288 REARING. 



walled enclosure can be procured, fence off about a yard or two 

 all round, by which last plan an excellent gallop is secured, with- 

 out the possibility of cutting corners, and with a very slight loss 

 of ground. An admirable plan is to build four large sleeping- 

 rooms in a square-block, and then all round this let there be a 

 run two yards wide, which may be separated into four divisions, 

 or thrown into one at will. If the latter, the puppies will exer- 

 cise themselves well round and round the building, which is a 

 practice they are very fond of ; and, even if two or more lots are 

 wanted to occupy the compartments, the whole can be thrown 

 open to each lot in turn. When this plan is adopted the run 

 should be paved, so that the expense is much greater than in the 

 other mode, in which the natural soil is allowable, because the 

 puppies are not kept on it long enough to stain it. (See page 

 299.) 



THE FOOD OF PUPPIES AT HOME OR "AT WALK," AND ITS 

 PROPER PREPARATION. 



Whether at home or out, puppies require the same kind of food, 

 and the more regularly this is given as to quantity and quality, as 

 well as the times of feeding, the more healthy the puppy will be, 

 and the faster he will grow. Many people consider milk to be 

 by far the best article of food for growing puppies, and undoubt- 

 edly it is a good one, but it is not superior to a mixed diet of 

 meal and animal food in proper proportions, and occasionally 

 varied by the addition of green vegetables. Indeed, after three 

 months, or at most four, puppies may be fed like grown dogs as 

 to the quality of their food, requiring it, however, to be given them 

 more frequently the younger they are. Up to six months they 

 require it three times a day, at equal intervals, and after that a^e 



