FLA TULENCE — FLESH 



being a dark brown, a yellow eye being a very bad fault ; 

 and the ears, which should be V-shaped, lie close to the 

 sides of the head. A long, powerful neck is a character- 

 istic of the breed, and the shoulders should be long and 

 well laid back, as the retriever must be an active dog, else 

 he will be useless for work. The chest is deep, but not 

 too wide ; the back very broad and muscular ; the ribs not 

 being too much sprung ; but the loins, which are slightly 

 arched, should be muscular. The fore-legs are set on well 

 under the dog, of fair length and heavy in bone ; the feet 

 being large and compact, with thick soles, and the hind- 

 quarters extremely powerful, with very muscular thighs; 

 whilst the tail, which is well feathered, is slightly arched 

 near the root. The outer coat is moderately long, per- 

 fectly flat and dense, with a close, sealskin-like jacket 

 underneath to keep out the cold and damp. The prevailing 

 colour is black, but light, golden-liver specimens are to be 

 found. (See Cui'ly-coated Retriever?) 



Flatulence. — Dogs often suffer from this to a very ob- 

 jectionable extent, the most usual cause being indigestion, 

 the result of improper feeding and inadequate exercise. 

 The remedy is to remove the cause. (See Indigestion.) 



Fleas are very troublesome to dogs which are not kept 

 properly clean and have not their beds changed often 

 enough. The best means of eradicating these pests is to 

 wash the dogs with carbolic soap in water in which quassia 

 chips have been soaked. A small handful of the chips, 

 which may be obtained of any chemist, should be tied up 

 in muslin and placed in a jug of boiling water until it is 

 cold. The water may then be added to that in which the 

 dog is washed. {^^^ Ticks y Washing Dogs.) 



Flesh.— Raw flesh is occasionally a very good change 

 of food for dogs, provided that it is fresh and comes from 

 a healthy animal. (See Feeding^ 



92 



