CHAPTER II. 

 KENNELS AND KENNELING. 



" ANY place is good enough for a dog," is a venerable aphorism easy of quotation and capable 

 of frequent application by those uninitiated in the management of dogs; but it is nevertheless 

 wholly without foundation in fact, as those who have attempted to kennel valuable stock in 

 unfitting quarters have discovered to their cost. There are many breeds which are totally 

 unadaptcd for confinement in towns at all events in numbers exceeding one or two. Dogs 

 are not, like poultry and pigeons, pets whose natural tendencies can be rendered subservient 

 to the will and desire of their masters. No amount of artificial feeding and attention can, 

 in the case of many varieties, adequately supply the want of unlimited exercise, which is 

 especially essential in the case of growing puppies, whose eventual success on the show-bench 

 or in the field will greatly depend upon the development of bone and muscle, and the 

 symmetry of a clean and well-proportioned body. In all breeds, the more exercise obtained 

 the better it is for the dog ; but in the case of certain varieties, especially ladies' toy-dogs, 

 free exercise is not the absolute necessity which renders the successful breeding of the 

 larger varieties an impossibility in crowded neighbourhoods. We do not for one moment 

 doubt or deny that excellent specimens have been born and bred in the hearts of great cities, 

 but these must be regarded as simply the rare exceptions which make manifest the rule. 

 Nothing but the strictest attention to cleanliness can possibly be looked to as a means of 

 successfully combating the diseases which are for ever lurking in the precincts of crowded 

 kennels ; and it is well-nigh hopeless to expect dogs to be clean either in person or habits, 

 where a sufficient amount of exercise is denied to them. As an instance, one of the largest 

 and most experienced breeders of the larger breeds of dogs in the neighbourhood of London, 

 not long since had his entire kennel of puppies and young dogs swept off within the space 

 of a few days. On inquiring into the cause of this calamity, we were informed that the 

 disease had the appearance of typhoid fever, which we were not surprised to hear, having a 

 lively recollection of the state of the kennels on a previous visit to them. 



All dogs, but more especially puppies, suffer more or less from being chained up. Not 

 only docs the collar almost invariably leave an unsightly ring in the hair on the neck, and 

 thereby considerably affect the dog's beauty, but the frequent struggling at the chain drags 

 the shoulders out of all shape, and affects the proper development of that part of the body 

 Any one, therefore, who wishes to rear fine animals, but more particularly if he proposes 

 to gain reputation as a successful breeder or exhibitor of canine stock, should, before embarking 

 on such an enterprise, well consider the means at his disposal for comfortably and at the 

 same time economically housing the dogs by whose instrumentality he trusts to arrive at 

 the desired goal. We use the word economically in the last sentence advisedly ; for any person 

 who starts by investing a large sum of money in elaborate kennels is doing what all prac- 

 tical people will consider a very rash action. Many a young beginner in dog-breeding has 

 retired in disgust from some disappointment or other circumstance, just at the moment when, 



