CHOICE OF WHELPS. 201 



CHOICE OF WHELPS. 



To choose the ichelps in the nest wliich are to be kept, most 

 people select on different principles, each having some peculiar 

 crotchet to guide himself. Some take the heaviest, some the 

 last born ; others the longest of the litter ; while others again are 

 entirely guided by colour. In toy dogs, and those whose appearance 

 is an important element, colour ought to be allowed all the weight 

 it deserves, and among certain toy dogs the value is often affected 

 a hundred per cent, by a slight variation in the markings. So also 

 among pointers and setters, a dog with a good deal of white should 

 be preferred, on the score of greater utility in the field, to another 

 self-coloured puppy which might otherwise be superior in all 

 respects. Hounds and greyhounds are however chosen for shape and 

 make, and though this is not the same at birth as in after life, still 

 there are certain indications which are not to be despised. Among 

 these the shoulders are more visible than any others, and if on 

 lifting up a puppy by the tail he puts his forelegs back beyond his 

 ears, it may be surmised that there will be no fault in his shape 

 in reference to his fore quarter, supposing that his legs are well 

 formed and his feet of the proper shape, which last point can 

 hardly be ascertained at this time. The width of the ^hips, and 

 shape of the chest, with the formation of the loin, may also be 

 conjectured, and the length of the neck is in like measure sha- 

 dowed forth, though not with the same certainty as the shoulders 

 and ribs. A very fat puppy will look pudgy to an inexperienced 



