The obligations of dog owning are few, but you must fulfill them. All that the dog requires of you is food, water, comfort, exercise, health,affection, and protection. If you can't supply these simple needs, it would be better for you not to have a dog, for it will only be a burden.For example, veterinarians will often see a Poodle whose coat is solidly matted and thick with fleas. No one could possibly comb it. The owner laments, "Oh, why didn't somebody tell me what he would be like when he grew up!" A dog allowed to get in such a condition poses medical problem and a nuisance to the owner as well. When the dog has been clipped all over, deflead, and the owner made to understand that Irons then on he must spend some time on the dog's grooming,he's likely to say, "But that's so expensive!" The owner should have known before he bought the poodle that a dog with a shorter coat is cheaper to keep.
Too often the prospective dog owner overlooks his or her own desire sand tendencies when selecting a pet. The sedentary man of studious disposition not infrequently makes the mistake of selecting a dog that requires much more exercise than he is willing to give it. Let's say he has a Foxhound. Every day he takes it for a walk around the block thereby satisfying his own conscience but providing practically no exercise for the dog. All the owner has done is to give the dog a chance to relieve itself. He should know that sometimes a foxhound will run Mona trail for as long as forty-eight hours. At so miles ass hour, it will have traveled 48o miles in that time. The hungry wild dog may run so°miles to get a single meal. In the face of such facts, the owner's walk around the block to exercise the dog becomes ludicrous. What the dog really enjoys is a so- or so-mile hike once a week an outing that would probably do the owner as much good as it does the dog.
