DOGS : THEIR MANAGEMENT. 81 



of the beast. There should be no wrestling or fighting. 

 The practitioner should so prepare his acts as to prevent 

 the dog in the first instance from eifectually resisting, and 

 the animal mastered at the commencement is usually 

 afterwards submissive. If, however, from any cause, the 

 primary attempt should not be effective, the attendant, 

 rather than provoke a contest which can be productive 

 of no beneficial result, should for a brief period retire, 

 and after a little time he may with better success renew 

 his purpose. 



Strange dogs are not easily examined in their own 

 homes, especially if they be favorites and their indul- 

 gent owners are present. Like spoiled children, the 

 beasts seem to be aware of all the advantages which the 

 affections of their master give to their humors. They 

 will assume so much, and play such antics, as renders it 

 impossible to arrive at any just conclusion as to the 

 actual state of their health. Dogs in fact are great im- 

 postors, and he who has had much to do with them soon 

 learns how cunningly the pampered " toy'' of the draw- 

 ing-room can " sham." For deception, conseq^uently, it 

 is necessary to be prepared, and practice quickly teaches 

 us to distinguish between what is real and that which is 

 assumed. The exertion, however, required to feign dis- 

 turbs the system, and the struggle which always accom- 

 panies the act renders it frequently impossible to make 

 the necessary observation with requisite nicety. Petted 

 dogs are, therefore, best examined away from their homes, 

 and in the absence of any one who has been in the habit 



