THE MANAGEMENT OF DOGS IN HEALTH. 109 



tinued and violent exercise tliey get, the material (source 

 of energy) which they store up in their tissues. 



Some dogs are such uncertain and capricious feeders 

 that their cai-e taxes to the utmost the skill of the most 

 judicious. Such specimens are commonly defective in 

 stamina, easily disordered, and unsuitable either as stud 

 dogs or brood bitches, as their progeny are apt to inherit 

 these undesirable qualities. 



A word of warning may be in place regarding bones. 

 While useful as indicated above, when very hard they 

 wear down the teeth, and it is often a question whether 

 they should be allowed to old dogs at all. They clean a 

 dog's teeth, and if they can be secured of the right kind it 

 is well not to withhold them entirely. But very hard 

 bones, and those which when broken present sharp edges, 

 as those of fowls and of game birds, are absolutely unsafe, 

 as there can be no doubt that they have caused death 

 by puncturing the digestive tract, especially the intes- 

 tines. 



A question much debated is the frequency of feeding. 

 Should an adult dog be fed only once, twice, or oftener, 

 during the day? To all such questions no categorical 

 answer can be given. Circumstances must be taken into 

 account. It has been said that the dog's stomach is large 

 and his digestion slow ; that the carnivora often subsist for 

 days on a single meal, etc., and therefore the dog should 

 be fed only once a day. 



The dog's stomach is rather large as compared with 

 man's ; but the rapidity of his digestion depends greatly on 

 a variety of circumstances. Digestion is less rapid when 

 the stomach is distended, and in an animal in a gross con- 



