The better practice is to take the day's allowance and throw it upon the ground, letting the beast eat it with what addition it may please. Neither should the nature of the food itself be disregarded. Oatmeal or ship-biscuit ought always to be given, if alone the better, else rice upon which gravy has been poured. Meat, when allowed, should be lean, and the coarser the better. Paunch or tripe is excellent food for dogs, and for a continuance I have found nothing agree so well. Horse-flesh or any such filth is never to be allowed; this kind of food being very apt to generate diseases of the skin. Dogs will thrive on liver, but it is too valuable an article of diet for these creatures to be regularly given. When only occasionally administered it has a well-marked laxative property, and on this account will often be of service in rendering needless the use of medicinal agents. In the raw state, if the animal will take it, its action is more powerful; but after it has been boiled it generally is sufficiently operative. The meat, whatever it may be, should, for animals not in work, be boiled, raw flesh being more stimulative than their comparatively idle pursuits demand. Such animals, in fact, may be said to lead sedentary lives, and their diet must be lowered to suit their habits. For the pointer, &c., during the season, raw flesh is actually to be preferred, nor should the quantity be limited. The exertion is great, and the utmost indulgence in this respect will seldom do harm; but my own experience teaches me that the sporting dog is often crippled by being under-fed. It cannot consume too much, neither can that much be too nourishing, especially if the country to be shot over is of a hilly nature. It is one of the prejudices of most men to believe that a feed of oats to the horse, or a meal of flesh to the dog, just before starting, gives strength for the labor which is to be endured. We cannot, however, make strength as beds are made, at any moment, but the invigoration of a living body must be the result of a slow and a long process. On the day of work it is of less consequence what food is given than is the diet which has been allowed the many previous weeks.
Regularity in the hour of feeding should equally be observed; and if this matter be generally attended to, there will be no danger of its being forgotten, since dogs' stomachs are excellent time-keepers, and the brutes are not by any delicacy of feeling restrained from asking. The hour, after a little while, will always for the sake of peace be kept, and the animals will soon learn the rules to which they are subjected.
For home-kept dogs there is no possibility of stating the quantity of food that ought to be allowed. No two animals in this respect are alike. One eats much, and its fellow consumes but little; yet the small feeder in most cases thrives the best even where neither is stinted. The quantity, therefore, cannot be measured. The only rule to be observed is, that there be enough placed before the animal at a stated hour. Let him eat of this till the slackening of the jaws' movement and the raising of the head indicate that hunger has been for the present appeased. So soon as this is remarked the food ought to be withdrawn. On no account should the creature be allowed to gorge to repletion, or eat after its healthy craving has been satisfied. While the dog eats it should therefore be watched; and this custom works well, as the failure of the appetite often gives to the attendant the earliest indication of disease.
The dog that neglects its day's allowance should not be coaxed to feed, but ought to be left alone for some minutes, or until its companions have finished their meal. It should then be examined, and if nothing can be detected, perhaps the abstinence of a day may restore it. Until the proper hour arrives on the following day, nothing ought to be given to the animal, nor should any inclination on its part for food be noticed.
Where eating is concerned, dogs have lively sympathies. The animal which at its own kennel has feasted to satiety, will wake from its digestive slumber to taste anything of which it sees its master partaking. These creatures are so peculiarly sensitive in this respect, that they will do violence to their feelings rather than be left out when eating is going forward. Dogs moreover are most pertinacious beggars, and they soon learn the cunning of the trade. On no account should they be permitted to frequent the kitchen. If properly reared, they will be rigidly honest, but, like the "audacious cats," they offer a ready excuse to dishonest kitchen-maids, who will sometimes do injury by subjecting the animal to undeserved chastisement.
Where the servants are trustworthy this danger will not arise; but good servants mostly have tender hearts, and dogs have a peculiar tact in appealing to female weaknesses. However strict may be the orders, and however sincere may be the disposition to observe them, bits will fall, – scraps will be thrown down, – dishes will be placed upon the ground, and sometimes affection will venture to offer just "the little piece," which no one could call feeding. It is astonishing how much will in this way be picked up, for the dog that lies most before the kitchen fire is generally the fattest, laziest, and at feeding time the best behaved of his company. Consequently no dog should be allowed to enter the kitchen, for their arts in working upon mortal frailty can only be met by insisting on their absence. The dog that is well fed and not crammed, should not refuse bread when it is offered. If this be rejected, while sugar is eagerly snapped up, it will be pretty certain that the animal is either too much indulged, or that its health requires attention.
Some writers recommend pot-liquor for dogs. It is not advisable to use this. The water in which salt meat has been boiled ought never to be employed. Greens are not nutritious, but they often purge; and if the animal will eat them, they can sometimes be given when liver cannot be obtained. Potatoes will, with other substances, agree with animals not required for work, but the rice I have recommended will be found for general purposes the best, and not the most expensive food upon which the animal can be sustained. Persons having lap-dogs will moreover find the keep upon rice, properly seasoned, or soaked in gravy, less liable to render these creatures strong or tainted than the provender which is choicely selected from the joint provided for the family dinner. The warm meat too often presented to these creatures is apt to enfeeble their digestions; for their stomachs are soon deranged, and they never should be allowed to taste any kind of food which is not perfectly cold.
The food for diseased dogs should be prepared with extreme care, and no disregard of cleanliness; in fact, it should in every respect be such as a human being could partake of, provided the ingredients were not repugnant to his taste. Sickness cannot be relieved without trouble, and in many cases an animal requires as much attention as a child. To gain success, neither time, labor, nor expense must be begrudged; but the attendant must be assiduous and the cook skilful. Nothing smoked or burnt, no refuse or tainted flesh, must on any account be made use of. The meat may be coarse, but it should be fresh and wholesome. Dirty saucepans or dishes ought not to be employed; and so very important are these circumstances, that the practitioner who engages in dog practice will often surprise his acquaintances by being seen at market, or busied over the fire. Beef tea is one of the articles which in extreme cases is of great service. Few servants, however, make it properly, and when a dog is concerned there are fewer still who will credit that any pains should be bestowed upon the decoction. I generally either prepare it myself or superintend the person who undertakes that office, and not unfrequently give serious offence by my officiousness; or, spite of studious attention, fail in procuring that which I desire. Still, as in the last extremity food is even of more importance than medicine, my anxiety cannot be conquered by such schooling, and I am therefore content to bear the sneers of those who cannot understand my motives.
To make beef-tea properly, take a pound and a half of coarse, lean beef: that cut from the neck or round is best. The leg does not answer so well, however excellent it may be for soup. The rump steak is good for the purpose, but no better than other and cheaper parts; though I often use it when nothing else can be obtained so well suited for this beverage. Let the flesh be carefully separated from every portion of skin or fat, and chopped as fine as for sausage meat – the smaller the better – it cannot be too minutely minced. Without washing it, put the flesh into a clean saucepan, with a pint of water, and so