Part 34

ORIGIN.—This dog’s home is Manchester (England), where it is said to have been originated, the black-and-tan, Skye, and Maltese terriers all being credited with its paternity. Except in color, it resembles greatest the latter dog.

USES.—Essentially a toy dog, beautiful and aristocratic.

* SCALE OF POINTS, ETC.

Value. Quantity and color of hair on body 25 Quality of coat 15 Tan 15 Head 10 Eyes 5 Mouth 5 Ears 5 Legs and feet 5 General appearance 10 Tail 5 --- Total 100

GENERAL APPEARANCE.—A long-coated, well-proportioned pet dog; coat straight and hanging evenly down each side, parted from nose to end of tail; very compact in form, neat, sprightly, and bearing an important air.

HEAD.—Rather small, flat, not too round in skull, broad at muzzle; black nose. Hair on muzzle very long, of bright golden tan, unmixed with dark or sooty hair. Hair on sides of head very long, and of deeper tan than on center of head. Eyes medium in size, not prominent, dark, with intelligent expression; edges of eyelids dark. Ears cut or uncut, quite erect; if not cut, V-shaped, small, and erect, covered with short hair; color deep tan. Mouth even; teeth sound; a loose tooth or two not objectionable.

BODY.—Very compact, good loins, and level on top of back.

COAT.—Hair as long and straight as possible, not wavy; glossy, like silk, not woolly; extending from back of head to root of tail. Color bright steel blue, not intermingled with fawn, light or dark hairs.

LEGS AND FEET.—Legs quite straight; hair on same a bright golden tan, a shade lighter at ends than at roots. Feet round as possible; toe-nails black.

WEIGHT.—Divided, viz., under 5 pounds, over 5 pounds; limit, 12 pounds.

THE WHIPPET.

MARY.]

ORIGIN.—On account of it being little else than a small English greyhound, its origin is traced to that breed, by which standard it is judged.

USES.—Occasionally for coursing rabbits, but chiefly for trials of speed of about 200 yards. The dogs are run in couples, the waving of a handkerchief or other cloth being the incentive to run.

HEIGHT.—At shoulders about 18 inches.

TREATMENT OF THE DOG IN HEALTH.

FIRST PRINCIPLES.

Teach your dog to obey you through kindness if possible, but teach it. Remember always that it has as much feeling as the average human being, and wonders can be worked through kindness. Rather than strike it with a whip, strike at it, the swish of the whip generally having about as much effect as a well-delivered “strike.”

The next duty is to teach the dog to be clean about the house. Should it forget itself, make its nose well acquainted with the “offense,” rubbing it as hard as you please, “warm its jacket” well, and then turn it out of doors with a well-delivered slap on the body. A repetition of the “moral suasion” act is rarely necessary. In the morning let it out of the house into the yard the first thing you do, and repeat it the last thing before retiring; it will soon learn to understand the meaning of all this and cease to cause trouble. Patience—and sometimes a great deal of it, too—is required to make the dog “well mannered,” but perseverance will achieve the desired result. NEVER strike a dog on the head; the body presents sufficient surface.

BREAKING TO CHAIN.

Some dogs take kindly to instruction in this regard, others rebel against it. Put a collar on the dog several days before you intend breaking it to chain. Try conscientiously the coaxing process first; if it fails, then nothing remains but to drag the dog along till from fear of choking it is forced to follow. Once having undertaken it, don’t stop till you have accomplished your object. This treatment should not in stubborn cases last over half an hour, though sometimes heavy and headstrong dogs may require two hours. In the majority of cases after half an hour’s teaching the dog will lead “steady by jerks,” and in a couple of days will become used to the chain. If, however, after a week’s experience it tugs and pulls on the lead, use a slip-noose collar, which tightens as the strain grows greater. Choking off its wind when it pulls hard, it will soon grow weary and act rationally. Should this treatment still prove inefficient, some people resort to the spike collar, which, however, should be used only with the greatest judgment. No one ever treated his dogs more kindly than I, yet, though I never had a dog upon which it became necessary to use a spike collar, still, perhaps I would have used one rather than have my shoulder pulled out of its socket by a dog which I took out for companionship. I would use it only as a last resort, and then with the utmost caution.

FEEDING.

The dog in its wild state is nearly, if not wholly, carnivorous, but when domesticated becomes omnivorous and therefore thrives best on a mixed diet of bread, meat, and vegetables. Excepting when training or hunting your dogs, a purely meat diet is not desirable any more than it would be for a human being. While its stomach has the power to digest bones, gristle, etc., through the excessive secretions of gastric juices, still it is very easily deranged, and when so affected it may take days for it to resume its normal state; hence expel the thought that any kind of food is “good enough for a dog.”

Avoid giving very much corn-meal, as it is too heating and is not possessed of much strength-giving qualities. Let the diet, whether it is for a St. Bernard or a fox-terrier, be a mixture of meat (boiled tripe and mutton are excellent) cooked till it is in shreds, oatmeal, barley, rice, carrots, bread, potatoes, cabbage, or any other vegetable added so as to make the whole thick, and rendered palatable by a goodly supply of salt. Avoid giving chop, steak, or fowl bones, as they are apt to splinter, and, lodging in the intestines, very frequently cause death. Give plentifully of large, soft bones (such as knuckles), which are easily chewed, as they act as a sort of tooth-brush, and aid digestion greatly. Scraps of all sorts from the table tend best to preserve the dog’s health.

For toy dogs well-cooked rice, finely chopped boiled tripe, warm milk, and lean meat scraps from the table, mixed with vegetables, should form the common diet. As these dogs are very light eaters, they may be fed three times a day, care being exercised that they do not overload their stomachs at any time.

Sweets of all kinds are objectionable. Unlike the human stomach, the dog’s needs much rest; so in the morning feed “just a crumb” and at night let it eat all it desires. A little flour of sulphur or powdered magnesia (a quarter-teaspoonful) now and again will do no harm. Constant and free access to fresh, clean water must not be neglected. As soon as the dog has eaten all it desires, take the uneaten food away, and do not let it remain to be nibbled at during the day or night.

Boiled liver is an admirable alterative, and one good meal of it should be fed at least once a week. If you find your dog has no appetite, don’t try to coax or force it, but cease to offer it any food whatever for at least twenty-four hours. A fast of forty-eight hours will do it no harm in such cases, and total abstinence often wards off sickness. Should it be disposed to eat grass or horse-droppings, don’t try to prevent it, as both are nature’s mild remedy for a disordered stomach. In short, feed your dog as you would a human being, and the result will be satisfactory. The feeding of meat does not in any way affect the scenting powers of a dog, nor does it produce worms, distemper, or kindred diseases, as so often stated. Having used the foregoing diet both at home, with my favorite dog, and at my kennels, where I have had as many as ninety at one time, my experience with it for twenty years convinces me that it cannot be improved upon, whether used for a single dog or an entire pack.

Puppies from time of weaning up to six months of age should be fed four times daily, from six to nine months three times, and after that age feed same as grown dogs; they too thrive best on diet as already described. Fresh raw minced meat is good, especially for puppies; it strengthens them and tones the stomach. Give freely of fresh milk and buttermilk, especially the latter, as it keeps the stomach sweet.