USEFUL INFORMATION REGARDING DOGS. 873 



During very hot weather it would be well to remove all bedding from 

 under litters of very young puppies. Place them on the floor so the air 

 can circulate around them. During this trying season the young puppies, 

 must be kept as cool as possible or they will go under. A big lump of 

 ice placed in the shade of the window-sill will help cool the atmosphere 

 in the kennels. 



Care — Diet — Nursing. — Absolute cleanliness, an unfailing supply of 

 fresh air, a suitable temperature, plenty of fresh water, general comfort, 

 and last but not least, companionship is needed by a sick dog. Locking 

 a dog in a darkened room or stall, or any unaccustomed change, will work 

 havoc with a sick dog. He wants to see his master, he relies upon his 

 companionship, and he turns to him as if to a god, with a sublime confi- 

 dence in his master's ability to help him in his difficulty. A word of ap- 

 probation is worth more to his nervous system than drugs, and he will 

 frequently eat and take nourishment simply to please his master. 



Dogs have sensitive stomachs, and often, as a result of indigestion, 

 refuse to eat altogether. In these cases this is Nature's method of work- 

 ing a cure. 



If the dog is down with some febrile disorder that is rapidly weaken- 

 ing him it is important that he take some nourishment. Necessarily it must 

 be of the lightest and most sustaining character. 



Medical practitioners and trained nurses have brought the dietary of 

 the sick room up to a perfection that the canine practitioner can study 

 with good results. 



There are a number of predigested foods easy of preparation, nour- 

 ishing and sustaining. Milk, mutton broth, gelatine and raw eggs are val- 

 uable foods. Boiled rice is easy of digestion. Raw beef or mutton, minced 

 or chopped fine, fed a few teaspoonfuls at a time, will act in many cases as 

 a tonic to an exhausted stomach, and should be resorted to, as there is 

 always danger of a disordered stomach rebelling against too long contin- 

 ued liquid food. A few teaspoonfuls of brandy or port wine will frequently 

 cause the stomach to retain food that would otherwise be rejected. It is 

 best given in the form of an egg-nog and fed a few teaspoonfuls at a time. 



A dog will eat small quantities of food offered from his master's hand 

 when he will refuse it from a dish. Do not allow a pan of food to remain 

 before him after he has declined to eat. Remove it at once and offer it at 

 some future time. 



Conduct of Dogs in the Show King — Of far more importance than is 

 often thought to be the case, is the conduct of a dog when before the judge. 

 A dog to be seen at his best on the eventful day should have some little 

 preliminary training. It is one thing to have a decent specimen, and quite 

 another for it to comport itself so that the judge can take in at a glance, 

 and with the least possible delay, the chief points. A dog that will not 

 show itself to advantage is at an obvious disadvantage with one that knows 

 the business thoroughly, and whose owner is able to display all his strong 

 points without unduly exposing his weak ones. Old show hands know 

 this very well, as any one may see for himself by watching attentively 

 the expert handlers at a show like the New York Show. There are some 

 judges who will take a lot of pains to get a nervous dog to show himself, 

 but there are others, having heavy classes to judge, who cannot bestow the 

 time necessary to get each individual dog in the best humor to show 

 himself. 



Such being the case, it is, too, politic of an owner to either take the 

 dog into the ring himself, or else leave it to someone who is an expert in the 

 business, or that the dog knows perhaps as well as its owner. All owners 

 cannot, of course, keep a kennelman, or indeed, accompany their charges; 

 but if a valuable dog is being shown it Is not wise to leave it to a perfect 

 stranger to "handle" the animal. There are a number of expert handlers 

 at every show, and the novice that has a good dog and cannot conven- 



