Champion Mister Jack
Champion Caddy Belle
In regard to feeding the pups after weaning, it will be found an excellent plan to feed until ten weeks old four times a day, from that age until six months old, three times daily, and from that age until maturity, twice daily. I think a good drink of milk once a day excellent, and where there are enough fresh table scraps left to feed the pups, nothing better can be given. Where the number of dogs kept is too numerous to be supplied in this way, then a good meal of puppy biscuits in the morning, a good meal of meat (fresh butcher’s trimmings, not too fat, bought daily) with vegetables at noon and at night well cooked oatmeal or rice with milk makes an excellent safe diet. Good, large bones with some meat on are always in order, as all dogs crave, and I think ought to have, some meat raw. Be careful not to over feed, and above all do not give the dogs sweets. When a puppy is delicate or a shy feeder, an egg beaten up in milk forms an excellent change, and good fresh beef or lamb minced up will tempt the most delicate appetite. Give the puppies a chance to get out on the fresh grass and see what Dr. Green will do for them. Above all see that they always have free access to pure, cool water.
I frequently hear numerous complaints of dog’s eyes, especially pups that have been newly weaned, becoming inflamed, and in many cases small ulcers form. The same thing has occasionally happened in our kennels, and after trying practically all the eye washes on the market, sometimes without success, I applied to a friend of mine in the laboratory of the Massachusetts General Hospital and was advised by him to wash the dog’s eyes two or three times a day with a ten per cent. solution of argyrol, which has been eminently successful. For slight inflammations a boracic acid wash, that any chemist will put up, will usually effect a cure.
The several forms of skin disease which cause so much disquiet to young stock, preventing rest and hindering growth, are sometimes due to faults in feeding which upset the work of the assimilative organs, and are to a great extent preventable. Not so those that are due to the presence of a parasite that burrows under the skin and produces that condition of the coat commonly known as mange. A dog may go for some considerable time unsuspected, but the sooner it is discovered and attended to the better, as it is highly contagious. The first thing to do is to take an equal amount of powdered sulphur and lard, make a paste, and rub it thoroughly into the coat of the dog and let it stay on for two days. Of course, the dog will lick off all he can, but the internal application will be good for him. At the end of the second day take the dog and give him a thorough wash with good castile soap, and after drying rub into his coat thoroughly (care being taken that none gets into the eyes or ears) crude petroleum. Let this stay on one day, and without washing take this time enough benzine and powdered sulphur to make a paste and rub in as before. It will be found that this has penetrated deeper than the lard and sulphur did and has doubtless reached the parasites. Repeat this twice, washing in between, after which give the dog a good dressing of petroleum once a day for a week, followed by a week’s anointing with the benzine, and dollars to doughnuts, the dog’s coat will come out all right. A good dressing to be applied occasionally afterwards, well rubbed into the skin, is composed of equal parts of castor, olive and kerosene oils, thoroughly mixed. If the hair has long been off apply the tincture of cantharides, or the sulphate of quinine to the bald spots, taking care the dog does not lick it with his tongue. These two remedies are best used in the form of an ointment, twice a day.
In regard to fleas or lice on the young stock, a good wash in not too strong a solution of any of the standard tar products is usually perfectly effectual. One other disease, and that the most deadly of all, remains to be considered, viz., distemper. This is largely contracted at the dog shows, or being brought into contact with dogs suffering from the disease. I do not believe it is ever spontaneous, and dogs kept away from infected stock will be exempt. Well do I remember my first dose of it. I had loaned a friend of mine a young dog raised by him to show, as he was trying for a prize for Druid Merk as a stud dog. The dog in question, Merk Jr., came back from the show rather depressed, and in a few days I had my entire kennel down with the disease. It was in the spring of the year, cold and damp, and I succeeded in saving just one of the young dogs and Merk Jr. After a thorough fumigation with a great quantity of sulphur I managed to get the kennels disinfected, and did not have an outbreak again for several years. A bitch sent to be bred where a case of distemper existed, unknown to me, of course, brought it to my place again, and I had the same unfortunate experience over again; fortunately this time it was in the early fall, and weather conditions being auspicious, we lost only about twenty-five per cent. of young stock. By extreme vigilance, in knowing the conditions of the kennels where bitches were sent for service, we succeeded in escaping an attack for several years, when an old bitch that had had distemper several years previously, brought back the germs in her coat from a kennel where two young dogs, just home from the Boston show, were sick with the disease. This was in the spring, the weather was wet and cold, and a loss of practically fifty per cent. ensued.
One very interesting and peculiar feature of the last attack was, that half the dogs sick were given the best medical treatment possible, with a loss of one-half; the other half were not given any medicine whatever, and the same proportion died. Of course, all had the best of care, nursing, and strict attention to diet paid.
I was very much gratified to observe that in these three attacks we have never had a dog that had a recurrence of the disease, and what is of far greater importance, have never had any after ill effect (with one solitary exception, when a bitch was left with a slight twitching of one leg) in the shape of the number of ailments that frequently follow, and in all cases after the disease had run its course the dogs seemed in a short time as vigorous as ever. This we attribute solely to the strong, vigorous constitutions the dogs possessed. A breeder who raises many dogs will have a very difficult feat to accomplish if he aspires to enter the show ring also. In our case we were convinced at the start that these two would not go together. When one considers that dogs returning from shows frequently carry the germs in their coats, and even the crates become affected, and while not suffering from the disease themselves, will readily convey it to the occupants of the kennel they come in contact with, also that the kennel man (unless a separate man has charge of infected stock exclusively) can readily carry the germs on his hands, person and clothing, it will instantly be perceived what a risk attends the combined breeding and showing. I think it pays best in the long run to keep these two branches of the business separate. The temptation to exhibit will be very strong, but before doing so, count the cost, especially if much valuable young stock is in the kennels.
In regard to the treatment of this much dreaded disease, there are a number of remedies on the market, one especially that has lately come out, viz., “Moore’s Toxin,” which claims to effect a cure, but having never used it can not give a personal endorsement. Whatever remedy is tried, remember that good nursing, a suitable diet, and strict hygienic measures must be given. Feed generously of raw eggs, beaten up in milk, in which a few drops of good brandy are added, every few hours, and nourishing broths and gruels may be given for a change. If the eyes are affected then the boracic acid wash; if the nose is stopped up, then a good steaming from the kettle. While the dog must have plenty of fresh air, be sure to avoid draughts. When the lungs and bronchial tubes are affected, then put flannels wrung out of hot Arabian balsam around neck and chest, and give suitable doses of cod liver oil. If the disease is principally seated in the intestines, then give once a day a teaspoonful of castor oil, and the dog should be fed with arrow root gruel, made with plenty of good milk, and a very little lean meat (beef, mutton, or chicken), once a day. When the dog is on the high road to recovery be very careful he does not get cold, or pneumonia is almost certain to ensue. Do not forget a thorough fumigation of the kennels, and all utensils, with sulphur.