Which are frequently exhibited

Which are frequently exhibited

Which are frequently exhibited

These tiny dogs, which are frequently exhibited, are often very unreliable sires; they work too hard, and their owners are sometimes very indifferent as to whether the visiting bitches are satisfactorily attended to. True, the terms always do, or certainly always should, include a second visit free if the first proves fruitless, but there is the loss of time, the disappointment to the owner, and sometimes to the little bitch herself, who may have been quite anxious to breed and not have had a fair chance, and the trouble and expense of travelling for her. On the whole, I am much inclined to advise the novice to, at any rate, begin by rearing up a male puppy of such breeds as Pekingese and Griffons, or the scarcer toy Bulldogs, and using it for the home stud; for the other plan is less likely to result in disappointment when a little knowledge has been gained of the kennel world in general. This, of course, unless the whole thing is gone into under the ægis of some experienced owner, as before suggested. Some little bitches are exceedingly capricious, and will not take the least notice of a strange dog, where they would willingly mate with one they knew and liked; others are so upset by a journey and a strange place as to be useless pro tem.; others, again, instead of being ready to breed twice a year, as is the usual habit of female dogs, may only come in season once in twelve months, and then but fugitively. In such cases it is a positive necessity to have a dog on the spot. Where a sire must be chosen from among strangers, his points should correct any in which the bitch is deficient; your toy pug may have too small a head, with little wrinkle you must look for a dog with good head properties as her mate; your Pom may be long in back, and you must seek a male with the opposite quality, and a plume well over and touching his frill.