304 MODERN TRAINING. 



Some prairie hay should be laid evenly on the bottom of 

 the wagon for the comfort of the dogs when riding to and 

 from the hunting grounds, or when they are resting. The 

 weather in August is invariably oppressively hot, and there- 

 fore it is very distressing for dogs to work for more than an 

 hour or two at a time. Plenty of water is indispensable. 

 A bountiful supply should be provided before starting, par- 

 ticularly if the water is good. The quality of the water is 

 not uniformly good, some wells having an alkali or lime im- 

 pregnation. Many homes in the country get their water 

 from a pit dug in low ground which contains surface water, 

 while some depend on stagnant slough water; hence if the 

 shooter neglects to supply himself before starting, it may 

 occasion much inconvenience during the day. Dogs require 

 an abundance of water, and must have it to work well. In 

 the country, there is often great difficulty in caring properly 

 for dogs. The housing for all domestic animals, and for 

 the family, is frequently of the most primitive and ineffi- 

 cient character. When the -frosty nights come, it is both 

 cruel and ungrateful to make a dog shift for his sleeping 

 quarters. It is pitiful to see his stiffness and painful move- 

 ments in the morning after sleeping beside some haystack 

 or even less comfortable place. If there is no barn in which 

 he can be put, his crate can be placed on a bed of hay 

 about two feet deep, and the whole covered with hay on the 

 sides and top about six or eight feet deep, leaving an aper- 

 ture just large enough for the dog to crawl in and out. Hay 

 is always abundant and cheap. If there is no crate, some 

 boards can be easily nailed together to make a substitute. 

 If the hotel does not afford a sufficiency of scraps, a couple 

 of old prairie chickens or ones badly shot may be boiled for 

 each dog. Usually it is better to buy the dog-food and have 

 it cooked, as there is every probability that a Minnesota, 

 Iowa, Nebraska, or Dakota small country hotel will not 



