EARLIEST PUPPYHOOD. 299 



before the public, at dog shows, unmistakable evidences of 

 the worth of the stock in use. Moreover, puppies of un- 

 usual merit gain rapidly in value as age progresses ; and as 

 kennels but seldom prove profitable, the breeders, of all 

 others, deserve the happy " windfalls." 



As stated, the age at which puppies that have been 

 pre-engaged are generally shipped from the kennels is the 

 eighth week ; which is none too early, because in most 

 cases the earlier a puppy is in his new home the better for 

 him and others concerned, since the purchaser, if having 

 but one dog to care for, can give him much better treatment 

 than he would likely receive in his old home ; moreover, 

 under ordinary conditions, when alone a puppy thrives far 

 better, has higher health and is much less liable to fall a 

 victim to disease than while with his mates. 



This fact deserves to be dwelt upon in the interests of 

 breeders who are often inclined to refuse fair offers and 

 allow their puppies to accumulate that they may be sure 

 of the best among them. Such policy rarely proves other- 

 wise than short-sighted, for with dogs, young or old, as 

 with members of the human family, the nearer they live 

 to each other the greater the danger of sickness ; and where 

 four, five or more are quartered together, the death rate, 

 as in tenement houses, must inevitably be higher than 

 where there is less crowding. Again, strangely perhaps, 

 even at the same prices oftentimes puppies of average 

 merit are in greater demand when two or three months 

 old than others twice this age. Then there is the cost 

 of keeping to be considered, and this is by no means a 

 trifling item. Finally, specimens of exceeding merit 

 and considerable value are "few and far between," and 

 one might breed a long time even with the best of stock 

 before he materialized a wonder. And even such happy 

 result might bring him greater gain in the hands of another. 



