FOOD A\ T D EXERCISE. 



21 



would hold an insufficient supply, we strongly recommend an enamelled iron trough similar 

 in shape to the feeding-trough shown in Fig. 9. 



Having thus described the feeding of dogs where considerable numbers are kept, and 

 which consequently require regular business arrangements to be made, a few lines may be 

 devoted to the requirements of those who only keep one or two dogs in-doors. Inexperienced 

 persons often inquire how to feed their pets, and the first question generally is, whether 

 scraps from the table injure the health. From what has gone before, it may be gleaned 

 that scraps given with judgment are a very beneficial diet. The main thing, never to be lost 

 sight of, is that the supply of meat given a dog must greatly depend upon the life he leads ; 

 and in the case of dogs kept in-doors, the amount of exercise they get is usually in one 

 extreme or the other. The household pet is either the constant companion of the members 

 of his master's family in their walks, and thereby, between one and the other, gets a good 

 deal of exercise ; or he is a petted little toy which is considered too delicate to leave the 

 fireside, and so gets scarcely any running about at all. In the former of these cases, a 

 moderate amount of meat is decidedly beneficial ; in the latter, the less he gets the better, 

 From one-quarter to one-third of meat is sufficient for most in-door dogs, and the rest of his 



FIG. IO. DRINKING VESSEL. 



food should consist of bread-crumbs, vegetables, crushed-up potatoes, pie-crust, &c., &c, with 

 a little gravy added. Bones now and then should be given to gnaw, but too much meat 

 must not be left on them, and if an additional meal is required nothing can surpass dry 

 biscuits. A dog will always eat when he is hungry, and tender-hearted mistresses should 

 console themselves, if they see their dog leaving a portion of his food, by the conviction that 

 a little wholesome diet is better for their pet than a bounteous fare of unsuitable materials. 

 Dogs cannot speak when their food disagrees with them, and the life of many a little pam- 

 pered toy is rendered a burden to him by the injudicious feeding of an over-indulgent master 

 or mistress. Instead of getting a run in the open air, he is doomed to a life of unnatural 

 inertness, and his stomach is periodically crammed with the richest and most unwholesome food 

 which could possibly be selected for him. How can it be wondered at, then, that toy-dogs 

 extend to such unnatural dimensions, that their teeth decay, that their bodies break out into 

 sores, and their ears canker : causing them to become objects of disgust to all who have the 

 misfortune to be associated with them ? Whereas, had the same dogs been fed judiciously on 

 plainer scraps from the table, and their drink been pure water, the abominations of cream, 

 milk, " tit-bits," &c., being eschewed, they would have been lively and handsome companions 

 for any lady in her walks, and a gratification to those to whom they belong. 



EXERCISE. 



We have implied that a good and daily amount of exercise is most essential to the general 

 health of all dogs. Some varieties can exist for a certain time without proper attention in this 

 respect, but in the majority of breeds a liberal allowance of out-door exercise must be provided 



