Many diseases that affect aogs, and cause their owners no end of worry and trouble, can be almost entirely prevented by taking proper care of the animal, and seeing that its quarters are at all times cleanly and well ventilated, and that the food given is perfectly sweet and fresh, and of the best quality. "Cleanliness is next to Godliness"; this maxim applies to the canine as well as the human race, and absolute freedom from filth is as necessary to the well-being of your puppy as it is to your child. It must not be understood, however, that all dirt is filth, as there is nothing more conducive to the health of child or dog- than plenty of soil or sand for them to play in and eat if they wish; but you must see that the ground is kept perfectly free from excrement and other filth. The dirt will do hem no harm, and on no account should a puppy ever be bathed except it be absolutely necessary to free him from filth. Even grown dogs, when in health, can be kept perfectly clean without resorting to the constant washing and scrubbing that some owners think so necessary. A stiff brush in the hands of one who will use it thoroughly is often much better than a bath, especially in cold weather, or even in warm weather if the dog is heated by exercise.

Dogs do not perspire through the pores of the skin, and for this reason are much more easily kept sweet and clean. Moreover, their hair is so constituted that it performs a very important part in keeping them free from filth. Each hair is armed with minute scales or teeth, all pointing outward, and with each motion of the dog each individual hair, rubbing against its neighbors, may be said to make an effort to expel all dust and dirt from the skin to the surface of the coat. I by no means wish to be understood as deprecating the use of the bath at proper times, but am merely trying to show that in case of necessity your dog can be kept perfectly clean without it. A plunge into water is greatly enjoyed by most dogs, and is of benefit to them when they are not too much heated by exercise; but should they from any cause get wet while heated, no bad results are apt to follow if they be given a good run after their bath Exercise is one of the most important subjects which we are called upon to consider. So much has been written and said about the value of exercise that I will take it for granted that no one is ignorant of its necessity for the prolonging of life and the enjoyment of health. Although in a general way the average dog owner is aware of this, he is not always aware just how much his dog really needs, nor of the proper time when he should take it.

The stomach of the dog appears to be so constituted that absolute rest is required after eating, in order that the food that has been taken may be properly digested. Exercise should therefore be very moderate just after meals, and no work should be allowed until at least three hours have elapsed. It has been proven by experiment that, when a dog was full fed and at once put to work, at the end of several hours the food remained in the stomach in an undigested state - the only change being that there was fermentation, which in itself would cause no little distress, if not a complete disarrangement of the entire system.

There is no animal that requires more exercise than the dog, and it is cruelty to them to confine them for weeks at a time, as is too often done, with scarcely an opportunity to stretch their legs or breathe a bit of fresh air. A person who cannot take proper care of his dog is unfit to own one, and it is far from proper care to debar your dog from the exercise so necessary to keep him in health. If you are obliged to keep him on chain, he should be allowed his liberty for a good run at least twice every day - once in the morning and again at night before he is fed.

The very best plan to adopt, both for dog and master, is to get up in the morning an hour before the usual time and de-vote this hour to a ramble in the fields with your dog, or, if the fields are too far away, the streets may be substituted. If this is tried for a month, it will be found to be so beneficial to both that it will be very bad weather or uncommon press of business that will cause the morning ramble to be omitted. I have often advised this course, and invariably with the most gratifying results both to dog and master.

In this connection, it will perhaps not be out of place to say that this course is the very best one to fit your pointer or setter for his season's work on game, to say nothing of hardening your own thews and sinews, and getting into condition for tramping through wood and field.

Out Of Sorts

There is an undefined but well-known disease, or perhaps I should say complaint, that is not at all dangerous in itself if properly treated. This in human subjects is known as being "out of sorts." In a very large majority of cases this condition is induced by the long-continued monotony of their surroundings. That dogs often suf-fer from this complaint no one of experience will deny. Neither can it be gainsaid that this condition is often the cause - not the symptom - of serious illness, that might have been avoided by proper attention when the victim first showed signs of being out of sorts. In the kennel this complaint is quite often induced by a long-continued use of some article of food - perhaps nutritious, healthful, and everything that could be desired as food, but its long-continued use has destroyed for the patient all its good qualities.

The lack of proper exercise is also a frequent cause of this complaint. When human or canine subject is thus afflicted, a cure can nearly always be effected by making a radical change, either in the surroundings, pursuits or diet of the patient; but the better plan is to so manage, by seasonable chancre, that the surroundings will not tire the eye, nor long-continued pursuits weary the frame, nor the sameness of food cloy the stomach. If such change is carefully and intelligently attended to, neither you nor your dog will often suffer from being out of sorts.

Prevention of disease is in all cases much better and easier to accomplish than is its cure; let us, therefore, so live and so order the life of our four-footed friends that both may bid defiance to many of the ills and troubles of life, and with the healthy vigor and strength engendered by our course be enabled to assist nature in warding off serious harm from diseases that we cannot escape.