570 THE AMERICAN BOOK OF THE DOG. 



is in whelp, her food should be of a soft nature, with con- 

 siderable milk given daily. A little raw meat, chopped 

 fine, fed three or four times in the last week, often prevents 

 bitches from eating puppies, though they may formerly have 

 been in the habit of so doing. 



A piece of old carpet, placed on her regular bench, is 

 about the best bed for a bitch when whelping. This can be 

 thrown away after the whelping is over and replaced with 

 a fresh piece, or with a bed of clean straw. A bitch that 

 has been kept in good condition, neither too fat nor, on the 

 other hand, too thin, seldom has any difficulty in parturi- 

 tion. Great care should be exercised that no cold or any 

 draught is permitted to penetrate into the kennel at this 

 time, as newly born puppies are easily chilled and thus 

 destroyed. The temperature should never be allowed to 

 fall below 60 Fahrenheit in the whelping-room. 



Very young puppies should be given milk two or three 

 times daily until they are old enough to pick at the bones 

 and food that is given to their dam; then, after they are 

 weaned, great care should be exercised in their diet to 

 guard against worms. 



