PUPPIES 89 



puppies. For a man living in the country, with 

 a big place and grown-np children, or at most but 

 one or two youngsters, the bitch would be a very 

 good choice. Such a man would have the leisure 

 and inclination to breed her and raise high-class 

 pups on the side, and an advertisement of any such 

 litter in any one of the sporting magazines will 

 easily clean out the whole lot, if good ones. Keep- 

 ing the best pups for a future sire, and one or two 

 of the bitch puppies for future matrons, he has 

 the basis of a nice kennel — good, strong, line-bred 

 stock. One more sire, bought later from outside 

 stock, would save him from the evils of too much 

 line breeding, and, by putting the puppies out to 

 walk with farmers in the neighbourhood, after 

 they get over eight months of age, he has his stock 

 where it can flourish healthily and will be more im- 

 mune from ravages of disease. Most farmers will 

 board your pup very inexpensively ; some will take 

 him for the protection to the farm that a dog of 

 any kind always gives. 



Your first pup will naturally be bought from 

 some kennel whose stock you fancy. Most ken- 

 nelmen are reliable, and they have had the ad- 

 vantage of having seen and noted the puppies 

 when they were just born, which is the only time 

 that any idea can be formed of their probable 



