Buying a dog to Breed or Show?

Ready for the show?

A lot of people are discouraged from keeping dogs through the impression that the hobby is costly and that it implies an unrewarding amount of inconvenience and anxiety; but to the genuine dog-lover the anxiety and inconvenience are far outweighed by the delights of ownership, and companionship.

Regarding the expense, that is a matter which must be organised in a businesslike way.   A richly equipped kennel of expensive dogs, who are mollycoddled into illness might, indeed become a severe drain on the owner’s bank balance, but if handled in a sensible way the occupation is capable of yielding a very respectable income. The enjoyable excitement of putting forward one’s pets to the judgment of the show-ring, and the pleasures of breeding and raising ought to be their own reward, as they commonly are. Having said that, something more than mere pocket money can be attained by the alert amateur who has a kennel of recognised merit, and who recognises how to monetise that asset.  A champ should easily be able to realise his own living, indeed some are a source of generous income.

Occasionally one hears of very high prices being paid for dogs acknowledged to be perfect specimens of their breed, and size constitutes no measure of a dog’s market value.  It calls for an expert eye to comprehend the capabilities of a puppy, and there is always a component of speculation and risk for both buyer and seller.

Numerous a dogs that have been sold for a song has developed into a celebrated champion. Uncertainty adds spice to a sideline that is in itself absorbing.

The novice cannot easily go too far wrong or be too severely cheated, but it is advisable when making a first purchase to accept the advice of an expert and to be very sure of the dog’s pedigree, age, temper, and condition.

The approved method of purchasing a dog is to choose one advertised for sale in the regular journals dedicated to the dog. A more beneficial way yet, if a dog of dignified ancestry is sought, is to apply direct to a well-known owner of the required breed, or to travel to one of the great annual shows, and from there choose the dog from the benches, buying him at his catalogue cost.

In deciding the choice of a breed it must be realised that some are better watch-dogs than others, some more docile, some more dependable with youngsters. The size of the breed should be proportional to the accommodation available. To suffer a St. Bernard or a Great Dane plundering about a small home is an inconvenience, and sporting dogs which require considerable exercise and freedom are not suitable to the restricted life of a down-town  flat.

Nor are the long-haired breeds at their best draggling around in the wet, muddy streets of a city. For town life the clean-legged Terrier, the Bulldog, the Pug, and the Schipperke are to be preferred.

Bitches are cleaner in the home and  usually more amenable than dogs. The thought that they are more hassle than dogs is a false belief.  The difficulty comes up only twice in a year for a few days, and if you are vigilant there need be no mishap.

If only a single dog, or two or three of the smaller varieties be kept, there is no urgent need for an outside kennel, although all dogs are the better for life in the open air.

The responsibility for feeding him ought to be in the hands of one individual only. When it is everyone and nobody’s responsibility he is liable to be neglected at one time and overfed at another. Regularity of feeding is one of the secrets of successful dog-keeping.

It should likewise to be one person’s responsibility to ascertain that
he has regular access to the yard or garden, that he has access to plenty of clean drinking water, enough outdoor exercise, and a comfortable bed.

For the toy and delicate breeds it is a good plan to have a dog-room set apart, with a suitable cage or basket-kennel for each dog.

Even fragile toy dogs however, should not to be permanently accommodated indoors, and the dog-room is only complete when it has as an annexe a grass plot for playground and free exercise.

Next to wholesome and regular food, fresh air and sunshine are the prime essentials of healthy condition. Weakness and disease come more often from imprudent feeding and housing than from any other cause.

For the kennels of our British-bred dogs, perhaps a southern or a south western aspect is the best, but wherever it is positioned the kennel must be sufficiently sheltered from rain and wind, and it should be furnished with a covered run in which the inmates may have full freedom. An awning of some kind is necessary. Trees give good shelter from the sun, but they hold moisture, and damp must be avoided at any cost.

When only one outdoor dog is kept, a kennel can be improvised out of a packing-case, supported on bricks above the ground, with the entranceway properly protected from the weather. No dog should be permitted to live in a kennel in which he cannot turn around at full length. Properly built, portable, and well-ventilated kennels for single dogs are not expensive and are greatly to be favoured to any unskilled   makeshift structure. It is usually the single dog that suffers most from imperfect accommodation. His kennel is more often than not too small to allow an effective bed of straw, and if there is no railed-in run attached he must be chained up.

The dog that is kept on the chain becomes dirty in his habits, miserable, and ferocious. His chain is frequently too short and is not supplied with pivots to avoid kinks. On a sudden alarm, or on the appearance of an intruding tabby cat, he will oftentimes leap forward at the risk of dislocating his neck. The yard-dog’s chain had better be fitted with a stop link spring to weaken the effect of the sudden jerk. The method may be employed with advantage in the garden where there are several dogs, a separate leash being used for each. Hostile dogs can thus be kept safely separate and still be to some extent on the loose.

There is no perceptible advantage in keeping a guard dog on the chain instead of in an enclosed compound, unless he is expected to go for a possible burglar and attack him. A wire-netting enclosure can be constructed at very little cost. For the more powerful dogs the use of wrought-iron railings is recommended, and these can be fitted with gates and with revolving troughs for feeding from the outside.

Thoughts differ as to the most effective material for the flooring of kennels and the paving of runs. Asphalt is suitable for either in mild weather, but in summer it gets uncomfortably hot for the feet, unless it is partly composed of cork. Concrete has its advantages if the surface ca be maintained dry. Flagstones are cold for winter, likewise tiles and bricks. For terriers, who enjoy tunnelling, earth is the most effective ground for the run, and it can be kept free from dirt and buried bones by a rake over in the morning, while tufts of grass left round the margins supply the dogs’ natural medicine. The movable sleeping bench must, of course, be of wood, elevated a few inches above the floor, with a shelf to keep in the straw or other bedding. Wooden floors are open to the protest that they soak up the urine; but dogs ought to be taught not to foul their “nest”, and at any rate a frequent disinfecting with a solution of Jeyes’ fluid or similar should fend off impurity, while fleas, which take refuge in the dust between the planks, may be forced out or kept away with a sprinkle of paraffin.

Whatever the flooring, painstaking cleanliness in the kennel is a prime necessity, and the interior walls should be frequently limewashed. It is crucial, too, that no food waste or bones should be left lying about to become putrid or to encourage rats, which bring in fleas. If the dogs do not eat up their food when it is dished up to them, it should be taken away until hunger gives appetite for the next meal.

A lot of breeders of the large and thick-coated varieties, such as St. Bernards, Newfoundlands, Old English Sheepdogs, and rough-haired Collies, give their dogs nothing to lie down upon just clean bare boards. The coat is itself an adequate cushion, but in winter weather straw gives added warmth, and for short-haired dogs something soft, if it is only a piece of carpeting or sacking, it is needed as a bed to protect the hocks from abrasion.

Clean cold water must be at hand all of the time in all weathers, and a drink of milk coloured with tea is nourishing. Goat’s milk is particularly suitable for the dog

It is a misapprehension to suppose, as many persons do,that meat diet provokes eczema and other skin troubles; the opposite is the case. The dog is by nature a carnivorous animal, and wholesome flesh, either cooked or raw, should be his staple food. Horseflesh, which is frequently used in large establishments, is not so fully to be relied upon as ordinary butcher meat. There’s no serious objection to bullocks’ heads, sheeps’ heads, bullocks’ tripes and paunches and a little liver given occasionally is an aperient food which most dogs enjoy. But when it can be afforded, wholesome butcher’s meat is without question the proper food. Oatmeal porridge, rice, barley,linseed meal, and bone meal ought only to be thought of occasional add-ons to the usual meat diet.

Well-boiled green vegetables, such as cabbage, turnip-tops, and nettle-tops, are good mixed with the meat; potatoes are questionable.

Of the various advertised dog foods, many of which are excellent, the choice might be left to those who are fond of experimentation, or who seek for handy replacements for the outmoded and healthy diet of the household. Ailing dogs need invalid’s handling; but the most beneficial course of action is usually the simplest, and, given a healthy constitution to begin with, any dog should to flourish if he is just decently housed, carefully fed, and gets copious exercise.