CHAPTER II.KENNEL MANAGEMENT.By H. H. Howard-Vyse.
By H. H. Howard-Vyse.
Kennel management falls under three headings, the arrangement of the kennels themselves, feeding, and exercise. It may be said at once that the management of beagles should be on precisely the same lines as that of any other hounds; and the best way of learning to build up and maintain a good pack of beagles is without doubt to study closely the methods which obtain in any of the first class foxhound kennels. The only differences to bear in mind, apart from the obvious one of size, are that beagles are more delicate and are more apt to be nervous. The latter point needs especially to be remembered in dealing with brood bitches and young entry.
The kennels themselves should be like foxhound kennels in miniature, well ventilated and adequately drained, but warm. The benches should be raised about one foot off the ground, and there should be a raised edge, eight inches higher, to prevent the bedding from slipping off on to the floor. The benches should be hinged and fitted with a short chain which can be hooked on to a staple in the wall. The object of this is to enable the bench to be raised while the kennelman swills or sweeps out underneath it. It need hardly be said that cleanliness is all-important. In order to ensure fresh water the kennel should be fitted with a tap running into a trough about ten inches from the ground. On hunting days an extra liberal amount of clean straw should be provided, to enable hounds to dry themselves quickly. As for foxhounds, an open air yard must be attached to the kennel.
Separate small enclosed kennels are of course necessary for brood bitches and sick hounds. For the former, quiet is important. For sick hounds, which require to be kept particularly warm, these should be provided with wooden floors; and, if it can conveniently be done, a hot water pipe, brought possibly from the boiler house, will add greatly to the comfort. In sick kennels a liberal use of sawdust and of disinfectants is essential.
FEEDING TIME.GEORGE CHAMPION.DABBLER.GIPSY AND RASPER.
FEEDING TIME.GEORGE CHAMPION.DABBLER.GIPSY AND RASPER.
FEEDING TIME.
GEORGE CHAMPION.
DABBLER.
GIPSY AND RASPER.
During the summer hounds must be kept exercised, and it is a good thing to let them stand about in grass fields, when it will be found that they will eat a quantity of grass and of earth, both of which are admirable for their digestion. As the hunting season approaches, exercise must be increased up to twenty miles a day. Ponies or bicycles are useful for this, but the pace should not exceed seven miles an hour, except for sharp bursts of a few hundred yards to open the hounds’ pipes. It is more important that they should spend a long time out of kennel than that they should cover great distances.
A hunt servant should ride behind to keep hounds up and on one side of the road; they should be taught to come over quickly on to whichever side of the road the huntsman wants them. In these days of motors this is absolutely essential.
For feeding, the best oatmeal must be used, boiled the day before it is required to such an extent that when cold it almost forms the consistency of jelly. In cool weather it will keep for four or five days. Meat should be given in the form of broth with the meat left in it and chopped small, more being required in the hunting season than in summer. Raw meat every now and again is a good thing, especially for those hounds which have a tendency to eczema. To keep the blood cool the broth should contain, especially in summer, vegetables, or the young tops of nettles; mangolds too are beneficial, if well boiled. Hounds should be fed once a day only, and must be walked out for at least half an hour immediately afterwards.
Brood bitches require to be fed twice a day, and their rations should include milk and raw meat. They must not be allowed to get too fat, and must be given plenty of exercise. A dose of salts just before whelping is a good thing.
Whelps should be left on the dam as long as possible, but, to help her, they should be persuaded to begin to lap at about a month old; at about the same age they should be given a mild dose for worms—ruby syrup is recommended. Their food should be gradually thickened up with soaked bread crust or biscuit. At first they should be fed twice a day, then thrice, and finally, when they are weaned at about ten weeks, four times a day. Raw meat, very finely chopped, should be given as soon as they will eat it, about as much as will fill a tea spoon, once a day at first, and later double the quantity. At about three months old the feeds can be gradually reduced till, soon after four months, the young hounds can be fed like the rest of the pack.
For the benefit of their coats and skins all hounds should be dressed twice during the summer with oil and sulphur, whichshould be left on for at least forty-eight hours. If it is considered advisable to wash hounds for vermin, a weak solution of MacDougall’s sheep dip should be used. For the treatment of vermin Keating’s powder, and for cuts carbolic oil must always be on hand. For eczema, a dose of salts, a dressing of oil and sulphur, and a diet of raw meat are advised. For distemper, the most important things are to keep the hound warm and to treat him as an invalid for three weeks after he is apparently well. Every effort must be made to make him feed, the best diet being soup, milk and fish.
But the essence of kennel management is that the kennelman should be observant, so that he at once detects any symptoms of illness or lameness.