PUBLIC COURSIXG. 357 



and will then render the dog lively and full of spirits, when he 

 would otherwise be dull and disinclined to exert himself. The 

 trainer, throughout, should watch the secretions, and if he finds 

 that they are deficient he may give a dose of aloes or jalap; 

 but if in good order it is better to avoid medicine, if the weight 

 can be kept down by other means. 



The diet is of the greatest importance, and indeed it is in 

 this point that more mistakes are made than in any other. If 

 a hardy dog is fed as heavily as his inclination prompts him, no 

 kind of work will reduce him without also destroying his elas- 

 ticity and fire, and hence it is found necessary to limit his food. 

 For this reason reduction of food is indispensable in most cases, 

 and in very few will the dog in training require the same 

 quantity as before, though the quality can hardly be too good 

 provided it does not upset his stomach. These animals are 

 extremely liable to become bilious, and suffer from disorder of 

 the stomach and liver, just as man does. Hence it follows that 

 any concentrated food like eggs or strong soup, although in theory 

 it may be better than meat and bread, is inadmissible, because, 

 being so prone to dyspepsia, just at the time when the grey- 

 hound is wanted to run he is off his feed, sick and sorry. The 

 dog naturally requires variety in his feeding, but the change 

 should be always gradual in the proportions- of the elements of 

 which it is composed. The changes may be rung on beef, mutton, 

 and horseflesh, as often as may be convenient, but the propor- 

 tion of flesh to meal must be very carefully kept at the same 

 ratio. For the dog in high training lean mutton is the best of 

 all flesh, as it is" milder than either of the others, and though 

 quite as nourishing, yet it is less heating ; so that careful trainers 

 prefer it to all others, especially when from home, as it can always 

 be procured at the butcher's, while good horseflesh must be carried 



