THE ENGLISH MASTIFF 15 



if kindly handled, and eventually become the best guard and 

 protector it is possible to have. 



The temper of a Mastiff should be taken into consideration 

 by the breeder. They are, as a rule, possessed of the best of 

 tempers. A savage dog with such power as the Mastiff pos- 

 sesses is indeed a dangerous creature, and, therefore, some 

 inquiries as to the temper of a stud dog should be made before 

 deciding to use him. In these dogs, as in all others, it is a 

 question of how they are treated by the person having charge 

 of them. 



The feeding of puppies is an important matter, and should 

 be carefully seen to by anyone wishing to rear them success- 

 fully. If goat's milk is procurable it is preferable to cow's 

 milk. The price asked for it is sometimes prohibitory, but 

 this difficulty may be surmounted in many cases by keeping a 

 goat or two on the premises. Many breeders have obtained a 

 goat with the sole object of rearing a litter of puppies on her 

 milk, and have eventually discarded cow's milk altogether, 

 using goat's milk for household purposes instead. As soon 

 as the puppies will lap they should be induced to take arrow- 

 root prepared with milk. Oatmeal and maizemeal, about one 

 quarter of the latter to three quarters of the former, make a 

 good food for puppies. Dog biscuits and the various hound 

 meals, soaked in good broth, may be used with advantage, 

 but no dogs, either large or small, can be kept in condition 

 for any length of time without a fair proportion of meat of 

 some kind. Sheep's paunches, cleaned and well boiled, mixed 

 with sweet stale bread, previously soaked in cold water, make 

 an excellent food and can hardly be excelled as a staple diet. 

 In feeding on horseflesh care should be taken to ascertain 

 that the horse was not diseased, especially if any is given 

 uncooked. 



Worms are a constant source of trouble from the earliest 

 days of puppy-hood, and no puppy suffering from them will 

 thrive ; every effort, therefore, should be made to get rid of 

 them. 



