BXBRCISK — VXBDIHa. 9 



EZESGISE. — This has an important bearing on the dog's 

 health. There are few more naturally active animals than the dog, 

 and it is barbarous to chain or shut him up in a kennel for weeks 

 together. Never chain a puppy if you wish him to grow into 

 symmetrical form ; he will pull himself out of all true shape. The 

 chaining of watch dogs is sometimes a necessity, but even these 

 should be allowed freedom several times a day. 



Dogs which are required to be conditioned for either show or work 

 will necessarily need more exercise thau the average house or yard 

 dog. Again, the kind of exercise will vary considerably with the 

 breed, for what would be health-giving to active dogs like collies, 

 terriers, and the like, would be most distressing, say, to the average 

 bulldog or pug kept purely as companions. For all that, every 

 dog should, if possible, receive daily exereiee ; and if such were the 

 case the obese monstrosities one so frequently sees would be less 

 often met with. Greyhounds, sporting field dogs, and whippets 

 should have special exercise to fit them for the particular work re- 

 quired of them. For either road-exercise at the outset is the best 

 if it is judiciously given, as such tends to harden the feet Toy do^ 

 are invariably under-exercised and over-fed, and these, combined 

 with in-and-in-breeding, are doubtless largely responsible for the high 

 rate of mortality which prevails among certain breeds. To sum up : 

 InjudidouB exercise is even more harmful than insufficient exercise, 

 and is often responsible for digestive troubles, to say nothing of 

 apoplectic fits, etc. No dog, for instance, should be exercised just 

 after a full meal He should in fact be treated on much the same 

 lines as a human being in that respect. No sane person would think 

 of running a race or taking any violent exercise after a good dinner, 

 yet there are many owners who are inconsiderate enough to think 

 that there is no harm in giving such exercise to their canine charges. 

 The dog should be allowed ample time for a meal to digest, and two 

 hours would be none too long an interval to elapse between a fuU 

 meal and active exercisa At all times the exercise should be regular 

 and suited to the age, breed, couBtitution, and condition of the dog. 



PSSSIXI'G. — The importance of judidous feeding cannot be 

 overrated ; overfeeding and gross ftieding derange the system, 

 causing surfeit, etc. Insufficient and poor food produce rickets in 

 puppies, emaciation, and other diseases, and directly incite to bad 

 habits— fowl-killing, garbage-eating, filching and stealing, exposing 

 the dog to poison and other physical dangers — and tend to destroy 

 the dog's moral character. Hard-and-fast rules' in feeding are 



