JOSEPH L. COLBY'S KEEP, PREPARING THE PIT DOG FOR BATTLE

About one week before you start putting your dog in condition for his battle, give him a complete examination. Be sure he is in one hundred percent good health and free from all ailments. Give him a good bath, using any strong flea soap, kill all the fleas, as a dog should never be irritated by fleas while in training. See that his nails are clipped short, but not too close. Disinfect his quarters, change his bedding, clean straw being preferred.
He should be kept quiet at all times while not being worked on.

During this week he should be given cold boiled water to drink and this should be continued right up to the time of the battle. Boiled water is non-fattening and will not upset the bowels. The dog should be fed one and one-half pounds of raw beef a day, three-quarters of a pound in the morning and three-quarters of a pound at night. Regulate your feeding times now so that when the dog goes in training he will be fed at the same hour,
morning and evening. Be sure that the dog is fed thirty minutes after his daily workouts.

When the dog starts in training, always time him by the watch, as this is very important,
so you can see how long he works and just how he is advancing with his work.

Now that you have given your dog a week of boiled water and raw lean beef, he is ready to go to work. Observe and study the method carefully from day to day.

CONDITIONING THE PIT DOG

Before starting to condition the dog for a contest there are some points that must be remembered and carried out. First, you have to make up your mind to train the dog faithfully and accurately. This must be done with the intention that you are going to put your dog in as good a shape as possible. Be sure to use your watch at all times so as to avoid guesswork. Make a facsimile of the conditioning chart shown elsewhere in the book
and mark it after each workout. This is necessary so you can see how he progresses from day to day.

If you use this method as it is given and abide by it, your dog will be in excellent condition. It is a good idea to examine the pads of the dog's feet each day so as to see if they are getting sore. If they are, go to a drug store and buy a package of White Oak Bark. Boil it in a quart of water ten minutes, strain it and put the tea in a jar. Dip the dog's feet in the jar and let each foot soak for three minutes. Do not dry the feet,
but allow the solution to dry and soak in.

During the training period, be sure to let your dog drink all the boiled water he wants, except when returning from his walks or after his mill work. He should be kept quiet while in training and excluded from the public. Straw is ideal bedding and should be changed every other day.

This method calls for twenty-six days of actual training and the dog fought on the twenty-seventh day.
A dog trained longer than this period is liable to go stale and train off.

First day, A.M. Walk the dog four miles. On returning rub him down. Put him on the treadmill and run him five minutes by the watch. Take him off and swab his mouth out with a wet sponge, using cooled boiled water. Hand rub him, always rubbing with the ply of the muscles. Do this for ten minutes. Now weigh the dog and put him in his quarters. Thirty minutes later feed him one-half can of salmon, mixing in it one tablespoonful
of calcined of magnesia. This is a purgative to clean his bowels out.

First day, P.M. Duplicate the workout given in the morning except that the dog should be fed one-half pound of boiled lean beef, cut into strips, mixed with two slices of dry toast. This should be given right in the beef broth. The beef is cut into strips so the dog won't gulp it down as he would if it were in chunks.

Second day, A.M. Duplicate the first morning in every detail.

Second day, P.M. The same as the first evening.

Third day, A.M. Walk the dog four miles. Hand rub him and put him on the treadmill. Increase the millwork to seven minutes, swab his mouth out according to previous instructions. Hand rub him ten minutes. Thirty minutes later, feed him three-quarters to one pound of lean cooked beef prepared the same as the first day.
This will be his diet for the first fifteen days.

Third day, P.M. The same as the morning schedule.

Fourth day, A.M. Duplicate the schedule of the previous day except to increase the millwork to nine minutes.

Fourth day, P.M. The same as the morning.

Fifth day, A.M. The same schedule as the previous day.

Fifth day, P.M. Duplicate the morning schedule.

Sixth day, A.M. Duplicate the schedule of the previous day
except to increase the millwork to eleven minutes.

Sixth day, P.M. Follow the morning schedule.

Seventh day, A.M. The only change is to increase the millwork to thirteen minutes.

Seventh day, P.M. Follow the morning schedule.

Eighth day, A.M. The same as the previous day.

Eighth day, P.M. Follow the morning schedule.

Ninth day, A.M. Increase the dog's millwork to fifteen minutes. There are no other changes to be made.

Ninth day, P.M. The same as the morning schedule.

Tenth day, A.M. The same schedule used the previous day.

Tenth day, P.M. Duplicate the morning schedule.

Eleventh day, A.M. At this point your dog should be able to run the treadmill at each interval without showing much exertion. Beginning with the eleventh day and straight through the fifteenth day the dog should
continue to run the treadmill fifteen minutes in the morning and in the evening.
No changes are to be made during this period.

Sixteenth day, A.M. At this period your dog should be at or within a pound of his weight. The schedule changes now so increase the dog's walk to five miles. On returning, hand rub him gently. Put him on the treadmill and run him twenty minutes. Take him off and swab his mouth out with cooled boiled water.
Hand rub him ten minutes, always with the ply of the muscles. Then walk him one-eighth mile and put him in his quarters. Thirty minutes later, feed him one and one-half to two pounds of rump steak that has been
cut up in strips and broiled (be sure it is broiled). Mix two slices of dry toast with the steak.

Sixteenth day, P.M. Duplicate the morning schedule.

Seventeenth day through the twentieth day, should be exactly the same as the sixteenth day,
with but one exception. If your dog is gaining weight increase the walks to six miles at each period.
If he doesn't gain weight, it isn't necessary to increase the mileage. Do not cut his feed down.

Twenty-first day, A.M. The only change to be made is to increase the millwork to twenty-five minutes.

Twenty-first day, P.M. The same as the morning schedule.

Twenty-second day, A.M. Duplicate the schedule of the previous day.

Twenty-second day, P.M. The same as the morning.

Twenty-third day, A.M. The same as the previous day.

Twenty-third day, P.M. No change in schedule.

Twenty-fourth day, A.M. The same as the previous day.

Twenty-fourth day, P.M. No change in schedule.

Twenty-fifth day, A.M. No change in schedule.

Twenty-fifth day, P.M. The same as the morning schedule.

Twenty-sixth day, A.M. This is the last day of training and only a light schedule is prepared for today. Walk the dog his usual five miles. Follow this with a light hand rub. Put the dog on the treadmill for only fifteen minutes. Take him off and hand rub him gently for five minutes. Walk him one-eighth mile and then put him
in his usual quarters. Thirty minutes later, give him his feed of broiled lean stripped beef with dry toast.

Twenty-sixth day, P.M. If the contest is to be held the following morning, eliminate all work and feed him ten hours before the time of the contest. If the contest is not to be held until the following evening,
then you should walk him three miles. On returning put him in his quarters and eliminate the hand rub.
Thirty minutes later feed him.

Twenty-seventh day. If the contest is held in the morning, walk the dog one-quarter of a mile, two hours before the battle. Upon returning give him a half cup of cold weak tea. If the contest is held in the evening,
he should be walked one-half mile in the morning and then fed thirty minutes later. This should be done
ten hours before the battle. Two hours before the battle, give him a half cup of cold weak tea.
The purpose of giving the tea is to eliminate thirst and fever.

Just prior to washing and weighing the dogs. Take your dog for a walk, so he can empty his bowels.

If you have followed this method, your dog will be in condition second to none,
and will be fit to fight as long as he has to.