2 The Management and Diseases of the Dog. 
most sparingly ; a morsel of buttered toast or muffin, some 
tea and a lump of sugar, has been doggie’s only diet for 
months.” True, and therein lies the key to the mystery. 
The animal, contrary to Nature’s laws, has been educated 
to mimic human beings: three or four meals a day, ex- 
clusive of kitchen - scraps, have taken the place of the 
prescribed one or two, and human delicacies substi- 
tuted for the proper requirements of a carnivorous 
stomach, 
Can it be wondered at, if the whole disgestive machinery 
is in consequence put out of gear; if the once glossy- 
coated pet of cleanly habits becomes the bloated, waddling, 
unsightly animal so often seen, with teeth loose, discoloured, 
and decayed, breath foul, and excrements fcetid? And all 
the result of what? Ignorance and mistaken kindness. 
‘Ask the human mother the effect on the child of a con- 
tinued diet of preserves, pastry, and sweet cakes, and she 
will tell you it is much the same. 
Is it, then, reasonable to suppose that the stomach of 
the dog can properly digest and appropriate to the nourish- 
ment of its body and the maintenance of health that 
which mankind, for whom such is more in accordance, can- 
not take with impunity ? 
A proper system of feeding is, therefore, one of the 
great essentials of canine management. 
Time of Feeding.—The food should always be given, if 
convenient, at a stated time: where only one meal is 
allowed, at midday; in the case of two, morning and 
evening. It should not be given immediately before 
exercise or work, or the process of digestion will be inter- 
rupted, and the foundation laid for ill health ; but as soon as 
the animal comes home, has had sufficient time to rest, and 
become cool, then food may be proffered and will be 
relished considerably more. I am now alluding to dogs 
in health; invalids of course require a different system, 
and, under many conditions, require frequent support. 
