SELECTION OF SIRE. 211 



pups are not nearly as hardy as they might otherwise have 

 been ; they are easily made ill, also are much more liable 

 than healthy pups to develop such diseases. 



He who breeds extensively and especially the large 

 and heavy dogs, and duly appreciates the importance of 

 keeping to type always when possible, often finds himself 

 in a dilemma. 



Again using as an illustration the big dog with a grand 

 head, but badly crippled behind. Notwithstanding his 

 head is almost typical, in consequence of his deformities 

 he is a pitiable sight. When standing still his defects are 

 very apparent, but they are literally shocking when he is 

 on the move. In walking he almost drags his hind legs, 

 and when attempting to run, he hitches along so painfully 

 that to all but those who are especially interested in his 

 breed and capable of judging, he is simply a monstrosity. 



The novice in breeding will likely say that such a dog 

 ought never to be used in the stud, and yet a dog, of 

 which the foregoing is a faithful pen picture, was used by 

 some of the most intelligent and experienced breeders in 

 England and America, and doubtless they were justified. 

 But he placed them in dilemmas, for he was just as likely 

 — and not impossibly more likely — to transmit his defects 

 as his one rare good quality. With him, as with many 

 other dogs in the stud, in order to secure a gain in one 

 direction there must be a loss in another. Which will be 

 the greater? Is his use desirable? are questions sure 

 to arise to disturb the anxious breeder. 



If he has a bitch very weak in head, but strong and well 

 developed behind, and he can breed to such a cripple 

 with a grand head, and especially if the dog is from a 

 family noted for their good heads, then he should do so. 

 Here it is well to say that whether or not deformities 

 •which such a dog is afflicted with are to appear in the pups 



