Spatial Domestication 2

Don returned his attention to the book after giving the still wagging Mercedes a rub or two on the head. This very book had stressed the importance of physical contact with the dog after all.

'A more complete explanation of punishments should be available in the ship database.

With this out of the way, it is of vital import that several things be prepared for in regards to your dog's health.

The very first is space to run. Humans may be able to go without exercise for and extended period of time, however dogs generally require extensive amounts of exercise in order to remain both happy and healthy. This is usually done in the form of running, but his requires space.

As I'm sure any sailor who has set foot onto a military ship may be aware, space is in extremely short supply. In the case of capital ships, jogging can be done to some degree in the relatively large halls, but this is simply impossible in smaller ships. With this being the case, a few methods have been devised in order to assist.

The first method is to attach a weighted harness to the dog. The principle behind this is to tire the dog out faster. Unfortunately, this does little to alleviate the need for the dog to run. If you have no hallway in your ship, then this will accomplish next to nothing.

The other method is to use external tools to encourage your dog to become mobile. The most popular is the ball. Almost all ships have a room inside of them suitable for using a ball to facilitate play in. If you do not have a room that can be cleared of obstruction with enough frequency it can be used to throw a ball round in, your ship will not be cleared to host a dog.

This method of the thrown ball, in tandem with the weighted harness, serves to exercise the dog not through use of an extended run path but by making it use more energy to change the direction in which it runs. By sitting somewhere in the room, most preferably in front of a door or on top of a bed, you can throw the ball at one of the walls at an angle so that the path is somewhat irregular.

The dog will, in this case, be incentivized to chase the ball in a straight line following its instincts. The pathing of the ball, being irregular, will mean the dog will have to frequently and erratically change directions. In this way, the dog will not have to run a long distance, but the constant acceleration and deceleration will still work to tire it and burn of any excess energy.

The next thing that you need to be able to provide is food and water. While this is not really much of a concern, you should take this into account when stocking and calculating reserves. The food for dogs, specifically that of German Shepherds, can be created by the standard onboard materials fabricator. The data slip in the back slot of this booklet should be inserted and downloaded into your ship's computer, the formula for the food as well as synthesis instructions for various other objects and dog-specific medicines that may be of need are included.

If you are training a puppy, as you should be if you are reading this booklet, you should avoid exercising your charge for up to an hour after they have eaten. Reasons for this will be covered in more depth later, but the consequences can be summed up as 'regurgitation'. Similarly, you should keep an eye on your dog's water intake. If they drink more than they usually do, there is a similarly increased chance of puking.'

"Something to keep in mind. You aren't going to vomit all over the floor are you Mercedes?"

The brown and black dog cocked her head slightly, one of her ears revealing itself to be loppy at the tip.

"Looking at the data, it would appear that the chance of accidental regurgitation will be slim on this ship." ARC gave its conjecture over the probability of an 'accidental discharge' of Mercedes' gastric acid onto the clean floors of the Noah.

"Why's that?"

"The induced risk of vomit is derivative of sudden shifts in the force generated by onboard gravity generators. Puppies already have an increased chance of vomit after eating as they tend to eat to fast, but a 'jolt' in gravity due to power being directed to something like the engines will make it easier if they are excited. In regards to liquids, some of it may float out of their stomach into their throats which in turn can trigger a gag reflex."

"So its okay if she runs about after her meals?"

"Not necessarily. A few of the veterinarian records that were included in the earlier data dump recommended anywhere up to two hours of waiting even in the consistent gravity of Earth. I was only making the point that due to the abundance of energy that our reactor provides, it is capable of supplying an extremely stable gravitational field."

It was true, even the largest ships that produce the most power, Dreadnoughts, have to make compromises with their gravity generation. This problem is the worst when they are in the middle of running their combat systems at full tilt, specifically when charging the railguns.

It gets so bad at times that most elect to completely turn off their generated gravity so as to reduce the risk of a falling related injury or mistake.

On the contrary, this comparably tiny ship makes enough power with its single reactor to power all but one of the onboard systems at optimal levels.

That single system was the Doctor's 'gift' to Don. He hadn't had the chance to use it in combat yet, primarily because he hadn't been gifted such a situation. Don was told not to use it until his ship was under threat of either destruction or capture.