Dogs and All About Them | Page 8

The method of rearing a Mastiff has much to do with its ultimate size,
but it is perhaps needless to say that the selection of the breeding stock
has still more to do with this. It is therefore essential to select a dog and
bitch of a large strain to obtain large Mastiffs. It is not so necessary that
the dogs themselves should be so large as that they come from a large
strain. The weight of a full-grown dog should be anything over 160 lb.
Many have turned over the scale at 180 lb. The Shah, for instance, was
182 lb. in weight, Scawfell over 200 lb.
One of the great difficulties that breeders of Mastiffs and all other large
dogs have to contend against is in rearing the puppies; so many bitches
being clumsy and apt to kill the whelps by lying on them. It is,
therefore, always better to be provided with one or more foster bitches.
At about six weeks old a fairly good opinion may be formed as to what
the puppies will ultimately turn out in certain respects, for, although
they may change materially during growth, the good or bad qualities
which are manifest at that early age will, in all probability, be apparent
when the puppy has reached maturity. It is, therefore, frequently easier
to select the best puppy in the nest than to do so when they are from six
to nine or ten months old.
Puppies should be allowed all the liberty possible, and never be tied up:
they should be taken out for steady, gentle exercise, and not permitted

to get too fat or they become too heavy, with detrimental results to their
legs. Many Mastiff puppies are very shy and nervous, but they will
grow out of this if kindly handled, and eventually become the best
guard and protector it is possible to have.
The temper of a Mastiff should be taken into consideration by the
breeder. They are, as a rule, possessed of the best of tempers. A savage
dog with such power as the Mastiff possesses is indeed a dangerous
creature, and, therefore, some inquiries as to the temper of a stud dog
should be made before deciding to use him. In these dogs, as in all
others, it is a question of how they are treated by the person having
charge of them.
The feeding of puppies is an important matter, and should be carefully
seen to by anyone wishing to rear them successfully. If goat's milk is
procurable it is preferable to cow's milk. The price asked for it is
sometimes prohibitory, but this difficulty may be surmounted in many
cases by keeping a goat or two on the premises. Many breeders have
obtained a goat with the sole object of rearing a litter of puppies on her
milk, and have eventually discarded cow's milk altogether, using goat's
milk for household purposes instead. As soon as the puppies will lap
they should be induced to take arrowroot prepared with milk. Oatmeal
and maizemeal, about one quarter of the latter to three quarters of the
former, make a good food for puppies. Dog biscuits and the various
hound meals, soaked in good broth, may be used with advantage, but
no dogs, either large or small, can be kept in condition for any length of
time without a fair proportion of meat of some kind. Sheep's paunches,
cleaned and well boiled, mixed with sweet stale bread, previously
soaked in cold water, make an excellent food and can hardly be
excelled as a staple diet. In feeding on horseflesh care should be taken
to ascertain that the horse was not diseased, especially if any is given
uncooked.
Worms are a constant source of trouble from the earliest days of
puppy-hood, and no puppy suffering from them will thrive; every effort,
therefore, should be made to get rid of them.
With proper feeding, grooming, exercise, and cleanliness, any large dog

can be kept in good condition without resort to medicine, the use of
which should be strictly prohibited unless there is real need for it.
Mastiffs kept under such conditions are far more likely to prove
successful stud dogs and brood bitches than those to which deleterious
drugs are constantly being given.
CHAPTER III
THE BULLDOG
The Bulldog is known to have been domiciled in this country for
several centuries. Like the Mastiff, of which it is a smaller form, it is a
descendant of the "Alaunt," Mastive, or Bandog, described by Dr.
Caius, who states that "the Mastyve or Bandogge is vaste, huge,
stubborne, ougly and eager, of a hevy, and burthenous body, and
therefore but of little swiftnesse, terrible and frightful to beholde, and
more fearce and fell than any Arcadian curre."
The first mention of "Bulldog" as the