DECAY OF THE DOG’s TEE'l'H. 
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among the dogs owned by the not neeessarily poor, but more 
humble citizens of the cities, which dogs, after all, either regis¬ 
tered or unregistered, usually far outnumber those of the rich. 
These dogs in their manner of selection and breedino- feeding’ 
and housing, closely resemble those reared in the country, 
j They are bred in the most careless manner without much idea 
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1 of attaining, or, retaining type, or even breed. They have upon 
I the entire a sufficient diet of coarse but nutritious food, since 
i the laborer the world over is generally speaking a liberal man 
toward animals, yet the preponderance of dental defect among 
. them is far, far in excess of those animals retained in the coun- 
, try, and seem to suffer in a manner almost identical to their 
; more aristocratic city brothers. 
While most thoroughly convinced of the intimate relation 
■ of both artificial selection, and high living in dogs as in men as 
to their welfare and longevity, I am quite as positive that bodily 
inactivity induced or compelled by abnormal environments, is 
. the key which works the combination of hereditary predispo- 
: sition and dietary error, and allows the entrance of disease of the 
teeth. Nature never intended that dogs should use tooth-brushes, 
but so ordered the formation of their denture and tono-ue, that 
' the very act of taking and crushing his food, would effectually 
cleanse his teeth. She also originally intended them for great 
; bodily activity, as evidenced by their physical conformation, and 
■ the rapidity with which they can carry themselves when desired, 
and where we observe dogs living under conditions allowing or 
demanding such bodily activity, there we usually, indeed almost 
constantly, see perfect teeth. They may be worn away by hard 
materials, but they are almost universally solid and healthy, so 
long as the food is ample to replace tissue waste, and part of it, 
: at least, has that hardness which exercises the individual teeth 
i within their alveolus, as well as the muscles of mastication. I 
am thoroughly of the opinion that the teeth at all times, and 
more especially at the time of development, stand in constant 
^ need of such exercise as comes from the effort to overcome re- 
|Sistance. An understanding of the law by which disuse begets 
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