USEFUL INFORMATION REGARDING DOGS. 271 



plainer looking fathers or brothers have begotten offspring of a far better 

 stamp, though with only half the chances of success. 



A stud fee is for the service of the dog to the bitch, irrespective of 

 whether any puppies result from the union or not, unless special arrange- 

 ments have been previously made between the owner of stud dog and brood 

 bitch, varying that accepted custom, or the dog should be proved a non- 

 stock getter, in which case the latter may claim back any fee paid. After 

 the visit they should both be fed and put away in a separate kennel. A 

 bitch that has visited the dog should not be sent on a railway journey the 

 same day. 



Bitches Sent for Service. — On the arrival of a bitch for service, the 

 owner of the stud dog should, unless time is a matter of consideration, 

 fasten her up securely and let her recover from the fatigues of her journey 

 before the introduction takes place. A night's rest and a feed are very likely 

 to assist Natures' course, a bitch served immediately after a tiring journey 

 being far more likely to miss conception than one who has rested and be- 

 come a little accustomed to the place and those around her. Many bitches 

 are very troublesome and restive when with the dog, and throw" them- 

 selves about in a violent manner; others are savage and morose, and if 

 not carefully looked after are likely to fly at him and perhaps do some 

 serious injury. In such cases the bitch must be held by the collar, but care 

 should be taken that she does not get half suffocated by too tight a grasp 

 being placed on it. The possibility of a fight taking place, or of the dog 

 requiring some assistance, especially in the case of young bitches, make it 

 undesirable that the pair should be left alone together for any length of. 

 time, much less after connection has terminated. 



After union it is some time before the animals can be separated; 

 twenty minutes is about the average, though, of course, this period is often 

 exceeded or decreased in duration. After that the breeder must wait pa- 

 tiently for Nature to take its course, when the bitch should be kennelled 

 by herself on straw, and kept as quiet as possible. It is desirable that 

 a second visit should, if possible, be paid after an interval of thirty-six or 

 forty-eight hours. The majority of the owners of stud dogs gladly con- 

 sent to this arrangement, as it lessens the chances of the bitch proving bar- 

 ren, and also saves them trouble, and their dogs from getting a bad name 

 as a stock getter. 



When you get your bitch home, she is very likely to be yet in season, 

 as being served generally prolongs the season for a few days — and you must 

 now be very careful that no other dog gets at her, which might spoil all 

 that was done. 



KENNEL SUGGESTIONS 



Quite a number of the following have been written by Harry W. Lacy, 

 Editor of the American Fancier, a mair who understands dogs and their 

 care, which he learned in England — and I have saved these up, as much 

 benefit can be derived therefrom, as well as "Kennel Dont's," which fol- 

 lows this. 



A number of suggestions for the care of dogs have been made from 

 time to time in "Notes for Novices" in Our Dogs (Eng.), and in them 

 there is a great deal to be learned in the way of detail by every novice 

 who starts to keep a dog or dogs. Incessant watching for and proper at- 

 tention to those little matters count for much more than one would think 

 at first sight. But the experienced fancier knows the value of those extra 

 attentions, and his knowledge can be seen in the general appearance of 



