The cradled-panel support consists of a single oak board with a vertical grain. Worm tunnels are visible in the x-radiograph and on the back of the panel, and a small vertical hairline crack is found right of center in the bottom edge.
Vertical striations are visible from the brush application of the moderately thick white ground.
Opaque paint is applied in light passages with impasted highlights, while dark passages are thinly glazed in a series of translucent layers. Pentimenti of a chicken and a stick are visible in the lower right corner, and minor changes were made in the legs of the standing dog. The sky and dark passages are moderately abraded, and there are scattered small losses and local abrasions, particularly along the right edge in a vertical band. The painting was treated in 1981 to remove discolored varnish and repaints, although insoluble overpaint was left in place in some areas.