THE OLD ENGLISH SHEEPDOG. 



119 



allowance has been made for it in the scale 

 of points. Granting the great difficulty of 

 properly appraising action in the small and 

 overcrowded rings which the exigencies of 

 space impose upon our judges, it is doubt- 

 ful whether sufficient importance is generally 

 attached to what should be a very leading 

 feature in the judging of a working dog. 



In his slow action a bob-tail should move 

 like a bear, working the fore and hind leg 

 on either side simultaneously, with a curious, 

 indescribable shuffle of the hind quarters, 

 which work from loin to toe with every 

 lengthy stride. Free to move at speed, he 

 should be an active, tireless galloper, cover- 

 ing the ground at a pace quite unsuspected 

 in an animal of his build, and travelling with 

 wonderfully little apparent effort. 



So much for the outward appearance of 

 the ideal bob-tail. Con- 

 sidering the multitude of 

 details which must be 

 combined to produce 

 such perfection, it will 

 be admitted that the 

 breeder who attains to 

 the front rank has ac- 

 complished a task by no 

 means easy. 



Turning now to the 

 questions of care and 

 kennel management, we 

 may omit such general 

 rules as apply to every 

 breed, and concern our- 

 selves rather with such 

 simple hints as shall 

 serve the novice in deal- 

 ing with the Old English 

 Sheepdog. 



To start with the 

 puppy, it is obvious that 

 where bone and sub- 

 stance are matters of 

 special desirability, it is 

 essential to build up in the infant what is 

 to be expected of the adult. For this 

 reason it is a great mistake to allow the 

 dam to bring up too many by herself. To 

 about six or seven she can do justice, but 

 a healthy bitch not infrequently gives birth 



to a dozen or more. Under such circum- 

 stances the services of a foster-mother are 

 a cheap investment. By dividing the litter 

 the weaklings may be given a fair chance 

 in the struggle for existence, otherwise they 

 receive scant consideration from their 

 stronger brethren. 



At three or four days old the tails should 

 be removed, as near the rump as possible. 

 The operation is easy to perform, and if 

 done with a sharp, clean instrument there 

 is no danger of after ill effects. 



If the mother be kept on a very liberal 

 diet, it will usually be found that she will 

 do all that is necessary for her family's 

 welfare for the first three weeks, by which 

 time the pups have increased prodigiously 

 in size. 



They are then old enough to learn to lap 



MR. H. DICKSON'S 

 BY STYLISH BOY — 

 Photograph by T. Fall. 



CH HANDSOME BOY 



-DOLLY DAYDREAM. 



for themselves, an accomplishment which 

 they very speedily acquire. Beginning with 

 fresh cow's milk for a week, their diet 

 may be gradually increased to Mellin's or 

 Benger's food, and later to gruel and Quaker 

 Oats, their steadily increasing appetites 



