Making Home Profitable

by Kate V. Saint Maur

If the new dog is under nine months of age, feed him three times a day. Bread and milk, oatmeal, hominy, or any such food which has been well boiled, allowed to cool and covered with milk, makes a suitable breakfast. Lunch may be half a puppy-cake or a slice of brown bread. The main meal should consist of boiled meat, onions and rice, mixed with some cooked green vegetable.

After the ninth month two meals a day are sufficient. Be as careful not to overfeed as not to underfeed. A dog should be ready for each meal, but never ravenously hungry. Don’t give milk which has not been scalded or potatoes in any form, if you wish to keep the puppy free from worms. Sour milk once or twice a week is beneficial, but must not be given oftener. Twice a week a bone with some meat on it is needed. Some people think that raw meat is bad for dogs, but a limited quantity of fresh lean meat is really necessary for growing dogs, and being on the bone necessitates a lot of gnawing, which is good for the teeth and encourages the flow of saliva which aids digestion.

If you should have a mother-dog with puppies, give her a large sleeping place; dry and comfortably warm in winter, dry and cool in summer. Puppies should be taught to drink as soon as possible after they are six weeks old. Condensed milk saves the trouble of scalding cow’s milk. Whichever is used should be given warm; never hot or cold. The puppies will learn to eat more quickly if the mother is taken away for about an hour before offering food. Gradually increase the length of her absence until she spends only the nights with her babies, and weaning will be accomplished without any trouble.

To prevent worms, the one great trouble which attacks all dogs, give the mother a dose of worm medicine three or four weeks before the babies are expected, and give the babies very small doses when they are three weeks old, six weeks old and nine weeks old. After that time I depend on sour milk, and an occasional dose of castor-oil.

House-breaking should be attended to as soon as the puppies commence to run about. Never leave a puppy alone in a room, for one mistake prompts others. Be watchful, and the moment a puppy begins to fidget or to run about, put it outside or in a box containing sawdust. Patience and perseverance are necessary at first, but in two or three weeks the lesson will be perfectly learned, especially if the hours of taking the dogs out are strictly adhered to.

Old dogs, whose education in this respect has been neglected, can be taught tidy habits if fed at regular hours, the last meal not later than three o’clock in the afternoon, the evening exercise being postponed till about eight, after which they should be fastened to the box or basket which acts as their bed by a chain not more than two feet long. Release early in the morning and take out at once. They will soon understand the discipline of enforced hours, for the close proximity of their bed calls natural instinct to their assistance. The habit once formed, it will prevail when allowed to sleep in any part of the house.

Bathing dogs of any kind or size I don’t believe in very much, for it robs the skin of the natural oil which is required to feed the hair and keep it in condition. Brushing, however, is quite necessary, especially in the summer, when fleas may be about, and it is well to begin early in the season to rub some good insect-powder into the hair, then after about half an hour brush it out thoroughly.

Delicate small dogs with long hair can have a mixture of cocoanut and sweet almond-oil rubbed into the hair once a week and brushed out again.

If any accident makes washing unavoidable, stand the dog in a small tub half filled with warm water, rub white soap on a flesh-brush, and brush from the center of the back with straight strokes to the end of the hair on each side. Take the front paws in your left hand, letting the dog stand on his hind legs, and brush from the neck down to clean the under part of the body. The head should come last. Wash the ears first, being careful not to let water run into them. Hold the nose up and wash the top of the head and sides of the face, so that the water runs backward and not into the eyes. Last of all wash the muzzle, being very careful about soap. Rinse in two clear waters, then wrap the body in a warm towel while you wipe the face and the inside of the ears.

When about half dry let him down for a shake, but be careful he does not escape under a piece of furniture and roll, as he will probably try to do. Brush until quite dry, rubbing a little oil onto the bristles, at the end of the dressing.