the quantity is properly restricted, but if in excess much of them is unaffected during their journey through the body, and is therefore wasted ; and, besides, the diges- tive organs are very likely to rebel and become deranged in consequence of the imposition.
fiRAIVD HEARS
ANIMAL FOODS.
23
As for fresh meats cooked for the table, unless of course a perfect contempt for culinary laws is exhibited, they can safely be regarded as quite well suited to the digestion of dogs, also, as containing the most of the nutritive proper- ties of these foods. And where dogs share the diet of their masters, or in other words are fed on scraps from the table, and the quantity of meat given them is ample, it is scarcely necessary to consider the question of quality or that of cooking.
But considering the popular method of cooking meat specially for dogs and the want of care which so many exhibit in its application, the conclusion is inevitable that under certain conditions of life they should be fed on raw meat while those conditions last.
That this may be accepted the fact is urged that no matter how scientific the process of cooking, alterations of a chemical nature are induced in meat and some of its nutritive elements are wasted. Were man perfectly familiar with all the inner workings of the dog’s mech- anism, the demands in the way of food and the peculiari- ties of his organs concerned in digestion, then the problem of supply required for the growth and health of the body and to renew the loss from wear and tear, etc., might pos- sibly be worked out. But the dietician has yet to enter this province, and at present only rough estimates can be made, and a very wide margin must be left to cover the many conditions, fixed or accidental, of which little or nothing is known.
Thus far experience has shown the writer that bitches in-pup which are occasionally allowed raw meat during the periods of gestation and nursing are stronger and healthier, give whelp to more vigorous puppies and prove better support for the same, than bitches fed entirely on cooked meat during these periods — that is, on meat
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cooked specially for them. The reason for the superior qualities is of course problematical, but it would seem that either raw meat was more easily digested by them and more readily converted with less waste into materials for building, for renovation of the body, etc., than cooked meat, or that raw meat contained highly important ele- ments in better forms or more correct proportions for the work in which they were engaged, and to support them while doing it, than cooked meat.
Experience has also shown that in many morbid states of the system not only is raw meat more acceptable to the digestive organs, but recovery takes place much more rap- idly under its use than it does under the use of cooked meat. And another product of experience is the fact that puppies to which raw meat is given often and judiciously, thrive better, grow in structure with greater rapidity, assume more massive proportions and are less frequently ailing than those given cooked meat only, although the quantity of meat is the same in both instances.
But there is a bitter prejudice against the giving of uncooked meat to dogs because of the parasites which it sometimes contains. Beyond doubt this danger exists, for nations habituated to the use of raw meat are notori- ous harborers of tapeworms ; but still the writer believes that much greater alarm is felt than is justifiable. Man is as easily infected as dogs, yet among people of civilized countries cases of tapeworms are never frequent, — in fact they are rare except in imagination, in which pictures of them are drawn by pretenders to medical skill, who have methods of their own for deluding their patients. And considering this rarity, also that cooking as often applied will not destroy the vitality of these parasites, raw meat cannot be nearly as fierce a menace as generally reputed.
ANIMAL FOODS.
2 5
This is true of the kinds of meat which appear on the table while yet partially cooked, or “done rare,” as com- monly expressed, but there are evidently animal sub- stances— some of them are occasionally eaten by man — often fed out to dogs, from which far greater danger is to be apprehended unless they are first submitted to a boiling temperature. Among such are the hearts, livers, lungs — called “lights” by many — paunches and other internal organs. Even greater danger lurks in the entrails of many animals ; and these, whether from sheep, cattle, horses or game, should be given to dogs only after they have been thoroughly boiled for the purpose of destroying what parasites are present. The brains of certain ani- mals, especially the sheep, are also a so.urce of danger, which must exclude them from the diet until they have been treated in the same way as the entrails.
These dangers from so many different sources can, however, be easily obviated by observing the simple rule, to feed to dogs, while yet in the raw state, only good, sound and wholesome beef or mutton, and thoroughly cook all other flesh foods allowed them. This religiously adhered to, the danger of parasites from animal foods will be very slight indeed and need not occasion any uneasiness.
Breeders generally are much prejudiced against pork, and rightly so, for it is rich and burdensome to the diges- tive organs — in fact of all meats it is the most difficult of digestion. At the same time to what are called “scraps” by some and “ cracklings ” by others, which are the refuse of melting or refining, there can be no valid objection as an occasional ingredient of the diet of hardy dogs. But instead of giving them, as is sometimes the custom, as they are broken from the cakes, much the better way is to make soups of them and thicken the same with vegetable foods.
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Although liver is nearly as deserving of prejudice as pork it frequently appears before dogs, and doubtless it is accountable for many mysterious attacks of diarrhoea, for it is one of the richest of foods and as difficult of digestion as it is rich. Considering which only an occasional and sparing use should be the rule.
As for what are known as “ lights,” some writers recom- mend them, yet a person would not be likely to feed them to a house pet more than once, for they give the breath an intolerable stench, which can be accepted as unmis- takable evidence that decomposition occurred and advanced far before the stomach completed its task.
In the giving of raw meat there are certain precautions to be observed which are well worth considering here. The dog commonly “ bolts ” the food placed before him largely because there is little if any necessity for him to do otherwise, but accustom him to foods which require mastication and the assistance of the saliva, and he soon shows that he has sense — or instinct — enough to know that he must chew them before he swallows them. In feeding raw meat the facts are often ignored that dogs have teeth for cutting and tearing, and that if the same are industriously used on this food it will be converted into a form favorable for digestion. As a consequence the erroneous practice of giving it to them in pieces but little smaller than the fist is a common one ; and to this can be attributed many of the digestive disturbances of which breeders have occasionally complained and for which they have blamed the food.
It ought not to be necessary to urge that raw meat for dogs, old and young, that are fairly healthy and have good, sound teeth should when possible be put before them in a form which will make it necessary for them to cut, tear and crush it before it can be swallowed ; or in other words
ANIMAL FOODS.
2 7
it should be in very large pieces, and preferably attached to bones of good size. And when it cannot be obtained in suitable form it should be cut into small pieces or crushed with a mallet before it is fed out ; or if intended for puppies or for the sick it should always be minced or scraped.
It will scarcely do utterly to ignore without comment that ancient idea that meat injures the dog’s “nose.” Where this food is given intelligently its effect upon the scenting powers is transitory merely and limited solely to the period of active digestion. In other words, after he has eaten his fill of meat, for two or three hours his sense of smell is less keen, but as soon as digestion is well advanced it is restored and just as powerful as before eat- ing. And it can safely be said that a sporting dog might be allowed meat from puppyhood until incapacitated by age and his “ nose ” would not in the slightest degree fall off in consequence of his diet. But meat will injure this sense if it is given out of proportion to the amount of work or exercise, for then the dog is sure to become feverish and his “ nose ” as well as his general health must fail him. And where such failure has occurred in con- sequence of meat it has been invariably due to the lack of judgment on the part of the owners — they giving too much of this food and too little exercise.
The habit of burying meat, so common among dogs, has been the subject of speculation, and two theories have been advanced in explanation. One is, that they do it to ripen it and render it more digestible — possibly, also, that it may acquire a richer flavor. Yet dogs often bury meat that is literally putrid, and the other theory seems the most plausible — that so great is their fondness for this food they will eat it in any form, and, like all animals of the same family, store away and conceal if possible for
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the future what remains after their appetites have been satisfied or their jaws have tired from gnawing.
The reader will do well to accept this solution of the problem, for otherwise he might assume that meat even in advanced stages of decomposition would be good enough and not impossibly preferable for his dogs. He may accept as a fact that all tainted meat is poisonous, although it is less so to dogs than to men because of their greater powers of resistance. In fact a quantity of food poison that would kill a man might not have any apprecia- ble effect upon his dog. But notwithstanding this there are limits, and of course no one knows where they are placed ; consequently the wisest and safest plan to pursue is to feed dogs on foods that are above suspicion.
It is well to add that of all animal foods none undergo poisonous changes as quickly as liver, and when but slightly tainted it is extremely likely to cause severe diarrhoea.
It is evidently a part of the plan of Nature that a rela- tion should exist between the general character of an ani- mal and its food, and in keeping with this flesh-eaters are in general bolder and more combative than the vegetable- eaters upon which they prey. The same relation also appears in animals that subsist on a mixed diet, and man affords one of the best illustrations of it. Assuming that he has been living on a diet in which the proportions of these foods are about three parts vegetables to one of meat, now let him increase the quantity of meat and lessen that of vegetables, and the chances are many that if of a refined and easy-going, well-balanced nature he will before many weeks show some gross qualities and become more or less peevish and exacting. And returning again to his original diet his good-natured disposition will be restored.
.
THE ST. BERNARD, “SIB BEDIVERE
ANIMAL FOODS.
29
The same relation and about the same degree of inti- macy exists in dogs, and one quiet and gentle while being fed largely on vegetables will more than likely become a little bolder and perhaps be less good-natured towards strangers. And in this case, as in the other, the animal food acts as a stimulant and arouses the natural ferocity, which although evidences of it may under ordinary condi- tions be wanting yet exists in every flesh-eating animal.
However, this action of meat upon dogs is not suffi- ciently intense to make it worthy of consideration ; and where they have become savage under its generous use, were the truth known it would doubtless appear that in nearly all cases they had been much kept on the chain at the time, and the perversion of nature was due far more to the restraint than to the diet. In a word, treat a dog humanely, and his diet, no matter how generous the pro- portion of meat, will very seldom injure his nature.
Reverting to the culinary preparation of animal food, it is again urged that when the popular method, boiling, is applied, in every instance the water or broth be fed out with the meat because this contains important elements, extracted during the cooking, which the body must have for its support, especially if under heavy drains, as during gestation and nursing.
As practically stated, to occasionally vary the form of the meat in the diet from cooked to raw is advisable, but the latter can scarcely be wisely given with vegetables and starches, unless it is finely minced and so thoroughly mixed with them it cannot be picked out. Hence, when it is to be but a part of a feed, it should be withheld until the last, for the other foods might be left untouched — the keen edge of the appetite having been taken off by the much more palatable morsels.
As for bones, they have rightly been called the dog’s
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tooth brush, for by means of them matters which accu- mulate on the teeth are largely removed. Those which are soft and can be easily crushed, as the body bones of calves, sheep, etc., should be given at frequent intervals, but hard bones endanger the teeth ; and the small and dense, which sliver on breaking, are especially forbid- den as likely to cause intestinal obstruction — an acci- dent which has proved fatal to many valuable dogs.
A word as to horse-flesh. That of healthy horses which have been killed by accident or in consequence of acci- dent can safely be accepted as good food for dogs, whereas the flesh of horses destroyed by disease should be con- sidered dangerous, although of course it might not always be so.
Meat with all its bearings having been freely discussed, there remain for consideration a few other animal foods of value in the kennels ; and these are milk, eggs, and fish.
Milk, Nature’s first food for a certain class of animals, necessarily contains all the elements required for the growth of the body, and therefore it must be placed high in the list of materials at command for feeding dogs — old as well as young. But while a perfect food for the latter, its value lessens as age advances because its important elements are so diluted with water ; and before a mature dog could obtain enough of them it would be neces- sary literally to swamp his alimentary canal. In fact, were it alone depended upon a dog of the largest variety would scarcely find support in less than a gallon of milk daily; and this quantity taken continually would speedily injure his digestive system ; moreover, he would soon weaken unless kept much at rest, for while milk builds up tissues they cannot withstand very hard labor.
But notwithstanding all this, new milk is a valuable
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food for dogs of all ages, and beyond its supportive effects it has an admirable action on the skin and coat. And really no more solid rule can be fixed than to let all dogs make their breakfasts on it, either alone or thick- ening slightly with some of the starchy foods.
Skimmed milk, as all must know, is simply milk that has parted with a certain amount of its oleaginous matter or cream, while its tissue-building materials have all been retained. It is therefore nourishing, and merely lacks the force-producing elements of the milk.
As for buttermilk, this also contains all of any value except the fatty matter, while, like skimmed milk, it is scarcely less refreshing and nutritious than new milk ; and those who cannot afford the latter should by all means, in summer certainly, be well supplied with one of the others — the cost of which is but a trifle compara- tively— and give it to their dogs in generous quantities for breakfast.
The difference between the skimmed and the new is not likely to be noted ; but buttermilk is at first less agree- able to the taste, yet a fondness for it is generally soon acquired, and it can always be gratified, for this milk is no burden to digestion, nor is it at all likely to affect the bowels unpleasantly, as many think it inclined to do.
Some dogs take kindly to sour milk, and if so it can safely be allowed them in reasonable quantities, but breeders will do well to withhold it from very young puppies, although within the experience of the writer it only occasionally does harm. As for its anthelmintic powers, which are generally thought to be considerable, if it possesses any such they are of small account.
This list of animal foods would be far from complete were eggs not included, for in conditioning the well and
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feeding the sick they could scarcely be dispensed with. Like milk they contain all the elements needed to sustain nutrition, yet some of them are greatly in excess of what would be required for support, while other and no less important essentials appear in such small amounts that in order to obtain all his system demanded, were a dog of the largest size to live on eggs he would be obliged to eat very nearly two dozen each day.
There is, of course, no truth in the popular saying that “an egg is as good as a pound of meat,” for in proportion to its weight it is equally as nourishing as meat, and no more. But it has qualities which in some directions make it more valuable as a food than meat ; and herein it greatly resembles cod-liver oil — for the yolk is very nearly one- third fat. In fact for medicinal purposes, the relative pro- portions of fatty matter duly considered, eggs are of no less value than that medicine.
When “ spoon-feeding ” is necessary, as in times of sickness and once in a while in conditioning for dog * shows, no other food can approach the egg in impor- tance, being as it is concentrated and so easy of digestion that even if the organs concerned in the process are enfee- bled they are yet able to dispose of it speedily and advan- tageously.
Again, eggs are most efficient accessories, for the rea. son that quickly and easily digested and absorbed as they are — except of course when in large quantities — they scarcely lessen the appetite for other foods, hence can be given in the morning, also at noon if required in special cases, and the evening meal will generally be as accept- able and taken with as much relish as if*it were the only one of the day. Beyond this, nearly all foods can be fortified by them without their presence being detected.
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In feeding the sick, the whites as well as the yolks of eggs can be given in ail instances where the stomach will retain them ; and when vomited, if the yolks are removed and only the whites administered not only will they gen- erally remain on the stomach but have an agreeable, soothing action on its lining membrane.
To a dog that has fallen off in coat and is under weight no better dietetic treatment can be administered than plenty of new milk with one, two, or more — according to his size — raw eggs, lightly beaten up in it for break- fast, and the same number at noon in about half the quan- tity of milk taken in the morning. And if he is a dainty feeder, when night comes another egg or two can wisely be mixed with his meat.
If merely suffering from derangement a dog is quite sure to “pick up” quickly under this treatment, and he will very often do so even when down with disease ; while in the presence of good health raw eggs can be given fre- quently, with the assurance that the dogs will be all the better for the change.
It is scarcely necessary to add that whether for man or dogs the eggs should always be fresh, for when stale, even if they have made no near approach to decay, they are far less easily digested than the new-laid.
The subject of fish is one soon disposed of. All kinds that have been recently caught and properly cooked can occasionally be used in feeding dogs, but merely to vary the diet, for while nutritious, as usually served they are not very digestible ; moreover, dogs seldom show any fond- ness for this food and generally eat it under protest, as it were.
When it is to be prepared specially for dogs the method to be employed is boiling ; and unless the fish are very large it is advisable to enclose them in bags
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made of thin and coarse materials before putting them into the kettles.
After thoroughly cooking with a few vegetables the “meat” should be picked from the bones and returned to the broth, which should then be thickened with bread or some starchy food that has been well cooked.
CHAPTER III.
VEGETABLE FOODS.
Many who have publicly discussed the subject of feed- ing have stoutly asserted that vegetable substances are absolutely unfit for dogs ; and the reason which the most scientific of them have advanced is, that these animals are incapable of digesting or converting into components of their bodies the saccharine and farinaceous matters yielded by such substances.
While the matters in question are not digested in the stomachs of dogs, but pass down unchanged into the small intestine, experiments have proved that the fluids of the lat- ter transform starch into sugar with the greatest prompti- tude, and that it is then rapidly absorbed ; also, that if a dog is given meat with one of the meals, as oatmeal or Indian meal, abounding in starchy matter, while some of the former remains in his stomach for several hours, the latter immediately begins to pass into the intestine, and the whole of the starch even may have completely disap- peared in an hour’s time.
It is plainly evident therefore that Nature has made provision for the digestion of starchy foods.
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But notwithstanding this, considering vegetable sub- stances as a whole, the fact remains that they do not con- tain in convenient form all that is necessary for the support of all dogs under all conditions, and were the entire race fed on them alone, while some might possibly keep well and strong, the infinite majority would in time decline in health and vigor, lacking as they do that com- plex elaborating system which is required for ready con- version of these substances into all the different kinds of materials — the heavy as well as the light timbers — imperatively demanded for structure-building and repairs. But still, as urged in the foregoing chapters, they con- tribute in various ways not a little to the welfare of dogs, hence the most serviceable of them deserve consideration here.
Commencing with garden produce, there are noted a number of vegetables against which with scarcely an exception dogs have strong antipathies and from which they will generally turn unless the same are served and thoroughly intermingled with appetizing foods. And this natural aversion is quite fairly distributed although it seems specially strong towards the potato — very likely for the reason that it is the most common of its class and most frequently appears before them.
Yet while it is not easily digestible and should be excluded from the diet when old or imperfectly cooked, if comparatively young and well cooked and mashed there is nothing objectionable about this vegetable, — in fact it can wisely be used occasionally as an accessory food. And although it contributes but little in the way of sup- port and vigor there is no denying that it has health- giving properties, the immediate effect of which appears to be on the blood itself, the integrity of which it seems to favor.
THE SMOOTH-COATED ST. BERN Alt D, “KEEPER.
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Practically the same may be said of the carrot, turnip, parsnip, and beet-root, all of which the dog is capable of digesting, provided always the quantity is small and they are properly cooked and well mashed. But while they supply in limited amount a few of the materials required by the body, for their nutritive and force-producing proper- ties purely they are of small value to the dog, and for him their highest importance lies in their tendency to assist in keeping the constitution of the blood unimpaired.
As for such vegetables as cabbages, the tops of turnips, beets, nettles, spinach, dandelion and other “ greens,” they contain but little real nutriment, nor is much of them digested or absorbed ; still they favor the digestion of “ hearty ” foods and possess all the properties of value which have been conceded to the tubers.
In a word, while not nutritious themselves they seem to make other foods more nutritious ; moreover, being largely composed of woody fibre and chlorophyl, which are but slightly if at all soluble in the digestive fluids, they act mechanically as stimulants to the bowels, and so tend to keep them open and free.
Under certain conditions of life, as when fed generously but deprived of exercise sufficient to eliminate the waste — composed of undigested foods and used-up matters — the blood becomes overloaded with impurities, in which state it is often, for convenience, termed inflammable by physicians, while laymen are wont to say that it is “heated up,” the terms being suggested by the very strong ten- dency which then exists to inflammations. And these, by the way, are singularly liable to manifest themselves in the skin where dogs are the victims of the accumulated impurities.
It is in such conditions as this that the vegetables in question have a decidedly good effect by improving the
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action of the bowels — the great waste avenue or sewer — which under their impulse carry from the blood more than usual of its impurities ; and at the same time this vital fluid feels directly some of the properties of the vegeta- bles and is doubtless more or less purged by them.
Onions, garlic, cress and other like substances of pun- gent flavors have been credited with medicinal virtues of marked character, while the first named is believed by some to be a sure preventive as well as destroyer of worms. They are all stimulants and cause an increased secretion of the saliva and gastric juice, and in this way favor digestion, provided they are used in moderation, while like all other stimulants they cause irritation when pushed too far.
As for the supposed anthelmintic virtues of onions, the only testimony offered that they possess any such comes from a few breeders who, accustomed to flavor their soups with them, and their dogs having fortunately escaped worms, have jumped at the conclusion that the credit belongs to this vegetable. It really contains an acrid, volatile oil that is strongly irritating and stimulating, and were worms to encounter it in goodly quantities and in concentrated form it would doubtless prove anything but pleasant to them, and might, like all other irritant oils, have some destructive effect. But much of it is lost in cooking. Moreover the proportion of onions to the other ingredients in soups for dogs is scarcely greater than that in like foods prepared for man, consequently it is not reasonable to suppose that it has the reputed effect.
From this brief consideration of garden produce the conclusion is justified that vegetables can be advanta- geously employed in feeding dogs, to vary the diet, render certain foods more nutritious and wholesome, stimulate the secretion of the digestive solvents, improve the action
THE ST. BERJVARDS, “EMPRESS OF (OATOOCOOK’’ AiVI> “ LADY GLADWTIV.
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of the bowels, and contribute towards the maintenance of the integrity of the blood.
It is scarcely necessary to add that when used they should be as fresh and free from taint as those on the table, and that no reliance should be placed upon them as supports, the fact being kept in mind that to dogs they afford but very little nourishment.
Of the farinaceous substances or bread-stuffs, called, also, starchy foods, for the reason that starch is the chief constituent of them all, those commonly fed to dogs are wheat, oats, maize or Indian corn, and rice.
Were it best that that kind of food only should be used which embraces in a given quantity the greatest amount of nutrition, then all but animal foods might be dispensed with ; but economy aside, obviously the nutritious and unnu- tritious kinds should be used together, otherwise as the average dog of to-day is placed his digestive organs would be likely to break down in time ; and even did this not occur, good form and condition would scarcely be possible. Admitting this, which is certainly within reason, the starchy substances must be accepted as good articles of diet when used in conjunction with other and more nutritious foods.
Of these substances wheat is of the highest value, con- taining as it does the most flesh-forming and energy-pro- ducing materials, and although it deserves consideration merely as an accessory food it has been shown by experi- ment that dogs can subsist upon it alone for a long time and retain health and vigor, provided they are allowed all parts of the grain. But they could not do this on wheat as generally set before them — that is, as white bread, which for them is far from being a “staff of life.” In fact it is practically valueless except as a vehicle for, or to give substance to, other and rich foods which might
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prove burdensome to the digestive organs were thay served in concentrated forms.
This bread is very well suited to the wants of man, for although it is deficient in important nutritive principles — thrown out in the processes of bolting and sifting — he takes in other foods and ways like principles in sufficient quantities, and oftentimes in a more digestible form than that in which they appear in wheat. Hence, notwith- standing much that has been written about the superi- ority of wheat meal — simply the produce of grinding — over wheat flour, all things considered, bread made of the latter is of quite as high a value to him as the “brown bread,” which is made of the meal and contains the exter- nal as well as the internal parts of the grain.
But the diet of dogs is not varied to such an extent as that of man, and were much white bread given them to the exclusion of other and more nutritious foods they must be deprived of many principles required for their support, not the least important of which are the nutri- tive salts — highly essential to the bone and other tis- sues — and in consequence decline in health and vigor, although they might still appear in good condition, remaining very nearly at weight under its fattening influence.
This fact should sink deeply into the minds of those breeders who are accustomed to feed their dogs largely on trimmings and broken and stale pieces of bread, for to ignorance of it or failure to accept its importance can be attributed untimely deaths of some of the most valu- able members of the race this country has ever known.
Such bread remnants if untainted are all very well in their way, for when softened with broths and mixed with meat they render these foods more digestible as well as slightly more nutritious ; at the same time they
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harmlessly increase the quantity — a matter of no little importance in using highly concentrated foods which would scarcely satisfy the appetite of the average dog unless more than he could properly assimilate was allowed.
In brief, bread made from finer grades of wheat flour yields so little nourishment to the dog that it is of value merely for admixture with other foods, which alone should be very nearly sufficient for his support — that is, without the bread.
As for “ brown bread ” proper, called Graham bread by many, it is decidedly richer in nutritive matters than the white bread, for it contains all parts of the wheat grain. Owing also to the presence of the particles of bran — which are indigestible and by their roughness stimulate the muscular coat of the alimentary canal, and so aid irr keeping the bowels free — this bread is of special value in feeding dogs that are allowed but little exercise. And it may be given with meat alone, in about the proportion of three parts bread to one of meat, or mixed with other starchy foods — as for instance, one-half “brown bread,” one-fourth rice, one-fourth meat, and perhaps one or two eggs, the bread being softened always with a little broth, and the meat chopped fine and well mixed with it and the other foods.
But this “ brown bread ” must not be confounded with what is known as “ Boston brown bread.” The former, as stated, is made from “whole wheat flour,” or in other words from bran and flour, and has much of the lightness and porosity of white bread, but the latter contains various ingredients, some of which tend to lessen its digesti- bility. And withal, while fresh it forms in the stomach a pasty mass which the digestive fluids find it hard to per- meate, and in consequence their work is delayed.
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The “ Boston brown bread,” therefore, is of less value to dogs than white bread, and it should only be given them after it has been long baked or kept until it is dry and hard. In all instances, also, it should be mixed with other foods, as broths, meat, milk, etc., which in them- selves contain very nearly sufficient nourishment. And the quantity of this bread in a single meal must always be small — not more than one-half of that which would be allowable were it white bread or “ brown bread ” proper.
Bread trimmings are quite extensively used in kennels, they being obtainable in cities of dealers who contract for them with keepers of hotels, restaurants, etc., and sell them for much less than the cost of their ingredients. And such being the case, something can properly be said here as to the methods of keeping them.
As soon as they are received these trimmings should be carefully examined, one by one, and all that are in the slightest degree mouldy should be thrown away as worse than valueless. At the same time the loaves or parts of loaves of “ Boston brown bread ” should be cut into pieces not larger than the hand, that they may speedily dry. This done, the remnants should be spread out in a dry and well-ventilated room, it being borne in mind that in the presence of dampness they mould quickly, also that when this change has occurred they are absolutely poisonous.
In this country doubtless more maize or Indian corn is used in feeding dogs than any other starchy food, and notwithstanding the very bitter prejudice of some breeders against it, it really affords a good, serviceable accessory food, provided it is rightly prepared and fed out, for it contains a fairly good proportion of flesh-forming mate- rials and is rich in fat. Yet except when deprived of its
THE CHEAT MAKE, “ UANniBAL THE CHEAT.”
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hull and in the form of grits or hominy it is not as digestible as wheat, oatmeal or rice ; moreover its pecu- liar taste must generally be disguised or dogs will turn from it unless very hungry.
It is absolutely necessary to cook this meal for at least three hours, otherwise it will be highly indigestible and much of it will journey through the intestinal canal and pass out unchanged in the discharges, and possibly cause diarrhoea. And here appears one reason for the disrepute into which it has fallen with breeders, they failing to meet this requirement and using it when practically raw ; while another pronounced reason is, that for weeks and months it is generally made the staple food and rarely varied from.
But while it is not suited to toys, because like all such meals it is somewhat “ heating,” because, also, this and other coarse meals are not relished by them, when given to other varieties no unpleasant results need be appre- hended if care and judgment are exhibited.
The proper way to use it is for admixture with other starches as well as meat. For instance, without consid- ering the vegetables or soup, let one feeding be made up of one-half boiled corn meal, one-fourth bread and one- fourth meat ; the next time substitute rice for the bread ; and so on — always softening the starches with the broth from the meat.
Corn meal has also been blamed for skin diseases, and notably eczema, and here again many of the complainants must have been at fault in keeping it until its oily con- stituents had become rancid, in which condition it is dele- terious alike to man and animals, and in both has a special tendency to excite cutaneous affections, some of which are even more serious than eczema.
Excepting it is done in a suitable apparatus and by
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steam, the work of cooking this meal by boiling is diffi- cult and laborious, for unless it is stirred constantly it is quite sure to burn ; and in the absence of as careful watching as the meal demands, but few to whom the duty is intrusted are likely to stand over a hot fire the number of hours required in the process. Therefore, if without a steam cooker or boiler, all who must trust to hired help not above suspicion should insist that after the puddings have been made they be transferred from the kettles to shallow baking pans, put into hot ovens, and kept there for several hours at least, — and convenience suggests over night — by which means they will be converted into dry and crisp corn cakes, which are easily digested, whereas a mass of half-cooked pasty pudding is like lead to the stomach.
Cakes made of this meal alone are serviceable merely for admixture with meat and vegetables; but were meat, either cooked or raw, “ beef-flour ” or cracklings, added to them in goodly quantities before baking they might with propriety occasionally constitute an evening meal.
Oatmeal compares favorably with wheat and corn as far as relates to flesh-producing matter, and when it has been rightly boiled some dogs digest it well, but with others it very evidently disagrees ; while if improperly cooked it is extremely indigestible and irritating to the lining of the alimentary canal. And at best it is decidedly “ heating.”
Invariably, at least three hours of constant boiling are required in its preparation, and this faithfully done, it may be used to thicken broths or milk, but the quantity must be small — much smaller than that of corn meal — and only occasional use will be allowable, it being regarded merely as a means of varying the diet not as a means of nourishment.
TIIE GREAT WAIVE, “IVAMHOE
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As for serving it to dogs as man sometimes eats it, as beef brose — made by stirring the oatmeal into hot broth — or as porridge or gruel, in which it is seldom if ever cooked, it would be a mean imposition upon the digestive organs, which would more than likely be attended by gas- tric and intestinal disturbance.
Rice is extremely poor in tissue-building and energy- producing matters, being very nearly pure starch, yet it is by no means to be despised, and as a matter of fact it is one of the most serviceable of the starchy accessories, while for toys like Yorkshire terriers it is really the staple food.
When properly cooked it is digested with the greatest ease, hence is well borne even where the digestive organs are disordered. Furthermore, it is neither laxative nor constipating. Again, it is a food which can without im- propriety be termed “cooling,” for it is absolutely want- ing in stimulating properties, and can safely be given in febrile states without fear of intensifying the existing trouble and fever; while in conditions of the system in which there is a tendency to inflammation or a “ heating up ” of the blood, it never, in the slightest degree, aggra- vates such tendency.
Consequently it can rightly be said to constitute a food of exceeding value, especially for toys that are peculiarly liable to be “ heated up ” and as a result have “ breakings out ” of the skin, also for all other breeds when they exhibit like tendencies. And with its other good quali- ties it is fattening, therefore a useful aliment with all that are under weight.
But while rice is all this, the fact that it is deficient in nutritive principles must not go out of sight, and when used it should be with other foods, as meat and its products and milk, which can compensate for those prin- ciples in which it is wanting.
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Dogs arc sometimes given rye in the bread trimmings from the table. Some breeders, also, have a meal made of equal parts of this grain, oats and corn, and bake the same in cakes ; and this combination is said to act well on hardy dogs that are given a very great amount of exer- cise every day.
Alone, however, it is not a serviceable food except as an occasional change, and small quantities at long intervals should be the rule, otherwise obstinate indigestion would be likely to result. Nor should it be considered a “cor- rective”— to overcome constipation — for green vege- tables are more efficient, besides far more friendly to digestion.
Barley greatly resembles rye in nutritive power and solubility, and a little that has been well boiled is now and then quite right for a change if it is served with meat, boiled tripe or the like, but any considerable quantity and often is not advisable.
The starchy foods that are likely to find their way into the diet of dogs have now been considered, but before leaving them there are still a few pertinent facts to be brought out, and some already given can properly be reverted to for the purpose of emphasis.
Notwithstanding dogs are capable of digesting these foods their powers are not without limit, and beyond the fact that they might starve while yet their stomachs were full, if too much of them is given not only will a large proportion pass out of the body undigested but the bowels will be weakened in their efforts to dispose of them.
During early life the power to digest starchy foods increases with the age — that is, puppies can digest and otherwise properly dispose of a larger proportion compara- tively after they are four or five months old than they could in the second and third months.
■araiati ‘ ivvii xvau» am
VEGETABLE FOODS.
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But throughout puppyhood the evil effects of too much starch in the diet are more pronounced than in mature life, and they are generally manifested by “bloating ” and diarrhoea, the results of delay in the process of digestion and consequent fermentation and generation of gas.
All this points to one of the most potent causes of the terrible mortality among young puppies, which will only lessen greatly when breeders learn that these little ones should have in proportion a more generous quantity of animal food — if not milk, then meat — than matured dogs, and that while starchy foods are valuable accesso- ries, only in extremely rare instances are they sufficient for support.
Starch is composed of solid granules which are not digestible until after they have been long cooked and softened down. And it is largely because this process is incomplete that starchy foods so often prove failures in feeding dogs. But let them be cooked thoroughly and used judiciously — always with nutritive foods — and they can but prove useful and wholesome accessories.
Regarding the so-called “ dog cakes” or “ dog biscuits,” since the first edition of this book their manufacture has become such an industry and the competition so great, they are not generally of a quality deserving commenda- tion, as formerly. They are a very good accessory food ; but the claim that any brand constitutes or is a near ap- proach to an ideal food is a rank absurdity. They are said to contain beef, and yet the writer has never been able to find even a trace of any during his analyses.
They are practically bread, and possibly have nearly the nutritive value of what is known as “ graham bread ” of the table. Over that and other breads they possess an advantage, however, the result of their being so long and thoroughly cooked. The starches of which they princi-
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pally consist arc thus put into the best possible state for speedy digestion and absorption; hence it would be scarcely possible for them to prove burdensome even were the digestive organs somewhat lacking in tone and vigor. While in an emergency — for a few days — they could be relied on as the sole food, the rule should be to feed them with other foods.
To dogs with good sound teeth they might be given whole occasionally, but not invariably, nor to very young or old dogs, for their teeth would likely break or be other- wise injured.
It should be the custom to crush them; and if one has not a machine for the purpose, a good method is to put a few into a strong bag and pound them with a mallet or hammer. Thus broken up well, they may be used to thicken milk, broths, or soups, or mixed with meat.
CHAPTER IV.
DIETARY FOR PUPPIES.
Having taken a general survey of the range of mate- rials at the command of man for the purpose of feeding his dogs, it is well to return and, starting as it were with a litter of puppies about leaving their mother, apply the principles laid down in the foregoing chapters.
The period of weaning fixed by breeders is between the fourth and fifth weeks ; and this seems in accord with the plans of Nature, for the milk secretion is then as a rule falling off, both in quality and quantity, and most mothers give their young other food if their caretakers fail to do so.
Closely observe the average mother that is denied assist- ance in nourishing her little ones after her milk has begun to fail and she will soon be detected in providing for them from her own feeding-pan, conveying the same in her stomach and regurgitating or vomiting it up before them. And when the puppies are so situated that several experi- enced mothers have access to them, if their own fails to do this the chances are many that some one of the others will assume the duty.
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It can safely be accepted, therefore, that even where the milk supply seems abundant the weaning should be fairly begun during the fourth week. But it is never advisable to wait until this period is reached before taking the preparatory steps, for exigencies are very liable indeed to arise which make weaning imperative at once and complete.
Consequently in every instance puppies should be taught to eat at the earliest possible age, which is soon after the second week where those who assume the duty are patient and persevering. And such rarely find it diffi- cult if they put a little milk into a small shallow dish and gently dip the tips of the puppies’ noses into it for an instant, and then allow the little ones to draw back and lick off what adheres.
The milk used in these attempts should be scalded, diluted with an equal quantity of water, and about “ blood-warm.”
But it is not alone sufficient to teach puppies to drink milk, for they should be accustomed early to the taste of flesh ; and the proper food to commence with is very thin broth made specially for them from beef or mutton.
Of course, only a little milk or broth should be allowed at first, — barely sufficient for the purpose for which they are used — but in all cases, whether or not the mother’s milk appears sufficient, one of these foods can properly be given about twice daily in the third week, and in gradually increasing quantities up to the weaning.
To be more definite, at each attempt about a teaspoonful of milk or broth will be sufficient for educational pur- poses. Once eating well, a tablespoonful of one of these foods, if they care to take as much, may be allowed twice daily for three days ; and thereafter about a tablespoonful
THE fiKEAT BASES, “ IVANHOE ” AKlt “ DOROTnY.”
DIETARY FOR PUPPIES.
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more may be added to their allowance every second or third day until the weaning commences, assuming that the mother is ample support, but it goes without saying that where she fails the wants of the puppies are to be satisfied.
Gradual weaning, to cover about one week, should be the rule in all cases that will admit it — that is, in all cases in which the mothers are secreting fairly good quan- tities of milk. But the period can scarcely be prolonged beyond this with safety, for when a mother is nursed only once or twice in twenty-four hours her milk becomes altered and might prove injurious.
When it is decided to wean, the mother should be excluded from her puppies during certain hours each day and permitted to return at fixed intervals, between which and at fixed times they should be fed on cow’s milk. As for instance, she should be let out about seven in the morning, admitted about noon and allowed to nurse them, then be excluded for another interval of about five hours, after which she should be permitted to return and care for them until the following morning. And during her absence they should be fed between nine and ten in the forenoon and about three in the afternoon.
Some breeders do not exclude the mother while the weaning is going on, but their course is open to the objec- tion that too much or too little food is likely to be taken at times ; -moreover an admixture of cow’s milk and mother’s milk is not advisable when it can be pre- vented, for together they seem less well borne than when given separately.
Two full feedings of cow’s milk each day are all that puppies should have during the first three days of the weaning, — provided always that number is quite suffi- cient with the quantity of milk afforded by the mother —
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but after that they can be fed three times a day. For instance, the mother being taken from them at about seven in the morning and kept away until night, they should be fed shortly after nine, at noon and about three. Then three hours later — about six — the mother should be admitted to them to remain until the follow- ing morning, when she should be again excluded until six at night.
While oftentimes the weaning can safely be delayed until the fourth week — to be completed during the fifth — in many instances it is necessary to begin it in the third week. And this is the rule with the largest varieties, but comparatively few members of which have a great abundance of milk at any time, while with the majority the supply declines soon after the second week. In fact breeders of these varieties must ever be on the alert and prepared for this accident, which may occur even earlier than this ; and it can properly be said that with them the sooner the puppies learn to eat and the weaning is well advanced the better.
Although all puppies should be early familiarized with the taste of meat as already advised, during the weaning they should be fed on cow’s milk that has been scalded. And it will not be necessary to dilute it after they have been taught to take it readily.
The weaning over, and the mother excluded from her puppies nights as well as days, they should as a rule be fed sparingly every third hour during waking hours — the first time at daylight and the last at eight or nine at night.
Scalded milk will do for the first feeding.
The next, to be given about eight a.m., should be pre- pared as follows : Soak in water a few pieces of stale bread that have been well baked the second time until
GREAT DAISES
EARL OF WARWICK.” “SOL.”
DIETARY FOR PUPPIES.
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they are dry and crisp, and crush by squeezing them through the fingers. Pour over this bread scalding hot milk to which a little sugar and a small piece of butter have been added ; or instead of the bread well-boiled rice can be used, and the same is sure to be thoroughly cooked — but not too much so — if left overnight in a “slow oven.”
The feeding at eleven can properly be of toast softened with a little light broth.
At two, again the scalded milk and bread.
At five, a little scalded milk alone will be sufficient.
Scalded bread or rice and milk, or toast and broth, should constitute the last meal. And this and the first feeding after daylight should be somewhat larger than those between them, but in no instance should the quantity be sufficient to swell the abdomen.
These foods and these methods can properly be per- sisted in during the first week after weaning.
It is necessary to stop here for a time and discuss at some length the vital question of the number of meals daily for young puppies.
Upon this breeders are widely at variance, and some maintain that for all healthy puppies three meals daily are amply sufficient after the fifth or sixth week, while others contend that “ little and often ” should be the invariable rule.
Not impossibly a few have had fairly good success with the three-meals-daily system, and that it might do in occa- sional instances with the largest breeds is possible, yet there is no gainsaying that as a general thing it means failure. And for this there are many reasons.
Were but three meals a day given the first would be presumably between seven and eight in the morning and the last between six and seven at night — or at least
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these are the hours set by most of the advocates of the sys- tem— and the puppies would be without food not less than twelve hours. This would be none too long were they allowed concentrated and hearty foods that would “stay by” them during the greater part of this time, but their digestive organs will not at first bear food of this sort, nor in fact any other kind in quantity sufficient to occupy the stomach more than two or three hours, consequently long before the morning feeding this organ must crave food, and after it begins to do so the system generally suffers from the deprivation.
For a time the morning meal acting as a spur to the flagging powers would wholly restore them, yet this result is scarcely to be expected always, for were they to decline regularly every night some permanent loss in vigor would more than likely occur. The stomach, also, would be quite sure to rebel in time and thereafter do its work less promptly and well. Again, there deserves to be consid- ered the danger of chilling during the long cold nights, and this is always the greatest where the stomach is empty, for then the fires of life are burning low.
This hasty glance must be conclusive when coupled with the knowledge, which all surely have, of the fact that even for the matured too long intervals between meals hazard digestion and strength, and the danger is greatly intensified where the subjects of the deprivation are very young.
But this is by no means all that can be said in opposi- tion to the three-meals-a-day system. Follow that, and give the puppies all the food which they require for tissue and bone building, etc., and they must take more into their stomachs at these meals than they can properly digest and assimilate. In a word, they must gorge them- selves— and this is one of the most ruinous practices in which they can be indulged.
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Puppies that have done so and weighted themselves down with food are soon sleeping, and generally continue in this state during much of the intervals between feed- ings, or if awake they are dull and sluggish and disin- clined to move about. And assuredly while like this their legs cannot be developing strength as they ought ; moreover, their systems must be choking up with waste impurities, which inevitably accumulate where the exer- cise is limited unless the food is bland in character and of small amount.
It ought not be necessary to urge that the legs of very young puppies are weak and scarcely able to bear their bodies even. Now allow them to fill up continually with food or drink, and deformity is quite sure to result. And in fact did a breeder desire his puppies to become bandy-legged, weak in the pasterns and badly placed at the elbows, he could employ no surer method to effect the result than stuffing them three times a day.
Every ounce of food — every grain even — is so much weight on the legs. Let this fact be fixed ; also, that while rapid growth and weight of body may be to the breeder a pleasing sight, if it passes over the line the limbs must suffer and symmetry be simply out of the question.
Considering the matter intelligently, on all sides, there can be but one conclusion, namely, that puppies while yet very young should be “fed little and often.” They must not be fed until their abdomens are distended and their appetites glutted, but they must leave off eating while yet ready for more. And then, that their limbs may acquire strength and the foods they have eaten do them the greatest good, they must be kept as much of the time on their feet and as active as possible.
To this end they should be given shin bones from
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which at first nearly every particle of meat has been scraped ; and on these they will try their teeth, fight at them, and pound their little legs for an hour or more, and then take a nap.
Note the difference between a puppy treated in this way and one that is allowed to gorge himself three times a day. The latter, weak and tottering, drags his distended abdomen into a corner and sleeps his time away on top of another like himself ; but the former soon stands true and firm ; instead of sleeping he is all for play, and young as he is he is biting and tugging at everything within his reach.
This puppy will grow straight and strong on his legs and upright in his pasterns ; moreover, from his food he will extract its greatest good ; and, in a word, he will in a short time be far ahead of the other and top-heavy puppy.
Never feed all together is another rule which should be fixed at once after the weaning. Ignore this and the puppies will rarely ever take just the right quantities, for the stronger will push the weaker aside. And another point to be kept in sight is, that when fed with others a puppy not only eats what he needs but he eats what he fancies others are going to take from him, whereas if fed quietly by himself he is likely to stop when he has had just a little more than he actually requires — yet not enough to injure him and throw him all out of shape. But now take this same puppy after he has had his fill and put him with others that are eating, and he will go into the pan as though ravenously hungry.
The novice may accept without qualification that these rules — feed little and often, and feed separately — are the two greatest secrets of success in puppy raising. And certainly it is not hard to believe this, for every
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breeder knows that the puppy that leaves him soon after the weaning and goes into a home where he is the sole pet of his kind — if the diet and management are nearly equal — is sure to do better than other members of the litter that remain in the kennels.
The reasons for this are apparent. He has far more exercise in his new home, and if there are children in it he is sure to be “kept on the go.” He is played with, pulled by the tail, dragged around, — in fact led a lively dance by these little ones, — and full of frolic, a short nap now and then is all he gets or all he cares for. He is rarely fed regularly or with exceeding care, it is true, and besides his scraps from the table he has a bit of the children’s cake or their molasses and bread, helps the cat empty her saucers of milk, and so on, but he really never gets very much of anything. Yet ever on the move, bright, merry and full of fun, and with a little something always in his stomach, he grows like a weed and as strong as a young bon.
All this is in favor of “ walking ” as it is called abroad, but “ boarding out ” as expressed here, and the breeder who resorts to this plan with the puppies which he cannot sell readily is sure to have far better success in raising than he who keeps all his young stock in the kennels, pro- vided always the “walking” is in pure air, as in the open country, and where there is an abundance of milk and light foods, as on farms.
Some of the most pronounced reasons for the advisa- bility of feeding little and often have now been given against the three-meals-daily system. Much more might be said to sustain the position taken on this question, but it is not necessary to go farther. In the absence of exer- cise all those sovereign essentials, health, good limbs and good feet, are impossible for young puppies ; consequently
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it must be encouraged and they must be put on their feet at the earliest moment and kept on them as much as possible.
The reader will now he taken back to the litter of puppies which were left in the first week after the wean- ing. And that there may be no mistake it is urged that these puppies be given until the tenth week the same number of meals and at about the same hours as directed in the week following the weaning — the fifth week. If then they are straight and strong on their legs the num- ber of meals may be reduced to four, and kept at that until the fifth month. But this reduction must not be made as long as there is any deformity of the feet or legs, or any seems threatened.
From the fifth month until the tenth month the pup- pies should have three meals daily ; and thereafter two will be sufficient.
Having been fed on well-baked stale bread and rice and milk, toast and light broths, for about one week, these puppies, assuming that they are other than toys, should have — even as early as the beginning of the sixth week — more concentrated and heartier food. Therefore a sheep’s head which has been split lengthwise, or, if this cannot be obtained, lean meat, should be cooked with vegetables, as potatoes, beets, carrots or cabbage leaves, and the whole seasoned with a little salt. After a thor- ough boiling the vegetables, meat and bones should be removed and the broth thickened to the consistency of pea soup by the means of well-baked stale bread, rice, or a flour made by grating one or more dog cakes on a nutmeg grater.
This should be given them for about a week; and con- venience suggests that it be their food at eleven and the last thing at night, and that their breakfasts be of scalded
DIETARY FOR PUPPIES.
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milk and bread or rice ; while for the feedings at eight in the morning and two and five in the afternoon a little scalded milk alone will be sufficient.
By the next, or about the seventh, week the puppies will be old enough to eat the vegetables and meat from which the broth is made ; and these after having been thoroughly cooked should be taken out and broken up with the fingers or crushed to a paste in a mortar, and returned to the kettle.
This vegetable and meat soup can be given at the same hours as the light broth in the previous week — that is, at eleven and the last thing at night ; while scalded milk with bread or rice should constitute the breakfasts, and scalded milk alone the other feedings.
At this age — about the seventh week — it is advisable to fortify the food of the puppies of the largest breeds, as mastiffs and St. Bernards, with bone-making material in the form of precipitated phosphate of lime — against the occurrence of rickets or bone deficiencies of a kindred nature. For every four puppies one teaspoonful of this should be given once a day in the food — with the last meal — in all instances even if suspicious signs of deformity have not appeared ; while where such signs are manifested the lime should at once be given twice every day, and in steadily increasing doses until each puppy is taking half a teaspoonful. And it will be well to persist in the use of the lime, once a day at least, for three months whether or not it seems required.
Up to this time the puppies have been given shin bones from which the meat has been scraped. Now all the large ones — also nearly cleaned — that are taken from the soup should be thrown into their yards after break- fast, but the small pieces, sharp splinters, etc., must be withheld, for they might choke them. It will be well,
Co
KENNEL SECRETS.
also, to give them occasionally an uncooked bone to
which a little meat is so firmly adherent that they can-
not detach it except by much hard work, that they may acquire early a fondness for raw meat, which is often dis- tasteful to them at first.
After they are two months old their vegetable and meat soups should be made quite thick, and for this purpose stale well-baked bread, rice or a little oatmeal that has
been “ cooked on honor,” may be employed. Or dog
cakes can be used for occasional change, but these be- ing dense and hard it will be necessary to soften them by soaking in cold water for several hours — preferably overnight — and then, after crushing with the fingers, to put them into the kettle to boil with the other ingredients of the soup.
But whatever the foods resorted to for the purpose of thickening, in the last feeding at night the proportion of meat should be one-fourth — that is, there should be no more than three parts of vegetables and starches to one of meat. And very soon it will be advisable to remove the meat and vegetables from the soup, and, after mixing them with stale bread, crackers, rice or other well-cooked starchy food, use merely sufficient broth to soften the various ingredients.
After the second month, puppies of the largest varie- ties should have a little cod-liver oil in their teed at eleven, each puppy’s portion being about one-fourth of a teaspoonful at first. And as this oil is laxative in over- doses it will be necessary to have an eye to the droppings; but if no effect on the bowels is noted the dose can be gradually increased to a teaspoonful, and after a short time repeated at the last meal — at night.
It is well to advert here to the notion held by many that young puppies should have “ sloppy ” food until they are
THE WEWFOUKDLASl*, “PIRATE KING.”
DIETARY FOR PUPPIES.
6l
three or four months old. But this is a grave mistake, and were it not enough that at least two feedings of thick concentrated foods are absolutely demanded for support, structure-building, etc., there is still another important reason for feeding puppies on them instead of always on milk and thin broths. No one needs to be told that these little ones are extremely liable to be infested with worms soon after birth, and that if the pests are once lodged in their intestines, unless quickly expelled there are many chances of their proving fatal.
Now, sloppy foods greatly favor worms, but solid foods are hostile to them, because they force them, mechanic- ally, to break their hold on the mucous lining of the intestines to which they cling, and gradually sweep them down the canal out of the body. Consequently for this reason, if for no other, it is advisable that thick foods be given at as early an age as possible.
En passant , it is well to allude briefly to that ancient theory that “ raw cow’s milk ” is conducive to worms. It certainly cannot cause worms, but there is ample reason for the belief that it favors their growth or at least is not unfriendly to them. It furnishes ample nourishment for their support, and at the same time they are in no way unpleasantly affected by it. Beyond this, raw cow’s milk is really not kindly received by a puppy’s stomach, in the lining of which it causes more or less irritation, which in turn results in an increased secretion of mucus, and this mucus is supposed to be the repository of the ova or eggs from which the worms are propagated.
In using vegetables the fact must be kept in sight that they deteriorate with keeping, and while some become hard and stringy and therefore much less digestible, others are soon absolutely unfit for man or dogs. The so-called greens should be as fresh as possible ; the potatoes must
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not be too young nor too old ; and the carrots, turnips, beets and the like, always in good state of preservation. The cabbage while yet sound and wholesome is soft but crisp, but when the leaves have wilted fermentation has occurred in them and they are most noxious, causing among other disturbances the generation of an enormous amount of gas in the intestinal canal.
It must also be borne in mind that a large proportion of these substances are more or less laxative in their action, consequently the droppings must be watched to determine whether or not they are wisely used. And they, like all other foods, should be varied frequently, mashed turnips being in excess of other vegetables in one evening meal, potatoes in the next, perhaps, and so on down the list, not omitting cabbages, which when long and well boiled, minced fine and thoroughly mixed with meat, can generally be used to advantage once or twice a week.
And it goes without saying that should constipation be noted it will be advisable to increase the quantity of the “greens,” they being the most laxative, while if the bowels become too free the use of all vegetables should be discontinued for a time and milk and bread or rice con- stitute the nourishment.
What is known as flour gruel is the remedy to check the discharges, and this is made by boiling wheat flour long and well in skimmed milk ; or the flour can be baked in an oven until it has turned a light brown and then added to boiling milk, and given without further cooking as soon as it has cooled. And in both instances sufficient flour should be used to thicken the milk to the consist- ency of oatmeal porridge.
It is not merely sufficient to fill the stomach of a puppy or mature dog, or in other words to supply in proper
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amount that one substance which best meets his require- ments, for there is risk of falling off in condition unless different substances of the same classes are employed in rotation. Therefore breeders should hold variety in diet of importance to health ; and they may accept that when it is afforded, not only the appetite but the digestive powers are better for it.
Admitting all this, one soup will be made of beef ; the next of mutton ; then one of veal, fish or other animal food. At the same time, while duly appreciating that an admixture of several kinds of vegetables will make the soup more wholesome, nutritious and appetizing, as already advised a different kind will be a little in excess every day. And so it will be with the starchy foods, bread being largely relied upon for thickening one day, oatmeal the next, then dog cakes, rice, etc.
Thus varying the diet and carefully noting the effects of every change, a good sound dietary can soon be estab- lished, with the assurance that among the various foods there will be all the important elements required for tissue-building, strength and renovation ; or in other words, for growth, vigor and health.
Beef and mutton will furnish variety enough in the way of animal food for puppies until they are three months old ; after which veal and fish can be added to the list of materials, and no further additions need be made from this class of foods during the next two months. Then a bit of tripe, well boiled in milk and minced, may be given now and then if well borne. But all additions must be experimental and made gradually, for although they may be in the right direction the stomach in some instances will require time to conform to them.
The milk can properly be scalded during the first two or three months, but after that it will scarcely require this treatment and can be given “ raw.”
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At the fifth month, when the number of feedings is reduced to three daily, milk and bread in sufficient quan- tity to meet all requirements cannot safely be given for breakfast, for fear of putting too great weight upon the limbs; consequently thereafter good rich soups or quite solid feedings of vegetables, meat and bread, rice or other starchy food, should generally be given instead, although the milk and bread, rice or oatmeal may still be allowed for a change.
But if the puppies are of medium-size breeds and strong and healthy, after the eighth month, when generous feed- ing is not likely to lessen activity and discourage exercise, and there is no longer any danger of injury to the legs and feet by heavy weight above, milk can be returned to as the mainstay for breakfast ; and it may be new or skimmed milk or buttermilk, and allowed in quite gener- ous quantities, with bread or dog cakes for thickening.
With large dogs, however, these generous feedings of milk or like foods can scarcely be safely allowed before the twelfth month, because even then there is danger of their “ going over on their legs.” And certainly such feedings, or generous drinks of any fluids, must never be permitted if there is weakness of the limbs, splay feet or other deformities below.
CHAPTER V.
GENERAL DIETARY.
The reader ought now have a near idea of the dietetic treatment required by the average puppy, which is to be found among all varieties excepting toys and others that must be kept down to certain weights, fixed by standards, in order to be able to compete in their various classes at dog shows. In other words he is a puppy to whom size, health, strength and endurance are essentials of infinite importance.
Among the so-called toys there are some fairly robust, but taken as a whole they must be considered delicate compared with other members of their race, while some are notoriously lacking constitutionally. And this is due to the persistent efforts to get the smallest, but not, as some writers have stated, to a persistent selection of the smallest for breeding, for as a matter of fact only a very few of the smallest toys will breed.
Obviously no one rule can be fixed for these varieties, and the limits of the digestive powers must be carefully studied in every instance and the feeding be in accord- ance with them.
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For most puppies of toy breeds new milk must be the principal food during the month after weaning, and this can be occasionally thickened slightly with bread, crackers or well-boiled rice. Mutton or beef broths can then be allowed, but in the beginning they must be as thin and as sparingly used as in cases of infants taking them for the first time.
To feed only a very little and very often must be the rule with the smallest of these, and once in an hour and a half will be near right for about a month after weaning. Then a trifle longer intervals will be allowable, but they must be very slowly and gradually lengthened, for even when mature toys should have food several times in the day.
In feeding toys and other varieties which it is desirable to keep down in weight breeders must have before them the fact that the animal foods, milk and meat, alone and uncombined with other substances, tend to produce firm- ness of flesh with an absence of superfluous fat ; while on the other hand vegetable foods, and particularly the starches, favor the laying on of fat. They must also bear in mind that animal foods abound in the materials for bone and muscle building; and while in moderate quantities they do but little more than meet the wear and tear of the body and keep the muscles firm and complete, if they are given in excess they tend decidedly to increase the size of the bony structure and amount of muscle or flesh.
That there may be no mistake these physiological facts are simplified and dressed for practice : Give puppies the animal foods, meat and milk, in moderate quantities only and they will be likely to keep down in bone and muscle; give them vegetable foods in large quantities and the ten- dency will be merely to fatten ; give animal foods in large
BLOODHOIJIDS,
“BlRGtliVDY.”
“JUDITH
GENERAL DIETARY.
67
quantities and the chances are many that the puppies so fed will in consequence increase rapidly in bone and muscle.
Evidently, therefore, in order that puppies may be kept down in weight and size and still be strong and healthy their breeders must feed with exceeding nicety. They must rely largely upon milk, and the quantity of this even must be restricted as nearly as possible to the actual requirements of the body as it then stands, for excess would favor increase in the size of the frame and amount of flesh.
But even in large quantities milk does not tend to fat- ten if deprived of its cream, yet this is the specially force- producing part, and were milk largely depended upon, to deny very young puppies this part would be to invite weakness and frailties beyond those they inherited. Therefore it would be better to give them new milk for the first month or two, and when they are strong and active — that is for their kind — use skimmed milk or buttermilk largely ; and they can generally be safely allowed these at frequent intervals. But it must be little and often even with milk, and a fairly large quan- tity during the day ; and on no account should they be given a large quantity at any one feeding.
All this bears as well on other varieties that must be kept down in size and weight in order to be able to pass under the standard. Their food must be principally ani- mal — milk or meat — and what starchy substances are given them must be reduced in quantity as soon as they put on too much fat ; while too rapid growth in frame and muscle will call for a reduction in the quantity of animal food, and especially the meat.
As for the use of vegetables, the safest rule is to allow them only such as grow above ground, as spinach and
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KENNEL SECRETS.
other “greens,” lettuce, nettle tops, squash, etc., for those from below the ground, as potatoes, carrots, beets and the like are decidedly fattening.
Returning to delicate toys and considering them with- out reference to ages, the fact appears that those with long coats, as Yorkshires and Maltese terriers, cannot bear much meat because of its stimulating properties, and when given in excess it not only tends to create internal derangement and disease but “ heats up their blood.” This condition in turn excites skin affections, especially those attended with intense itching, and has a ruinous effect on the coat. And the same evils of excess of meat appear in some of the short-coated toys — the black-and- tan terriers, for instance — in which such skin diseases are never easily cured.
But while toy terriers are easily injured by excess of meat they must not be deprived of this food, and although much of it may be in the form of broths or extracts, — as the “ blood gravy ” from roast beef or mutton — under ordinary conditions they should have one of these meats at least once a day.
New milk should constitute their breakfasts, luncheons in the middle of the afternoon, and the last meal at bed- time— late in the evening — if one is allowed them.
Fresh tripe that has been boiled in milk and then chopped fine is very acceptable to these little ones, and mixed with a small quantity of boiled barley — the same being softened with a little of the milk in which the tripe was boiled — does nicely for the feeding in the middle of the forenoon.
Bread cut thin and buttered is suitable for a change and may be given occasionally to all that like it, the slices being broken into small pieces and fed from the hand.
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For the heartiest meal of the day — at about six p.m. — boiled rice should be the principal constituent. Over this should be poured a little gravy, and then should be added about one-third as much finely chopped beef or mutton as there is rice, also a small quantity of vegetables, and all the ingredients be thoroughly mixed.
For a change, bread, plain crackers, “tea sops,” beef or mutton broth, and scraps from the table if they are free from grease and pungent condiments, as pepper and mustard.
Of this diet, which is as well suited to other toys which have but little out-door exercise, a more extended dis- cussion will appear in the part devoted to “Exhibiting Dogs.”
It is unnecessary to consider at length the diet of short- coated toys, as Italian greyhounds, for theirs should be much the same as terriers ; but being less susceptible to meat rather more of it can be allowed them — yet not nearly the quantity which would be safe for hardier breeds.
As to the quantity of food that should be given pup- pies at each feeding, without considering variety, no rule can be fixed other than that already laid down — little and often. And manifestly keen observation must be backed with no small amount of common sense or one will stray at this point, for he must see that his puppies keep in good “ growing flesh,” he must never feed so little as to leave them crying from hunger, and he must stop while yet they might eat more.
Beginners in puppy-raising should start with the con- viction that the tendency of almost every inexperienced person is to overfeed ; also, that the appetite of puppies cannot be considered a safe indication of the quantity of food actually required by them. Appreciating these facts
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KERNEL SECRETS.
they must study their charges closely, and if they do so intelligently, afterward apply judiciously what they have learned, feed always little and often, stop before there is any distention of the abdomen, and keep their puppies on their legs and moving about as much as possible, they will not be at all likely to make any grave mistakes in this part of their duty.
When thick foods are given them and their yards are flagged or concreted and frequently flushed and kept clean, puppies — no matter how young they are — should be made to work for their meals by the follow- ing method :
Measure out the quantity of food which is to be allowed two puppies for that meal. Assuming it to be bread or rice and a taste of sheep’s head or well-boiled tripe, throw them down just a little. After eating that they will at once hunt around for more. Let them hunt for a while, and then throw down a little more — being careful that each puppy has an equal share. Continue to do this until the supply of food is exhausted.
Now when these puppies are put into that yard again they will at once begin to go over it for food ; and the more industrious they are the stronger they will be on their legs and the better they will thrive.
Before leaving puppy feeding a few general rules will be given for the guidance of novices.
Never leave in the pens or yards any other food than bones. In other words consider the duty of feeding your puppies an important one, stand over them while they are eating, determine the quantity of food that is sufficient, afterward measure out like quantity and give them that and 7io more.
Wash your pans as soon as you have fed.
When feeding long-coated toys tie back the long hair of
THE HEERHOVIVD, “ HILLSIDE ItOMOLA.”
GENERAL DIETARY.
71
the head lest it become soiled and unhealthy and break at the ends.
Use care in feeding an Irish water spaniel or poodle, for instance, lest his long and heavily coated ears get into the feeding dish and become bedabbled with food.
The first thought of the novice would be to tie or other- wise fasten the ears behind the head, but the experienced fancier — he who is familiar with the secrets of the kennel — would have jars for feeding and watering that were just large enough to admit the dog’s head comfortably, and the ears must then, of course, fall outside of the same and no food or water could possibly get on to them.
See to it that the scraps you feed from the table are free from pungent condiments, as pepper, mustard and vine- gar or other acids. And this rule should be invariably observed with the delicate toys even after they have reached maturity.
With the common varieties of young puppies be spar- ing in the use of corn meal, and never give it to the toys whose blood is easily “ heated up.”
Keep puppies well supplied with good, wholesome drink- ing water, and at the earliest possible age teach them to take advantage of it.
Now to the feeding of mature dogs. With only one small dog in a fairly large family the “scraps” from the table, consisting of trimmings and pieces of stale bread softened with a little gravy, a few spoonfuls of vegetables and small bits of meat should be ample and eminently suitable for his support ; but if the dog is of a large size and the family small, or there are several dogs belonging to it, this supply would scarcely meet the demand. Did it nearly do so, however, dog cakes might be used to fill the measure, and they could be depended upon for breakfasts, and given alone and unbroken or crushed and softened with milk or broth.
7 2
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Here the fact intrudes that keeping one dog in the house and a dozen or more in kennels arc entirely different matters. The former fed on “scraps,” running around at will and enjoying a trot with first one and then another member of the family, is nearly always in good condition. But when it comes to managing a large kennel a knowledge is required that the man who only knows how to keep a dog in the city does not possess. In fact one dog in a family will literally keep himself, but with those in the kennels good judgment, constant care and precision of methods are absolutely imperative or the inmates will soon be out of condition.
The “scraps” and dog cakes insufficient, and it being necessary to prepare food specially for several large dogs, some such custom as the following may wisely be insti- tuted during cold weather : Put one pailful of beef trim- mings into a kettle and add two and one-half pailfuls of water, a few potatoes, turnips, beets, carrots, parsnips, or the like, not forgetting two or three onions, which in small quantities are appetizing to dogs as well as man. All this should be seasoned with two good handfuls of salt. And salt, by the way, should always be added to broths, “puddings ” and all other kinds of foods which man would wish seasoned were they for him. Now let it simmer for several hours ; and when well cooked, crush the vegetables and break up the meat.
Assuming that there is enough food here for two sup- pers, on the second day boil up one or two cabbages until they are soft, a pinch of carbonate of soda being added to the water, mince well and add them to the food left over the previous day.
Cabbages when given in considerable quantity as in this instance should be boiled alone, not with the meat, for they make broth insipid.
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It now being necessary to cook again, this time it will be well to obtain fresh fish instead of meat, and use vegeta- bles in cooking as before. But as fish changes quickly and soon becomes poisonous, only sufficient for one meal should be cooked.
On the fourth day again cook beef or mutton with vege- tables. Put away enough of the soup for the next night, and to what is retained add bread, rice, oatmeal, Indian meal or the like.
The next day thicken the soup left over with crushed dog cakes. And these cakes with a generous quantity of milk will do for the sixth day’s supper.
This diet-table will give a near idea how mature dogs should be fed at night — the time when they should be given their heartiest meal. Further variations will be easy ; and the longer the list of foods the better.
The method of preparation advised favors convenience greatly and there can be no decided objection to it where the dogs are of large size, have vigorous digestive powers and are allowed a goodly amount of exercise. But the fact is apparent that a soup made in this way is richer and less digestible than the vegetables and meats would be were they cooked separately. Again, in soups which are thickened with starchy foods it is scarcely possi- ble to keep the proportion of the various ingredients right.
Consequently when it is possible to do so it is best to cook the meat in one kettle, the vegetables in another, and the starches by themselves, and keep them separate until they are to be served. Then the correct proportions can be put into the feeding pan, the vegetables, bread, rice, Indian meal or other starches softened with the broth, and all well mixed together.
Another good way of preparing meat for dogs, and one
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that favors convenience greatly when no very great amount of this food is required, is as follows : Obtain, as needed, one or more glass jars of good size such as are used for preserving. Cut the meat fine. Put into each jar a quantity sufficient to make it about one- half full. Fill up with cold water and cover with saucers. Now stand these jars in small shallow pans containing a little water, place them in the oven of the kitchen stove and leave them there four or five hours or overnight if possible. And no matter how tough the meat, when cooked in this way it becomes tender ; moreover, nearly all its virtues have been saved and the broth is appetizing as well as quite nutritious.
The morning meal scarcely requires any special prep- aration, and one or more dog cakes, according to the size of the dog, or a few dry, hard pieces of stale bread and a goodly quantity of new milk, skimmed milk or but- termilk will admirably meet all requirements.
It will naturally be assumed from this that the writer is in favor of the two-meals-a-day system. He believes that under many conditions for all dogs other than toys a light breakfast — largely of milk, because of its very decidedly good effect upon the coat — and a good sup- per is the regimen most conducive to health. It cer- tainly in some degree discourages gluttony, for this disposition is as a rule far more pronounced in dogs that are fed but once in twenty-four hours. And these suffer more frequently from indigestion than others that are fed twice daily.
In the wild state the dog was a gluttonous animal, for his chances of a meal came only seldom, and to guard against starvation he was forced to overload his stomach ; but now if he is rightly fed this disposition is never exhibited in great intensity ; and the less intense it is the better his health.
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But while, as a rule, it is advisable that two meals each day be allowed, under some conditions the number can properly be limited to one and food be given at night only. And on the whole this custom seems best for sporting dogs while in the field, for were they fed morn- ings and soon afterward started to work, during their hard runs digestion would go on slowly if indeed it did not stop altogether, and the food in the stomach, decom- posing and acrid in consequence of being too long retained, would cause gastric and intestinal irritation and diarrhoea. Consequently one meal a day — a hearty one — after their work has been done should be the rule with them.
But in this matter, as in all that pertains to the care of the dog, there must be judgment displayed, and the same based on a thorough knowledge of individual peculi- arities, habits, etc. For instance, greyhounds are light feeders and one meal a day is quite enough for the majority of them. And yet there would be no good reason for denying members of this family a snack in the morning had they been habituated to it and seemed the better for it.
Again, assuming that a bitch has been accustomed to one feeding a day and is in-pup, manifestly two meals will be required during the early weeks of gestation, also a light luncheon as the end is rapidly approaching.
In a word, whether there should be one feeding daily or two or more feedings depends largely upon existing cir- cumstances, and these considered intelligently a mistake would scarcely be possible. But to the question, Are three feedings a day advisable under ordinary conditions for other than toys? the answer is emphatically No ! For dogs fed so often become dull, sluggish and indolent, and unfit for any special purpose.
The daily amount of food required also depends upon
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existing circumstances, and a fixed quantity suited to all dogs even of the same size is absolutely impossible, for one weighing sixty pounds may require as much food as one weighing one hundred pounds ; while one will keep fat with one-fourth the quantity given another of the same size and breed. But the intelligent breeder is scarcely likely to stumble badly here, for he will duly consider the individual peculiarities, the amount of exercise taken or work performed, and the state of the appetite, health and general condition ; after which he will be able to estimate with near certainty the amount of food necessary to keep his dogs properly nourished.
In some instances the appetite might be a safe guide in regulating the supply of food, but it is frequently perverted and gluttonous, also oftentimes more or less impaired, con- sequently alone it can scarcely be depended upon as a rule. Yet unless a dog is a veritable glutton he is not likely to go far over the line if allowed at his evening meal all he will eat with very evident relish, but when he turns away as though satisfied, or begins to pick over what is left of his food for the daintiest and most toothsome morsels, it can generally be accepted that he has had about all that he actually requires, and it is time to remove his pan.
A far better plan however is to watch the dog carefully, note his general condition, measure the quantity of food given him in a week or so, then strike an average, and thereafter give him about the estimated quantity as long as he is doing well, or lessen or increase it a little as he puts on or loses flesh. And this wisely followed there will be no “ stuffing ; ” the dog will lick out his pan, and very likely wish he had a little more ; and once in condi- tion he will keep there.
The appetite of the dog, like that of his master, is
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sometimes capricious, and occasionally he will turn from a wholesome and appetizing dish. Of course it is a sign of disturbance, yet too much significance should not be attached to it ; moreover, it may generally be accepted as evidence that nature has called a halt and nourishment for the time being cannot be properly disposed of. It is better, therefore, in such a case, provided the dog seems well, to remove his food and allow him to fast until the next regular time for feeding. And if mere derangement has caused the loss of appetite more than likely it will in the mean time have been recovered from and he will after- wards eat heartily. If, however, he is not disposed to do so his food should be again taken from him.
Some owners will think this severe treatment, and that their dogs would be in danger of starving were they denied food for three or four days. As a matter of fact dogs have endured abstinence for nearly thirty days. There- fore, in the absence of other symptoms a loss of appetite need not occasion great uneasiness ; but still its cause should be determined if possible, and unless the normal condition of things is restored within three or four days the victim should be examined by a competent practi- tioner, it being accepted that this sign then points strongly to disease.
Occasionally, but fortunately not often, are encountered dogs that while apparently well are what are termed shy feeders. They never eat greedily of any food, and nearly all, if not all, are victims of derangement or disease, and very generally of the digestive organs. Therefore, the starvation treatment would never do for them, and unusual consideration must be exhibited and they be fed on the foods for which they show decided prefer- ences, provided they are wholesome and easily digested. But in the mean time every effort should be made to
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discover and overcome the cause of the impairment and improve the general health by means of carefully regu- lated exercise.
During the summer months, dogs, like mankind, are at times much depressed by the heat, and when so all their powers are more or less enfeebled. Digestion of course shares in this decline in vigor, and it follows that its duties should, for the time being, be made as light as possible. To this end the quantity of meat, the dog’s heartiest food, can properly be reduced somewhat and the deficiency supplied by vegetables, and especially those that grow above ground, for not only are they no tax on the digestive organs but by their action on the bowels and blood they greatly favor comfort under exposure to heat. Moreover, where this salutary change in diet is made dogs are much less liable to suffer from skin eruptions attended with intense itching.
Another important rule for hot weather is to cook each day’s food on the day that it is to be fed out, and failing in this, all meats, broths and soups, kept over night for the following day’s feeding, should be recooked before they are served, for such foods decompose quickly and during this change virulent poisons are developed. In truth dogs are capable of resisting food poisons to a wonderful degree, but just how far their resistant powers extend is not known, and there is reason for the belief that not a few of the now mysterious visitations of sickness in the kennels are due to these food poisons. Consequently recooking by boiling must be accepted as advisable, and if this is kept up for ten or fifteen minutes all such poisons will with certainty be destroyed.
In closing, the fact is again urged that dogs young and old are often overfed, and if so, while they seem to be doing well at first and putting on fat, puppies at least
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sooner or later are sure to grow thin in consequence ; and the same result is often noted with mature dogs. There is truth in the old saying that one may starve with a stomach full. Persistently overfeed a baby and it will waste away and die, and the same error in feeding a puppy is likely to result as disastrously.
Overfeeding is scarcely likely to kill a mature dog but it will surely put him out of condition — make him thin, dispirited and ailing, and his coat harsh and staring. But few appreciate this fact however, and when dogs present symptoms induced by gluttony they are generally fed even more generously.
A dog that is allowed perfect freedom is not often made ill in consequence of over-eating, because free exercise is his remedy, but one much on the chain soon suffers greatly from the ill effects of this habit. And this important fact should be kept in sight and have due weight in estimating the amount of food required.
A word of protest here against allowing dogs to become too fat. This fault is a common one among owners of large breeds, and some judges at bench shows do much to encourage it. The term “condition ” as used by them is decidedly elastic, but these judges generally appear to consider a large dog in condition when he is well rounded out even by an excessive accumulation of fat. Yet a sporting dog to be in good condition must be compara- tively lean ; while all others that are really in good con- dition are in good health, free from any excess of fat, and firm and hard in muscles and flesh.
Finally, not only should the food of dogs be of good quality and carefully prepared, but it should be served up in dishes that are sweet and clean. Many authors have discussed the dirt-eating propensity of these animals and reached the conclusion that their food should be thrown
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upon the ground. The propensity in question however is indicative of a derangement somewhere within the system, and must be likened to the abnormal appetite for slate pencils, chalk, etc., which is sometimes noted in girls who are suffering from poverty of the blood.
>o*Z ilia -r^r-E;
CHAPTER VI.
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Health is the dog’s natural condition and he would rarely know any other were he given freedom and left to himself. But he is put under restraint, his supply of sun- shine and pure air narrowed, and he is exposed to other unfriendly influences which must draw him away from Nature, — who is constantly struggling to keep him and all others in her domain free from ills, — and of these influ- ences some of the most potent lie in the familiar and faulty kennel conditions.
“ Any place is good enough for a dog ” is an expression which one hears with distressing frequency, yet it is scarcely more contemptible than the practices of many who pretend to care for him yet house him through all seasons in small boxes which scarcely afford more than mere covering, or in out-buildings, cold, draughty, damp, ill-kept and contaminated with emanations that must inevitably, sooner or later, undermine his constitution and impoverish his health, as well as make him a ready victim to inflammatory diseases.
No valid excuse can be given for faulty kennelling, no
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matter where the owners live or how poor they are, for he who is unable to provide suitable quarters for his dog else- where can share his own roof with him, and this no person of sense will be ashamed to do. But the problem of hous- ing can scarcely be as easily disposed of in all instances, for there are quite a number of varieties of dogs which for their own welfare should be quartered beyond the living rooms of their masters ; but still, the solution can be reached even where every trifling expense must be felt.
The most primitive kennel is a large and stoutly con- structed barrel of the kind used in these days for alcohol, kerosene oil and many other fluids. This placed on its side and blocked up a foot or more from the ground by stones, bricks or wood, and with a wide board inside for a floor, would afford fairly good summer quarters for a small dog, which if unchained during the mild season would not likely seek shelter except in stormy weather.
But while such a device might answer its purpose there are not many owners, even among the poorest, who would be content with it, nor has it any advantages beyond those of a packing case or “dry-goods box ” of goodly size if the top and sides of the same are covered by tarred paper. And the latter is certainly more sightly, while its cost is less than that of a barrel.
These boxes are used altogether for summer quarters by some breeders of varieties of medium sizes who place them about in the yards, providing one for each dog ; and theirs is certainly a commendable custom, for dogs so treated are nearer nature, therefore healthier than they would be in stables, barns or large kennels. Moreover, as such boxes are inexpensive they can be burned and replaced occasionally during the season, and the necessity of whitewashing or using disinfectants and insecticides thereby obviated.
the GREYHOUND, “GEM OF THE SEASON.
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A small house could easily be constructed by any one accustomed to the use of tools, and for a sum but slightly in excess of what a good box or barrel costs ; but to insure comfort it would be necessary to build on a dif- ferent plan than that so generally considered suitable for small out-door kennels.
The prime essentials in such a building are, amply suffi- cient space for the tenant to stand and turn easily, and protection from draughts.
The latter can only be met by building the kennel very wide — in fact nearly double the width required merely for sleeping quarters — and in this way provide a hall- way, as it were, which the tenant must enter from the out- side and pass through before he can reach his room.
In the construction of kennels of this sort “matched boards ” are generally used and tarred paper put in for lining, but while warmth is secured there are decided objections to this lining, for moisture accumulates be- tween it and the boards, and the quarters are damp for many days after a hard rain. Consequently it is best always to “batten” over the joints or put on shingles.
A small window in his room and facing his master’s house would be the desire of the tenant had he voice in the matter, and were this put in and provisions made for a storm window for cold weather the quarters would be much healthier for it.
There are several ways in which convenience in cleanli- ness may be favored : one, to hinge one-half of the roof to the other half, by which means it can be lifted as the lid of a box ; another, to “ cut in ” a door in front, at the side of the hall-way door ; but the best of all is to have the entire front hinged at the top so that it can be raised, when it will be easy to clean all parts inside.
The kennel completed and in place, a large platform
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should be built in front that the tenant may sun himself without being obliged to lie upon the ground.
Such a building as this properly situated, kept clean, etc., would be comfortable quarters for a dog in pleasant weather ; and if long-coated and hardy and he had plenty of exercise in the daytime he might pass the winter nights in it were an abundance of bedding put in and a piece of carpeting tacked over the door. Yet it has literally nothing to recommend it except perhaps its low cost, while many serious objections appear, one of which is that it must inevitably be damp at times. Consequently, to consider it further, the best situation for it, etc., would be simply wasting time and space.
A loose box in a stable of stock will do nicely for sleep- ing quarters, but he who has neither this nor other suita- ble out-house should build for his dog something deserving the name of kennel. Consenting to do so he will consider first the great requisites, which are dryness, air, sunshine, freedom from draughts, protection from cold, and con- venience.
If he has a choice of situations he should take the high ground as most favorable because of surface drainage, for nothing is more important in the construction of this, and for that matter every building, than that its foundation be protected from dampness, which, by the way, is an influ- ence positively destructive to dogs.
If the ground is sloping the floor timbers can be set on cedar posts projecting about two feet, but if level a founda- tion will be required. Merely a stone wall two feet in height will do for this if the soil is light or sandy, but if clayey or of other nature calculated to retain moisture it will be necessary to build such a wall and fill in with cin- ders or make a concrete foundation in this way : Over the space the building is to cover lay closely large stones ; fill
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in between them with small stones ; cement the top and “point ” the sides.
This foundation ought to be two feet in depth, and at least one barrel of cement with as much gravel as can safely be mixed with it should be used in its construction if the contemplated building is of the size about to be advised. And the floor timbers laid on it there will be absolutely no danger of dampness from the ground.
If intended for two small dogs or one large one the kennel should be nine or ten feet in length ; five feet in width ; height at the front nine feet, and at the back seven feet.
The timbers should be of spruce, free from large knots, sap or shakes, and of the following dimensions : —
Sills, 4x4; posts, 4x4; studs, 4x2 — double at open- ings, sixteen inches on centres ; plates, 4x2; rafters, 4x2 — twenty inches on centres ; floor joists, 6x 2 — eighteen inches on centres, — and these should be furred up on the rear and one end so that the floor when laid will have a double pitch of three-quarters of an inch to the foot and towards the small door for the dog.
Cover the rafters of roof and studding which form the walls with rough boarding ; over this on the walls place two thicknesses of Beaver brand sheathing paper.
Cover the papered walls with spruce clapboards, laid 4% inches — but not over this distance — to the weather using galvanized iron nails.
Under all finish around the doors, windows, etc., put on tarred paper over the sheathing paper.
Cover the roof with cedar shingles, laid 4 inches to the weather.
On the floor joists put down ^ rough boards ; on them two thicknesses of tarred paper, — turning the same up four inches all around the walls — and over all lay a finished floor.
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By building after this plan one will obtain a kennel which will be cool in summer but warm in winter and thoroughly weather-proof.
At one end there should be a door to admit the owner; while the door far the dog should be at the back and where it will open into his out-door yard.
This door should be large enough to permit the dog to pass through with ease, and it should be hung with “ fly hinges” that he may push it in or out.
Inside this door should be placed another so adjusted that it will slide up, that the tenant may be confined when desirable.
Mindful of the infinite importance of sunlight, a large sash window should be put in in front, and hinged that it may be opened when the weather is favorable. It must also be protected on the inside by strong wire netting securely fastened at top, bottom and sides.
This window cannot be depended upon for ventilation — of infinite importance in a kennel — nor are the small ventilating windows which are hinged at the bottom and chained at the sides perfectly safe, for the incoming air would likely strike the occupant while on the sleeping- bench. But this danger of draughts can be wholly obvi- ated by what is known as the “Eureka Ventilator” — a simple and inexpensive device, which placed high not only admits fresh air but draws out the foul air and at the same time keeps out the rain and snow.
As for painting, tints may be used if the owner fancies them, and the clapboards be of one color and the “ finish ” another, but three good coats of white paint, made of pure white lead and linseed oil only, would be preferable, for the reason it would not attract the sun in summer as much as dark colors.
Some breeders will have no other floors to their kennels
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than the ground, and this might do in the warm climates, or even in the cold were the buildings located on knolls and the surface drainage good, or there were trenches on all sides to rapidly carry away the water falling from the eaves and on the adjacent ground. But available situa- tions like this are rare, while to trench and drain securely would be quite expensive. And after all a ground floor that is perfectly dry even is no better if as good as one of boards, provided it is sloped, as directed in the foregoing, so that the water used in washing will drain off quickly. Earth is a disinfectant, it is true, but like all other agents of its kind there are limits to its power, and when it has been treated to impurities the emanations from it are not only highly offensive but very prejudicial to health.
Really a ground floor is to be preferred only where the dogs have an adjoining yard to which they have free access and they are cleanly in their habits, for otherwise it must have an absorbent covering and be frequently dug up and renewed.
Returning to the kennel undergoing construction, sleep- ing accommodations are next in order, and these are easily provided in the form of a bench about six inches in height and two or three feet in width — according to the size of the dog for which it is intended. This should be at the end opposite the door ; and that it may hold the bedding it should have a strip of board nailed to its front, while to prevent its being gnawed the top of this strip should be protected with hoop iron. It should also be built in two parts, with about one-third or one-fourth of it stationary, and to this part the other should be attached by hinges, so that it can be tipped up and back without necessitating removal of the bedding.
A sleeping-bench constructed in this way will greatly favor convenience, and the occupants can be easily pre-
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vented from carrying bones to their beds — a habit which is not only unpleasant but dangerous, for it has ended in death in consequence of intestinal stoppage caused by the straw swallowed during the gnawing.
This arrangement is ample for moderate weather, but as soon as winter sets in it will generally be necessary to provide a sleeping-box. One might be constructed over the bench, but it is cheaper and quite as well to use a large packing case. This well filled with bedding will furnish warm and cosey sleeping quarters. And economy and prudence suggest that it be burned in the spring or at once the occupant has infected it with mange, distem- per or other contagious disease.
All that remains to complete the furnishings are a gate or screen door, to be hinged to the outer part of the door- frame, for use in hot weather, and a storm window for winter.
A kennel constructed on these lines costs much less than the average reader will assume — in fact thirty-five, or at the most forty, dollars ought to pay for the work and materials. It might be built for less and it might cost more — all depending of course on the one who pro- vided the materials and the quality of work — but the largest sum stated should be ample for a well-con- structed building.
But cost what it may it is the very simplest and least expensive kind of a kennel, and the man who cannot pro- vide as good quarters as this ought not attempt to keep a dog. Certainly there is nothing fanciful about it ; it com- prises merely the absolute requisites, — dryness, air, sun- shine and protection from cold ; and if a puppy is denied either of these he will inevitably be weakly and stunted, if not worse, while under the same conditions a mature dog must as surely decline in health and vigor and become a frequent sufferer from disease.
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There are yet a few points in connection with this little building to be disposed of before going farther into the subject of kennelling. It should be so situated that it will catch the sun in the early morning and hold it until late in the afternoon. And it should always be well venti- lated, and the window and doors left open for the pur- pose of thorough airing while the tenant is taking his walks or scampers.
At the rear of the kennel there should be a clear space of not less than ten feet, to which the dog should have free access ; and all the better if a portion of this has a roof over it.
For bedding in winter, straw, coarse hay, or thoroughly dried fallen leaves are the best materials for short-coated dogs, but for the long-coated they would scarcely do because they break up and hang to the coat. In which case a piece of carpeting or blanket can be used ; and a bedding of this sort is preferable for collies and other dogs with long coats.
During warm weather, dogs generally are more com- fortable without bedding, but if any is required long pine shavings for choice, because they are objectionable to fleas.
Whatever its nature the bedding should be clean always and replaced at least once a week in pleasant weather ; while when foggy or rainy more frequent renewal will be absolutely necessary, for at such times it must soon become damp — in which state it is a grave menace to health.
Several times during the summer — the oftener the better — the entire inside of the kennel, not excepting the floors, should be treated to a thick coat of freshly prepared whitewash, the same being forced into every crack and cranny. And by this means all bad odors will
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be removed, perfect cleanliness insured, and fleas and other vermin driven out, and for a while at least the building will be obnoxious to them.
Should any of these pests become intolerable at a time when to whitewash is not convenient the owner will afford much relief if he applies kerosene oil quite freely, by means of a brush, to the sleeping-bench and walls.
As whitewashing is scarcely possible in winter, occa- sional fumigations by means of burning sulphur will be advisable ; and these should occur on damp days, as the agent in question acts best in the presence of moisture.
The following method suggests itself as the most con- venient : Close the small door and ventilator and tack over them pieces of carpeting or the like that the fumes may not escape. Leave the large door open for hasty exit. Place a pan of water on the floor, and in this a small tin or old crockery dish holding two handfuls of powdered sulphur ; over which pour a little alcohol. Touch a lighted match to it and step outside. Assured that the alcohol is burning, close the door and cover it with a stable blanket — tacking the same every few inches at the edges.
Four or five hours afterward open the large door, also the window and small door as soon as possible, and give the building a thorough airing before the tenant is returned to it.
It is scarcely necessary to add that this is one of the most efficient preventives of infectious diseases.
The kennel to the description of which so much space has been devoted is, as stated at first, intended for two dogs of small or medium size or a single large one. It represents all the requisites for healthy quarters, and those who propose to keep a larger number of dogs can build on its principles. But of course they must be well informed as to the peculiarities of the dogs for which the kennels
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are intended before they undertake their construction, for what would be suitable for one variety might not be so for another. And especially important would be a con- sideration of their dispositions, otherwise although the number of dogs might be small and the kennel large it might not be large enough for them owing to their fight- ing propensities.
For instance, dachshunds and Chesapeakes are savage fighters, and only a small number, and oftentimes no more than two, can share an apartment, whereas an entire pack of hounds might live together in peace and harmony.
The question of heating would also demand intelligent consideration, and manifestly it would never do to put short-coated and delicate varieties into kennels kept at a temperature which would be comfortable for such dogs as St. Bernards.
Again, in planning for large kennels dog-proof apart- ments for bitches in season, quarters for whelping, for pup- pies,— young and old, — for the sick, etc., must all be duly considered.
Evidently, therefore, this work is an important one, which should be attempted by those only who have had abundant experience, and with the varieties for which the buildings are intended.
As for him who quarters his dog in a stable or barn, he should give him a place near a window, keep his floor dry and clean, and by the means of a sleeping-bench obviate the danger of floor-draughts — which are surely fatal to development and ruinous to health. Unless the dog can go out at will, to maintain dryness in such a place will never be easy especially if the flooring is of planking, and the best method is to slope and cover it with cement or asphalt. But if this is out of the question it should have a layer of sawdust or dry and untainted clayey earth, sev-
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cral inches in depth, to hold the impurities and favor the removal of the deposits. And the absorbent covering should all be renewed at least twice a week, for it must soon become foul and throw off poisonous gases that not only greatly injure the general health but cause severe inflammation of the eyes.
And even in the face of careful treatment were a dog kept much of the time in such quarters the floor would likely soon reek with bad odors unless a disinfectant be employed. Therefore one should always be at hand and used about the bench, woodwork and floor, not alone for its deodorizing effect but for its unfriendliness to vermin and disease.
Efficacy, economy and safety all duly considered, the permanganate of potassium has as much to recommend it as any other agent of its class. It costs at wholesale only about fifty cents a pound, and this quantity is sufficient to make fifteen gallons of powerful deodorizer, which when recently prepared is no mean antiseptic. But as the solu- tion rapidly loses its virtues it is best to make it as required, by adding a tablespoonful of the crystals to a quart of water, and sprinkle it about with a small garden watering-pot.
Summarizing briefly, the paramount essentials in a ken- nel are, cleanliness, ample sunlight, an abundance of pure air, freedom from dampness and draughts, and protection from cold. Where these requirements are all met good health may be confidently expected, but where even one of them is disregarded, disease will invariably be a fre- quent visitor.
CHAPTER VII.
EXERCISE.
Man possesses many great truths that he is slow to reduce to practice, and very strangely no small proportion of them bear on his physical welfare. He wishes to be well and dreads to be sick, yet for some unaccountable reason he insists upon indulging his inclination in viola- tion of what he knows to be right, and scarcely any sub- ject is more unwelcome to him than that of organic law which he holds so lightly.
Among his many shortcomings but few are more pro- nounced than failure to give due attention to muscular exercise. He recognizes that it is beneficial, and theo- retically he is in favor of it, but of enthusiasm, as a rule he is surprisingly destitute. His notions of the good it does are also decidedly hazy, and when pressed to define them he usually indulges in vague generalities, among which appear opening the pores, getting up a muscle, brightening the spirits, etc. Usually, also, he is content with his indifferent knowledge of the subject, and his methods of applying what little he has are quite as erratic and incomprehensive as his definition.
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Underrating the value of exercise to himself he is far from likely to form a correct estimate of its importance in animal life unless it is literally forced upon him, and espe- cially reluctant is he to accept the truth when conviction means some sacrifice of his convenience, as it generally does where dogs are involved.
Considering all this, the writer feels it his duty to dis- cuss at considerable length the specific effects of exercise, the evils of too close confinement and the means by which dogs may be held in check and yet suffer much less injury than is generally inflicted by restraint.
Glancing at the physiology of exercise there first appears the fact that a very large part of the body consists of mus- cular tissue, in which is contained nearly one-quarter of the blood, and by it fully one-fourth of the nerve energy stored up in the body is turned into work. This tissue is made up of single muscles, the number of which in the dog is not accurately known, but as there are over five hundred in the human body it is fair to assume that this number is not very greatly in excess of that in all the higher order of animals. Every muscle has blood-vessels and nerves, and fresh blood is supplied its substance by the heart through its arteries and the fine network of small vessels formed by a minute subdivision of them. These small vessels open into and are continuous with veins of about the same size, and they in turn are united into larger and larger vessels that finally connect with the channels by which the blood is returned to the heart.
Once a muscle begins working the blood stream pass- ing through it becomes swollen and presents decided changes in quality. The blood which enters is bright red in color, rich in oxygen and poor in carbonic acid, while that which leaves it is dark blue in color and of a
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higher temperature ; it has parted with much of its oxygen and has taken up a large quantity of carbonic acid, also various products from chemical changes that have occurred in the food materials supplied the muscle by the blood, and in the muscle itself. Obviously this is the condition demanded for the integrity of a muscle, for it is now receiv- ing a full supply of fresh blood and there is free and rapid drainage of all its noxious waste matters. Go a little fur- ther and by means of proper food in sufficient quantity and an abundance of pure air render the blood rich in nutritive elements and oxygen, also allow the muscle due intervals of rest, and it must be not only healthy but increase in size and weight.
As exercise acts on a single muscle so it acts on the muscular system as a whole — it enlarges and strengthens it. But the muscles themselves are not the only parts of the body that are benefited by exercise, for brought into action by it they in turn increase the rapidity of the flow of blood to the heart. This vital organ also works more vigorously and a larger quantity of blood is sent through the lungs ; while the breathing is quickened and more oxygen absorbed. The fires within are now brightened up, and in consequence the skin and other organs of secre- tion and excretion are brought into action to get rid of the excess of heat and the clinkers and ashes, as it were, the products of combustion. Thus exercise acts as a spur and brings every important organ in the body into more active play.
Now, deprive the body of sufficient exercise and note the result. The digestive organs are among the first to show signs of distress and decline in power, and their work is but sluggishly and imperfectly performed ; the food con- stituents taken up from them by the blood are not properly oxidized ; drainage of noxious products is not only impeded
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in the muscles but in all the organs which constitute the body’s sewerage system, and in consequence this waste accumulates to still further lower vitality through its poi- sonous action. The digestive organs once weakened are soon seriously disordered, and all the time the whole sys- tem is sympathizing with them and suffering like derange- ment ; the nerves are unstrung ; all the various functions are impaired ; the muscles become soft and flabby or fat ; good health has gone and disease is imminent.
These are some of the evil consequences of a denial of sufficient exercise ; but there are yet others, and by no means the least serious of them is the peculiar tendency on the part of the victims to accumulate too much fat, which is not alone deposited under the skin and in the muscles of the body, but in and around the heart and other vital organs. No one needs to be told that meat which is lean is tough while that which is fat is tender; all may not know, however, that the difference is due not only to the presence of the fat but to its degenerating influence upon the muscle fibres. The heart — which is a muscle — and all other muscles are weakened as they are encroached upon by fat, and even if the same is merely deposited around them it mechanically interferes with their workings. Too fat dogs, like corpulent men, have generally fatty hearts ; moreover, they are “short-winded,” easily tired by exertion and singularly inclined to be con- stantly ailing.
Evidences of too close confinement are plainly mani- fested in dogs, but unfortunately they are seldom rightly interpreted, and oftentimes other influences, which if related are only distantly so, are held entirely responsi- ble for them. For instance, people chain up their dogs and give them meat, and if they become savage this food alone is blamed for it. As a matter of fact the restraint
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is very generally the cause of the changed demeanor, for under it good brisk circulation and healthy organic action — which promote buoyancy of spirit and contentment — are simply impossible, and these happy conditions must invariably give way to languor and irritability if not ferocity.
There is no reason why a sound and healthy puppy should not develop well and harmoniously if he is treated properly, but it is a deplorable fact that a well-proportioned and symmetrically built dog is far from the rule, and espe- cially among those raised in thickly settled places, where dogs are often trained to the chain at the earliest possible age, and long before they have reached maturity are wrung at the shoulders and dragged out of shape in consequence of their constant tugging.
It is simply the height of cruelty to keep a dog on the chain or otherwise too closely confined, for not only will it break him in spirit, make him dull and sullen and gnarl his body, but it must undermine his constitution and bring upon him a long train of evils, prominent among which are indigestion, eczema, disease of the kidneys, poverty of the blood, rheumatism and even convulsions.
There is also a moral responsibility that must not be lost sight of while weighing this fault. A man may say that his dog is his own to do with as he likes ; and this is true, yet not by any means in the widest sense, for he has no more right to abuse his dog than he has to abuse his child. In either instance he equally ill-treats one of God’s creatures and in the sight of Heaven stands convicted of an outrage alike in kind if not degree.
It must now be evident that the subject of exercise deserves more attention than is usually given it, and that when properly regulated it not only promotes well-bal- anced growth in the muscles and bones, and sustains and
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improves the bodily health, but without it good form, health and vigor are absolutely impossible. And if these facts have been impressed upon the minds of readers the space devoted to this preamble will have been well employed.
Diverting the subject to puppies, obviously they can be raised in large towns and cities, but, as with young children, the country is pre-eminently the best place for them until they arc well on the way to maturity, because of its superior hygienic advantages and opportunities for greater freedom. It is, indeed, a fact that country-bred puppies develop far better than those raised in cities, and while the former generally show up plump, strong, active and hardy, as often the latter are sadly deficient in these eminent qualities. And for puppies which are to be eventually trained for field work the country specially recommends itself, for it abounds in common sights — as cows, sheep, hens, pigeons, etc. — with which it is very essential that they should be familiar before their education commences, otherwise it must be an extremely difficult ta%k to teach them and hold them down to their lessons.
Puppies kept within doors and in small pens seldom if ever develop properly, but go over on their legs and feet and fall out of shape generally. Lack of exercise, which prevents their muscles from growing and strengthening as they ought, is largely responsible for these defects, but not entirely, for impure air, want of sufficient sunshine and other unhealthful influences are all active and tend to produce them by undermining the constitution and open- ing the door to rickets. The largest breeds are the first to decline under these influences, and so difficult is it to raise them except where the conditions are favorable and abundant opportunities for exercise in pure air and sun-
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“KAISSACK.” “KAISSACK II.” “ BIAGRAJDAI.”
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shine are afforded, fanciers of experience generally let their bitches “go over” if they come in use in the fall or early winter.
It follows, therefore, that puppies which cannot have constant liberty must be provided with yards — the largest possible — that they may be out and playing about on pleasant days. And at least one side of these enclosures — preferably that facing the master’s house — should be of wire netting or narrow boards nailed on per- pendicularly, with spaces of not less than an inch between them and extending to the ground, that the puppies may easily see out while on all fours, for were they to stand much on their hind legs to look over or through the sides they would be quite sure to suffer deformity in those parts.
The yards should be invariably so located that all parts of them will receive direct rays of the sun during a consid- erable portion of every day, because it is utterly impossi- ble for a puppy to thrive and grow strong and rugged in quarters to which they are inaccessible ; moreover, where the sun cannot enter disease is sure to be lurking.
The terribly destructive influences of filth on health must also be duly appreciated, and provisions made for free drainage and to favor easy and thorough cleaning. While if the yards are covered with loam, gravel, sand or other material that is capable of absorbing moisture, a hard sur- face will be absolutely necessary, otherwise it must soon become loaded with impurities, the emanations from which would prove in a high degree poisonous.
Consequently the ground having been sloped it should be flagged, cemented or covered with other concrete ; after which it will be easy to clean the surface thor- oughly, and to this end the hose should be used every day in summer and quite frequently in winter.
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After puppies are three months old, at all times when the weather is fine they can be allowed to leave their ken- nels at will and enter their yards, each of which should be provided with a low bench for them to lie on when tired of play, and an old piece of canvas or something of the sort to cover a corner of the enclosure on very hot days. But younger puppies must not be turned into yards and left to themselves, for were it done and they permitted to lie on flags or concrete, even in hot weather they would be likely to suffer serious injury in consequence. There- fore always while these youngsters are out they should be kept on the move and returned to quarters for their naps.
When it is impossible to provide a yard with a hard sur- face and the other conditions — ample sunlight, etc. — advised, instead of using indifferent quarters the owner should give the puppies the run of his own dooryard and lawns, being careful always while yet they are very young not to let them out until the ground is dry. And he should keep in mind the fact, already made prominent in “Feeding,” that in order that puppies may be generously fed and thrive as they ought and come up firm and strong on good and shapely legs and feet they must be kept on the move much of the time between daylight and dark.
A yard suitable for older puppies and mature dogs has certain conditions which are important enough to deserve description here.
It goes without saying that in every instance it should be as large as possible. For dogs of varieties of fairly good size, pickets three or four inches in width and eight feet long may be used in building the fence ; and they, by the way, should be nailed on inside the rails.
After the posts have been set in place a trench not less than one foot in depth should be dug between them in
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EXERCISE .
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which to sink the pickets, and in filling this stones that can be conveniently gathered should be mixed with the dirt, and all tamped down as hard as possible.
The pickets now stand seven feet above ground, and unless the tenant of the yard is of small breed this is none too high, for even among heavy and seemingly clumsy dogs there are not a few that can make their way over a fence six feet in height.
To save the pickets from being gnawed two or more base boards will be required, and these should be from six to eight inches in width and about three inches apart.
A fence of this sort freely admits the air and sunshine, and the rails being on the outside and nothing within to afford a foothold, to jump it is well-nigh impossible. If, however, an inmate succeeded in making his way over, there would be nothing to do but to build the fence higher, although some advise putting a ledge around the tops of the pickets for the jumper to strike his head against. But this plan is not advisable, for the blow or fall might cause serious injury, and one should not take any chances with good dogs.
A fence of pickets has been advised for the reasons that it is cheaper than any other, is easily constructed and quite durable. Without doubt, however, an iron fence is the best and safest in every way, but such is expensive, although not necessarily very decidedly so if made of rods passed through top and bottom rails spiked to posts and set at about the same distances from the ground as the rails of picket fences of about the same height.
A more sightly fence than one of wooden pickets can be made of wire-netting, and were the same closely woven and of wire of good size it would do nicely were the dogs of small breeds. But this netting must be very strong to hold a large dog.
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While a picket fence constructed as described is suita- ble for most dogs, there arc a few notorious burrowers and gnawers — working terriers and dachshunds, for instance, — which can only be held by a “ close-board ” fence having a foundation of large stones to a depth of two feet. And this fact suggests the advisability of all making themselves familiar with the peculiarities of the dogs which they are purchasing before they undertake to build quarters for them.
The ground within every dog yard ought to be sloping, that rapid drainage may occur after rain falls. And it should be given a hard surface as advised for puppy yards. But the subject of expense is one that must be considered by many readers, therefore it becomes necessary to advise how the ground should be treated when it is impossible to cover it with flags, cement or other concrete.
If the soil is rich or the subsoil of clay, and in fact if it is other than sandy or gravelly, the surface must inevita- bly be very soft and muddy during many days of the year unless there is good drainage. The easiest and least expensive means to this end, and one very nearly as effec- tive as any in ground like this, is known as the blind-drain. And a sufficient number of these drains having been laid, the surface of the entire yard should be covered to the depth of three or four inches with sand, coal-dust or ashes, by which means it will be made comparatively dry; and that it should be so is of the highest importance, for dampness has a most destructive influence on dogs, and especially those that are under restraint — in fact there is scarcely a more potent cause of disease.
In all yards there should be a comfortably large bench for the dogs to lie upon, and this can properly have a roof over it at all times, also back and sides in cold weather, during which it should stand in the most sunny place,
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while in summer it should be much in the shade, for dogs are frequently victims of what is evidently sun- stroke.
Here, as in puppy yards, frequent cleaning is impera- tively demanded, and especially in hot weather, when the heat acting upon filth makes it literally a hot-bed for dis- ease. And, by the way, the breeder is especially fortu- nate who is so situated that he can provide two kennels and two yards for his puppies so that one set can be used one day, then vacated and thoroughly washed out and left to dry until the following day, when it can be again occu- pied and the other treated in the same manner.
While insisting that all puppies and dogs should have yards in which to exercise themselves and take the air on pleasant days the fact is duly appreciated that in occa- sional instances this provision will be absolutely impossi- ble ; and these appear in cities, in many sections of which the breathing spaces between the houses are often only a few feet in width, and in which it is the common custom to chain dogs to small out-door kennels during the day and admit them to the kitchens or basements at night. But even in the presence of such unfavorable conditions the owners can manage to lessen somewhat the force of the confinement.
Where the door-yards of houses are very small the fol- lowing is often resorted to with merciful effect : A post long enough to extend at least six feet above ground is set up ten, twenty or thirty feet — as far as possible from the kennel — and to this post is made fast a telegraph wire. After stringing on the same a strong, well-made ring at least two inches in diameter, the free end of the wire is attached to a building, fence or another post like the first in the rear of the kennel if a small one, while to the ring sliding freely on the wire the chain of the dog is fastened
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with a snaffle hook. Then although held in check he has still quite a range.
The amount of exercise required by dogs varies in the different breeds also in different members of the same breed, therefore it would be quite as impossible to fix a rule applicable to all as it would be to fashion a mask that would fit the faces of all mankind. The largest dogs as a whole are singularly sluggish and inactive if left to them- selves, consequently they are more trouble to their owners, who must take them out at least once a day and give them slow, steady exercise for an hour or more. The smaller varieties, on the other hand, are in the habit of leaping and