Training and Care 237 



the owner could have at hand a bottle of salad or 

 olive oil. Dogs are prone to eat bones and other 

 hard substances, and these cause frequent obstruc- 

 tions. The oil is given in wine-glass quantities 

 as a lubricant. It has been for years an honored 

 belief that dogs should be fed on bones. No 

 doubt they can digest bones much better than 

 can other domestic animals. Nevertheless, a dog 

 risks his life when he swallows sharp-pointed 

 bones, and the wise kennelman will not permit 

 risks in the case of valuable animals. The well- 

 known setter, Kingston, died in that way, and 

 hundreds -of other deaths can be traced to the 

 same cause. 



It is easy to give a dog liquid medicine if one 

 person will hold his jaws shut while the other 

 pulls out the pouch of the mouth and pours in 

 the liquid. 



If there is but one dog, ordinary table scraps 

 are the best food. In a large kennel it is better 

 to follow the usual greyhound practice of feed- 

 ing " stirabout," which in this country consists 

 of corn meal thoroughly boiled with some kind 

 of cheap meat scraps ; usually, in the West, crack- 

 lings from the packing houses. For puppies the 

 best food is milk, or soup, thickened with graham 

 bread. A very cheap and most useful variation for 

 all ages is ordinary beans or peas, thoroughly boiled 

 with pork to impart the meat flavor and relish. 



