THE NEW BOOK OF THE DOG. 



the dog is at least six months old. Per- 

 haps the stableman or gardener will let 

 the puppy run about with him during the 

 day, or trot behind him when he goes to 

 his meals if he does not live far away. 

 This form of exercise will bring on a puppy 

 as well as anything. 



When a puppy is from six to eight weeks 

 old he should have four good meals a day. 

 Brown bread and milk in the morning, some 

 chopped meat about noon, rodnim about 

 four o'clock, and chopped raw or cooked 

 meat again at night. Little and often is 

 a good rule with Bloodhounds. Where 

 size is required, raw meat should certainly 

 form half the puppy's diet. Added to 

 this, if you wish to do everything to bring 

 your puppy on well, chemical food and 

 cod-liver 'oil a tablespoonful every day 

 will do a lot to help him on, especially as 

 regards bone. 



W'hen the puppy is six months old this 

 diet can be reduced to three meals a day, 

 omitting the bread and milk, and directly 

 his teeth are strong enough let him have 

 broken dogs' biscuits and sometimes a 

 good bone with a little meat on it in place 

 of one of the meat meals. At ten months 

 old, three Spratt's biscuits at twelve o'clock, 

 and i^ Ib. of raw or cooked meat with a 

 little rodnim mixed in (if bulk is wanted) 

 about seven o'clock should be sufficient. 



The dog should be groomed every day 

 first with a dandy brush to get any mud 

 off, then with a hand-glove, and finally 

 run over with a wash-leather. The eyes 

 should be sponged and the ears constantly 

 looked at, and if any sign of canker or ear 

 trouble appears inside the ear, powdered 

 boracic acid should be dredged into the 

 ear. 



Seven out of ten Bloodhounds fall victims 

 to distemper, and great care should be 

 taken to deal with it from the very first. 

 A piece of blanket should be taken, two 

 holes made in it, the front feet placed in 

 the holes, and then the blanket should be 

 drawn round the chest and over the back 

 and ribs and sewn up tightly, and the 

 patient put in a room temperature of 60 

 with plenty of fresh air. 



As a rule, there is not much danger of 

 infection, except after shows, and those 

 who go in for showing should certainly 

 wash their dogs' flews and nostrils out well 

 with disinfectant and water, and as a pre- 

 cautionary measure give them about three 

 Pearson's antiseptic capsules twice a day 

 during the show and for some time after- 

 wards. When the dogs return from the 

 show they should be given a dose of salts 

 with their food. 



If a puppy is intended for the show ring, 

 as soon as he begins to go on a lead he should 

 be taught to stand properly. If he is 

 allowed to grow up without having learned 

 this, it will be difficult to make him show 

 well unless he is what is termed " a natural 

 shower," but so many Bloodhounds are 

 shy that this is exceptional. 



When puppies are six months old they 

 should begin to have short lessons in track- 

 ing. Someone they know should run on, 

 say across a field, perhaps hiding behind 

 a fence some two or three hundred yards 

 away, and then the puppies should be al- 

 lowed to follow him. Then when they come 

 up to him a fuss should be made of them, 

 and they should be given a small piece of 

 meat. The distance can be increased in a 

 day or two, and the runner can leave little 

 sticks with pieces of paper in the top along 

 his line, so that the puppies can be made to 

 work the proper track. If a puppy is tired, 

 or does not seem keen, take him home and 

 bring him out another day ; it is no good 

 trying to make him work when he feels 

 disinclined. 



In the writer's opinion, every show hound 

 should also be a working hound ; but for 

 the show ring road exercise is necessary to 

 bring the hound well up on his feet, and a 

 judicious combination of road exercise and 

 field work is advisable. 



The description of a perfect type of dog, 

 as defined by the Association of Bloodhound 

 Breeders, is as follows : 



i. General Character. The Bloodhound pos- 

 sesses, in a most marked degree, every point and 

 characteristic of those dogs which hunt together 

 by scent (Sagaces). He is very powerful and 

 stands over more ground than is usual with 



