THE MANAGEMENT OF DOGS IN HEALTH. 103 



choose the same foodstuffs, though all their foods meet the 

 above conditions ; and according as they derive their sup- 

 plies from the bodies of other animals, from the vegetable 

 kingdom alone or from both, are they termed carnivora, 

 herbivora, or omnivora. 



It is found that while the digestive apparatus has a 

 common resemblance in all, it varies in details of size, 

 structure, etc. 



In the carnivora the stomach is always simple and the 

 intestine relatively short, especially the large gut ; in the 

 herbivora the stomach is always in part a reservoir for the 

 storing of food as well as an organ for its digestion, and is 

 often much divided into compartments, each with a differ- 

 ent function, while the intestine, especially the large in- 

 testine, is voluminous. The digestive tract of the omniv- 

 ora is somewhat intermediate, but approximates that of 

 the carnivora rather than of the herbivora. 



In type the dog is unquestionably carnivorous in both 

 organization and tendencies, as is shown in a puppy's 

 eagerness for a bone almost as soon as its eyes are open. 



Nevertheless, it must not be forgotten that habit for 

 ages has greatly modified this tendency, and with the 

 dog's altered environment there must come changed feed- 

 ing. 



Experience proves exactly what we should expect from 

 the dog's ancestral relationships, that the more he ap- 

 proaches in mode of life the carnivora, with their ex- 

 tremely active habits, the more completely may he be fed 

 on flesh — in fact, must he be so fed if he is to prosper — 

 e. g., dogs hunted hard daily Duiy be fed better on a flesh 

 diet than on any other, perhaps, in the large proportion 



