PRACTICAL MANAGEMENT. 



573 



generation or so ago. A fuller knowledge 

 has done much to increase the pride which 

 the British people take in their canine com- 

 panions, and our present population of 

 dogs has never been equalled for good 

 quality in any other age or any other land. 



The beginner cannot easily go wrong or 

 be seriously cheated, but it is well when 

 making a first purchase to take the advice 

 of an expert and to be very certain of the 

 dog's pedigree, age, temper, and condi- 

 tion. The approved method of buying a 

 dog is to select one advertised for sale in 

 the weekly journals devoted to the dog and 

 dog-fancying The Field, Our Dogs, The 

 Illustrated Kennel News, and the Lady's 

 Field, offer abundant opportunities. A 

 better way still, if a dog of distinguished 

 pedigree is desired, is to apply direct to a 

 well-known owner of the required breed, or 

 to visit one of the great annual shows, such 

 as Cruft's (held in February), Manchester 

 (held in March), The Ladies' Kennel Asso- 

 ciation (Botanic Gardens, Regent's Park, 

 in June), The Kennel Club (Crystal Palace, 

 in October), The Scottish Kennel Club 

 (Edinburgh, in October), or Birmingham 

 (December), and there choose the dog from 

 the benches, buying him at his catalogue 

 price. 



If.-.,you are a potential dog-owner, you 

 have need to consider many things before 

 you decide to establish a kennel. In the 

 first place, you ought to ask yourself if 

 you are worthy to keep a dog, and if you 

 are prepared to return his devotion with 

 the care and kindness and unfailing atten- 

 tion which are his due. Will you give him 

 wholesome food with regularity, and a 

 comfortable bed ? Will you give him his 

 daily exercise, and keep him clean, and 

 nurse him in sickness, never be unjust 

 to him, or deceive him, or forget him, or 

 punish him without cause? If you are pre- 

 pared to do these things, then you are 

 worthy ; but all people are not so, and 

 there are some to whom the present writer 

 would not entrust the meanest cur that ever 

 was whelped. One owes a duty to one's 

 dog, and to neglect that duty is a shame 

 not less than the shame of neglecting one's 

 children. 



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 accommoda- 

 tion available. To have a St. Bernard or 

 a Great Dane gallumphing 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 mis- 

 adventure. 



If only one dog, or two or three of the 

 smaller kinds, be kept, there is no impera- 

 tive 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 even- 

 ing 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 



SPRATTS PATENT I 



TOY DOG KENNEL ON CASTORS FOR INDOORS. 



at another. Regularity 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. Spratt's Toy-dog kennel and 

 run (No. 171), which is mounted on castors, 



