Breeding. 461 



concerned in generation in a highly susceptible state, but the entire 

 system is affected, and during heat the bitch is subject to deeper and 

 more lasting impressions than at any other time. All breeders of expe- 

 rience know that bitches at that time take strong fancies. I had, some 

 years ago, a Dandie Dinmont that became enamoured with a deerhound, 

 and positively would not submit to be served by a dog of her own 

 breed. There are on record reliable instances where the mental impres- 

 sion made on the bitch by a dog that has not had access to her, has 

 been clearly seen in one or more of her litter, sired by a totally 

 different breed of dog. Taking these facts into consideration, I think 

 the common practice of permitting merely flying visits of the shortest 

 possible duration more likely to account for the disappointments alluded 

 to, than the peculiarity of the season to which they are so often referred, 

 and advise that the animals should be kept together for some reasonable 

 time, which is assuredly what takes place when the dogs are left to 

 themselves. 



Superfcetation. The bitch having a compound uterus is capable of 

 impregnation by two or more dogs during the same heat, and will produce 

 in one litter pups clearly distinguishable as the produce of different 

 sires. The appearance of these uterine brothers and sisters in the litter 

 of a bitch that had been put to a valued dog of her own breed is, of 

 course, most annoying, and in all cases must be the result of another 

 having had access to her. Frequently this arises from the careless- 

 ness of servants, and it is always safest to keep the bitch under lock 

 and key, for with the slightest chance given she will steal away in search 

 of a mate of her own selection. Only in one or two other ways, so far 

 as I know, can these objectionable strangers in the litter be accounted 

 for. These ways we will now consider. 



Antecedent Impressions. It is one of the most strange and remarkable 

 facts, as it is one of the least understood in connection with breeding, 

 that the union of a bitch for the first time with a dog by which she 

 conceives frequently exerts an influence on subsequent litters, or, as 

 my own observations lead me to think, on individual pups, but not all, 

 in subsequent litters. Instances of this must have come under the 

 notice of most breeders, and the most careful and observant have from 

 their experience recorded instances in proof of it, so that it is now an 

 accepted fact. 



