SUGGESTIONS. 211 



If a person wants a dog for a pet only, he can make a pet or a genial compan- 

 ion of any of the recognized breeds, and his accomplishments will only be limited 

 by the amount of companionship and education granted him, and your choice 

 should be based simply on choosing a breed you most admire. Your choice of a 

 companion rests also with you. Different men admire different kinds of com- 

 panions. 



HOT WEATHER ON DOGS. Every provision should be made during the 

 heated season to protect the dogs, especially suckling puppies. Whereas a dry 

 cellar is convenient, it is a good plan during the extreme heat of 'the day to make 

 arrangements for their comfort in this cool retreat. 



Particular attention should be paid to providing cool and frequent changes 

 of drinking water. Water placed in porous earthenware pots will be found to 

 keep cooler and sweeter than in metal vessels, and these should be washed out 

 thoroughly every day. The intelligent kennel manager will always provide arti- 

 ficial shade in kennel yards when Nature has not done so, and it is well to have 

 awnings over kennel windows and doors. Exercise only during the early morning 

 hours and in the evening, the rest of the day let the dogs lie quietly. In arrang- 

 ing kennels it is always a good plan to build the kennel floor two or three feet 

 from the ground. This space makes an admirable retreat in hot weather and, 

 admitting of a free current of air at all times, provided the kennels are built on a 

 malural drainage slope, 'there is no fear of a damp kennel floor in winter, which, 

 for obvious reasons, is a serious defect in kennel architecture. 



During very hot weather it would be well to remove all bedding from under 

 litters of very young puppies. Place them on the floor so the air can circulate 

 around them. During this trying season young puppies must be kept as cool as 

 possible or they will go under. A big lump of ice placed in the shade of the 

 window-sill will help cool the atmosphere in the kennels. 



CARE DIET NURSING. Absolute cleanliness, an unfailing supply of 

 fresh air, a suitable temperature, plenty of fresh water, general comfort, and last 

 but not least, companionship is needed by a sick dog. Locking a dog in a dark- 

 ened room or stall, or any unaccustomed change, will work havoc with a sick dog. 

 He wants to see his master, he relies upon his companionship, and he tuFhs to 

 him as if to a god, with a sublime confidence in his master's ability to help him 

 in his difficulty. A word of approbation is worth more to his nervous system 

 than drugs, and he will frequently eat and take nourishment simply to please his 

 master. 



Dogs have sensitive stomachs, and often, as a result of indigestion, refuse to 

 eat altogether. In these cases this is Nature's method of working a cure. 



If the dog is down with some febrile disorder that is rapidly weakening him 

 it is important that he take -some nourishment. Necessarily it must be of the 

 lightest and most sustaining character. 



Medical practitioners and trained nurses have brought the dietary of the sick 

 room up to a perfection that the canine practitioner can study with good results. 



There are a number of predigested foods easy of preparation, nourishing and 

 sustaining. Milk, mutton broth, gelatine and raw eggs are valuable foods. Boiled 

 rice is easy of digestion. Raw beef or mutton, minced or chopped fine, fed a few 

 teaspoonfuls at a time, will act in many cases as a tonic to an exhausted stomach, 

 and should be resorted to, as there is always danger of a disordered stomach 

 rebelling against too long continued liquid food. A few teaspoonfuls of brandy or 

 port wine will frequently cause the stomach to retain food that would otherwise 



