214 DOGS 



away. But even when living in the country or the 

 suburbs, it may be impossible to let the dog have 

 the run of the house, and perhaps you may take 

 a fancy for breeding, or even keep a couple or two 

 of beagles. Then they must be accommodated out 

 of doors, though neither you nor they will like it, 

 and you will lose much of the pleasure of each 

 other's society. But with regular exercise there is 

 no reason why the dogs should not be in capital 

 condition, especially if they have never been used to 

 anything else ; and indeed in confinement they are 

 on a healthier regimen, as they get their wholesome 

 meals *^ more regular." A yard is of course better 

 than the chain, but it must be a yard where there 

 IS little coming or going, and whence escape is im- 

 possible. For double security, the door should be 

 doubly latched. Next to that, perhaps, comes a 

 loose-box in a stable, where the prisoner can frisk 

 about and has no sense of chains and fetters. It may 

 be assumed that a good stable is well ventilated, 

 but then there is the lack of light and sunshine, 

 and the loss of the human society which the dog 

 delights in. Naturally, he will have made friends 

 with the grooms and helpers, but they only see to 

 the horses at stated hours. Spying on his privacy 

 through a window, I have seen such a dog, with 

 one ear pricked and the other turned to the pave- 

 ment, listening wistfully to the approaching tread 

 of a foot, and dashing eagerly against the bars when 

 his acquaintance stepped in. He had been craving 

 for an hour or two for human fellowship, and the 



