468 British Dogs. 



showing the date of visit, the other the day the pups are due, calculating 

 sixty-three days as the period of gestation, which is in the very large 

 majority of oases correct. Having this knowledge before him, the owner 

 has the line of treatment indicated, as that must vary as time proceeds. 

 For the first two or three weeks no alteration whatever in diet, exercise, 

 or work is needed, except a slight increase in food, if the bitch shows a 

 desire for it. 



It is a good practice to have the bitch thoroughly washed on returning 

 from a visit to a strange kennel. 



Grooming should be practised regularly, and close attention given to 

 the skin, so that the appearance of parasites, or of any eruption, may be 

 promptly checked, by appropriate measures being adopted. 



I have for some time adopted the plan of giving a dose of worm medicine 

 about the second or third week, and I think it is beneficial, even if the bitch 

 is free from worms ; the vermifuge and cooling medicine given following 

 it does no harm, but good, and if, as is so often the case, these parasites 

 are present, it lessens the chances of the pups being born with the germs 

 in them, as they so often are, and have them developed whilst still in 

 the nest. So far, this practice has been with me only experimental; 

 but as I think it has had good results, and cannot do any harm if a 

 safe vermifuge is administered, I recommend it to be tried by breeders. 

 I give a dose of Spratts Patent Cure for Worms at the end of the 

 second week, and if worms are expelled I repeat the dose in four or five 

 days. 



It is not easy to tell whether the bitch is in pup before the fourth week 

 has passed ; by that time the teats begin to enlarge, and there is a ridge- 

 like swelling between them ; from that time forward the flanks begin to 

 fill out and the belly becomes round, until about the seventh week, when 

 it falls considerably, becoming pendulous, and as the pups become due 

 inclines backward. 



Exercise should be continued until the last, but after the first few 

 weeks no hard exhaustive work should be done, nor violent exercise, such 

 as racing or jumping allowed, and during the last week walking exercise 

 only should be given. 



The bitch should be kept in good condition, but not fat or fleshy, for 

 that not only interferes with parturition but is apt to prevent the 

 secretion of milk, and both produce and aggravate milk fever. 



