10 DISEASnS OF DOGS. 



dangeions : age, individual constitution, existing state of health and 

 condition, also the demands on the system in exercise or work, and, 

 in the case of hitches, in giving support to their young, have all to 

 be carefully considered ; hut given common-sense and an ordinary 

 knowledge of the qualities of foods on the part of the feeder, nothing 

 need be lost. At one time, to put the fact in the words of the 

 proverb, people kept " no more dogs than they had hones for "; for 

 the house dog was expected to live on the scraps and remnants of 

 the bouse food, and the various sporting dogs had their horse-flesh, 

 tallow-greaves, and meaJ provided and cooked at the kennels. 



Feed with great regularity, and when the dog or puppy leaves ita 

 food, remove the dish till next meal time, for if left standing the 

 food may become sour. 



Biscuits. — There are now a great number of manufacturers of 

 special foods for dogs, chiefly in the form of biscuits, which are ex- 

 ceedingly convenient, save much cooking, and ia many cases are 

 unquestionably excellent. In the first edition of this little work, I 

 said that after many years' trial I was convinced that the Meat 

 Fibrine Cakes, as a staple dog food, could not be excelled ; after 

 another twenty years' experience, I can repeat the opinion respect- 

 ing these hiscuits with greater force, for the manufacturers have 

 kept the quality and suitability of the Fibrine Cakes up to the 

 requirements of the day ; and this I say without intending to 

 disparage any of the other varieties of biscuits of which I have had 

 less experience. Fish biscuits are much advertised, and used by 

 many, some of whom, men of large experience, speak in the highest 

 terms of them. Dogs will eat fish biscuits readily, and even work- 

 ing bounds are said to thrive upon them. 



SXeal. — Good oatmeal and barley-meal, im small quantities, are 

 both useful foods for doga when well cooked, while of the hound- 

 meal class Rodnim is certainly one of the beat. 



Eorae-flesh ia excellent when sound, but town purchasers should 

 beware of getting it supplied salted, or from animala slaughtered for 

 glanders or other disease that may reproduce itself. Again, not a 

 little of the horse-flesh upon the market has been obtained from 

 worn-out animals, the nutrient value of whose flesh is worthless. 



Batchers' Offal, in which are included paunches, sheep's heads, 

 and all the odds and ends cut off for the waste-basket, may be 

 utilised with economy and advantage to the dog. Whatever of flesh 

 meat is used should be cooked. It is especially necessary to well 



