312 DOGS AND ALL ABOUT THEM 



The Scottish Kennel Club, or Birmingham, and there choose 

 the dog from the benches, buying him at his catalogue price. 



In determining the choice of a breed it is to be remembered 

 that some are better watchdogs than others, some more 

 docile, some safer with children. The size of the breed should 

 be relative to the accommodation available. To have a St. 

 Bernard or a Great Dane galumphing about a small house is 

 an inconvenience, and sporting dogs which require constant 

 exercise and freedom are not suited to the confined life of a 

 Bloomsbury flat. Nor are the long-haired breeds at their 

 best draggling round in the wet, muddy streets of a city. 

 For town life the clean-legged Terrier, the Bulldog, the Pug, 

 and the Schipperke are to be preferred. Bitches are cleaner 

 in the house and more tractable than dogs. The idea that 

 they are more trouble than dogs is a fallacy. The difficulty 

 arises only twice in a twelvemonth for a few days, and if you 

 are watchful there need be no misadventure. 



If only one dog, or two or three of the smaller kinds, be kept, 

 there is no imperative need for an outdoor kennel, although 

 all dogs are the better for life in the open air. The house-dog 

 may be fed with meat-scraps from the kitchen served as an 

 evening meal, with rodnim or a dry biscuit for breakfast. 

 The duty of feeding him should be in the hands of one person 

 only. When it is everybody's and nobody's duty he is apt 

 to be neglected at one time and overfed at another. Regu- 

 larity of feeding is one of the secrets of successful dog-keeping. 

 It ought also to be one person's duty to see that he has frequent 

 access to the yard or garden, that he gets plenty of clean drink- 

 ing water, plenty of outdoor exercise, and a comfortable bed. 



For the toy and delicate breeds it is a good plan to have a 

 dog-room set apart, with a suitable cage or basket-kennel for 

 each dog. 



Even delicate Toy dogs, however, ought not to be per- 

 manently lodged within doors, and the dog-room is only com- 

 plete when it has as an annexe a grass plot for playground 

 and free exercise. Next to wholesome and regular food, 



