68 EARLY FEEDING THE BEST. 



to be in their kennel after four o'clock unless the 

 morning is wet, and ought to be kept out for at least 

 four hours. As the summer wears away, and the 

 time approaches towards cub-hunting, their exercise 

 must of course be increased, and at that period they 

 ought to have during two days in the week, at least 

 about nine hours strong exercise. The best time 

 to feed durino; the summer months is about three or 

 four o'clock in the afternoon ; some huntsmen feed 

 much later on account of the hounds resting more 

 quietly during the night, but if they are to be taken 

 out to exercise by day-break as they ought to be, 

 three or four o'clock in the afternoon is quite late 

 enough for the feeding hour, as they have then time to 

 digest their food before the next day. When the 

 puppies first come up from their quarters, they should 

 be fed two or three times a day, unless they are very 

 high in flesh and likely to grow too large for the 

 pack, but as they advance in their education and 

 condition, and the etfects of the distemper begin to 

 wear off, they should be taught to feed only once in 

 the day. A dog is almost a carnivorous animal, and 

 as he is like all animals of that description, enabled 

 by nature to go many hours without food, so also is 

 his stomach formed to contain at one meal sufficient 

 for at least one day's digestion, without feeling his 

 strength and vigour impaired ia the same degree as 

 the horse would, or any other graminivorous beast. 

 Although dogs are, undoubtedly speaking, naturally 

 carnivorous, we sometimes meet with accounts of their 

 living in nearly a natural state on fish and even vege- 

 tables; in Siberia their chief food consists offish, and 



