In looking to his comfort, the first thing to take up is the dog's home. Every one is familiar with the little house to which is attached a poor, unhappy specimen of the dog tribe, with a heavy collar about his neck and a jangling chain that admits of a few feet of freedom and is suggestive of confinement. Now, bear this in mind, no dog is happy when chained up; thus we take up the kennel first.
Dogs are liable to many ailments that afflict human beings. Rheumatism is a common disease with them, and they suffer from cold and heat and lack of shade and warmth quite as much as they suffer from lack of proper food and drink. Thus a dog owner is responsible for his dog's health, and this means a great deal, for if a human being's good spirits depend upon the way they feel, surely a dog's do also.
A kennel's first essential should be dryness; next, warmth and ventilation. To secure all this, the floor of a dog-house should always be raised off the ground. Especially is this true where the dog is young or in the state of puppyhood. Dampness is his foe. A good idea is to have the dog-house elevated at least six inches, and have the opening front upon the exercising yard, where the dog can have plenty of room to play and jump about without being hampered by a fraying, dangling chain.
Although we learn from the old adage that "dogs delight to bark and bite," this is not true. The dog is naturally gregarious, and loves companionship of his own kind. Therefore, two dogs are happier than one. If they are allowed to be together continually, each appears to adapt himself to the other's disposition, and it is only those who seldom meet their kind that love to fight.
We will suppose that a kennel is to be built for one dog, for instance. He should have a yard of at least fifteen feet square to run about in, and opening on this should be a dog-house with two entrances, that could be shut in case of cold weather.
DOG-HOUSE AND YARD, WITH WIRE FOR HITCHING.
Fleas are the great enemies of a dog's comfort. The poor beast, whose thoughts and actions are interrupted constantly by a desire to scratch or nibble fruitlessly at the irritating little enemy to peace, is to be pitied. A great deal can be done, in constructing a dog-house, to do away with the pest. If possible, the floor and sides of the house itself should be made of good red cedar. For some reason, dogs domiciled in houses made or lined with this wood are almost entirely free from fleas, and this is a good thing to keep in mind.
It does not pay to give a dog hay or straw to sleep on, and old carpets or blankets should not appear in any well-regulated kennel. Appended are diagrams and drawings of a house and yard for one dog. It can be enlarged or diminished, as may be necessary.
There is not space in this article to go into the subject of dogs' diseases and ailments. If a dog is ill, he needs a physician as much as you or I. In his puppyhood he is liable to distemper and mange—the childish diseases that carry off so many of his kind. But once safely through them, if he is well looked after, he can count upon a happy existence of from ten to twelve years if his master is kind and considerate.