12 THE CHOICE OF A DOG 



proachable lineage by no means guarantees that tHey 

 will display all the points set out in the accepted 

 standard. Having made up your mind what you 

 will buy, you have next to consider whether it shall 

 be a puppy or an adult, and there is much to be 

 said on both sides. The puppy is a delightful little 

 creature, full of amusing antics, and if you are really 

 fond of animals you will derive endless pleasure from 

 tending him and breaking him in to your ways. At 

 the same time, it will undoubtedly entail a certain 

 amount of trouble. Puppies, like children, have their 

 ailments. He will need intelligent feeding, possibly 

 physicking, and you have always to face the prob- 

 ability of that dread disease distemper, through 

 which most youngsters have to pass. He will not 

 necessarily die, buy you may take it for granted that 

 it will be more than an even chance against him. If 

 he gets through, and you have done your duty by 

 him, he will be more attached to you than ever. He 

 will also show his friendly feeling by tearing up your 

 rugs, and doing as much mischief as time and the 

 laxity of a stern master will permit. An adult dog 

 over distemper will save you much bother, but will 

 obviously cost more money. He may also have de- 

 veloped bad habits which you would have checked 

 if his training had been in your hands. On the 

 whole, with all diffidence, I would venture to suggest 

 that the age of nine or ten months is not a bad 

 one. By that time the young hopeful has escaped 

 many of his troubles, and yet he is not too old to be 

 impressionable and adaptable. 



You will find that there is nothing like a fixed 

 value for a dog '; one puppy in the litter may be worth 

 30 when he is a couple of months old, while another 



