524 MODERN FARRIER* 



52. Feeding Dogs. 



Dogs should neither be badly fed nor over-fed. 

 A mixture of vegetable and animal, food is the best^ 

 In some kennels meal and milk are constantly given^ 

 and dogs will thrive on this diet during the season 

 they do not hunt ; but, when their exertions are 

 required, this food will not be sufficiently nutritious. 

 All the meals are used for this purpose, but wheat- 

 meal is the most preferable, when it can be procured, 

 it being the least likely to produce a heated skin : 

 barley-meal, and oat-meal are most frequently given, 

 and are sufficiently nutritious when mixed with 

 either milk or brotli ; but when constantly used, 

 they may be productive of the mange. Potatoes, 

 without meal, will be a wholesome food for dogs 

 wdiich are not exercised, and are sufficiently nutri- 

 tious when mixed with milk or butter-milk. When 

 it is most convenient to feed them on potatoes, and 

 the food i;> not sufficiently relished, let them be 

 mixed wdtli greaves, or other fatty matter, and they 

 will then be greedily swallowed. 



Horse flesh is a strong nutritious food for dogs 

 who undergo great exercise, but it should not be 

 o'iven continually, or in great quantities. Animal 

 food should never be given to a dog more than once 

 a day, as he digests his food very slowly, a full m^eal 

 of iiesh not being digested in less than twenty-four 

 hours. If full fed with meat, once a day will be 

 sufficient, except the allowance per day be divided, 

 and Avhich will be more salutary, as a dog swallows 

 his victuals very greedily. Hard-worked dogs, as 

 soon as fed, should be shut up, to encourage sleep, 

 for digestion is promotion more by sleeping than by 



waking. 



The broth in which salted meat has been boiled 

 should never be given to dogs. Parsnips, carrots, 

 and cabbages are not nourishing ; but dogs wdll live 



