156 MANUAL FOR YOUNG SPORTSMEN. 
ever excellent he may originally have been, it is admitted 
by all that: the more familiar your dog is with your ways 
and habits, the better he understands your words and 
signs, the more intuitively he anticipates your thoughts— 
in a word, the less he fears and the more he loves you— 
_ the better he will serve you. 
The exception, in regard to housekeeping, is merely 
physical, not mental. The house-dog, being present at all 
times, is unduly pampered, is fed with improper food and 
at improper times. He lives too high, sleeps too soft and 
too warm ; becomes fat and lazy, loses his health, his vigor, 
his spirits, and, above all, his nose—which, beyond all 
things, depends on his health and general well-being. 
For the dog, as for the man, plenty of hearty, whole- 
some, unstimulating food; abundance of washing, a con- 
stant supply of fresh air, and no stint of exercise in sea- 
son, are the grand requisites for being in perfect health 
and perfect condition. 
These conditions complied with, it may be taken for 
granted that the more either dog or man is under the in- 
fluence of, and in constant communication with, intellects 
superior to his own, the more will his own intellect expand, 
and his own powers of acquisition increase. 
It is marvellous to those who have not observed it, 
how perfect will come to be the mutual understanding 
between a dog and his master, when the master has the 
faculty and inclination to teach his servant, and to talk to 
him, as friend to friend, and when the servant is aware 
that he must obey his master, and that resistance is use- 
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