84 KENNEL SECRETS. 



should be built in front that the tenant may sun himself 

 without being obliged to lie upon the ground. 



Such a building as this properly situated, kept clean, 

 etc., would be comfortable quarters for a dog in pleasant 

 weather ; and if long-coated and hardy and he had plenty 

 of exercise in the daytime he might pass the winter nights 

 in it were an abundance of bedding put in and a piece 

 of carpeting tacked over the door. Yet it has literally 

 nothing to recommend it except perhaps its low cost, 

 while many serious objections appear, one of which is 

 that it must inevitably be damp at times. Consequently, 

 to consider it further, the best situation for it, etc., would 

 be simply wasting time and space. 



A loose box in a stable of stock will do nicely for sleep- 

 ing quarters, but he who has neither this nor other suita- 

 ble out-house should build for his dog something deserving 

 the name of kennel. Consenting to do so he will consider 

 first the great requisites, which are dryness, air, sunshine, 

 freedom from draughts, protection from cold, and con- 

 venience. 



If he has a choice of situations he should take the high 

 ground as most favorable because of surface drainage, for 

 nothing is more important in the construction of this, and 

 for that matter every building, than that its foundation be 

 protected from dampness, which, by the way, is an influ- 

 ence positively destructive to dogs. 



If the ground is sloping the floor timbers can be set on 

 cedar posts projecting about two feet, but if level a founda- 

 tion will be required. Merely a stone wall two feet in 

 height will do for this if the soil is light or sandy, but if 

 clayey or of other nature calculated to retain moisture it 

 will be necessary to build such a wall and fill in with cin- 

 ders or make a concrete foundation in this way : Over the 

 space the building is to cover lay closely large stones ; fill 



