WHELPING OF PUPPIES— 14 



• Six cocker puppies {not Duchess' family). There's not a better personal salesman than 



a soft, warm, wiggling, playful, friendly puppy. And to the puppy all the world, and the 



humans in it, is an invitation to friendliness and adventure. 



progress of Duchess and her family, she 

 being a blonde cocker owned by the author's 

 wife. 



Four weeks after being mated. Duchess 

 did not show to our eyes, the evidences of 

 being in whelp. We went away on a 

 twelve-day visit and on our return, gasped 

 at the sight of her enlarged lower belly line 

 at the loins. She confirmed the statement 

 that definite conclusions concerning preg- 

 nancy hardly can be drawn before six weeks 

 after the date of mating. 



The Duchess became sedate, slept much, 

 played less, could have eaten more eagerly. 

 We moved her favorite chair away lest she, 

 trying to leap up and failing, might fall 

 down. 



She grew extremely large, weight 26 lbs., 

 an increase of 30% of her normal weight. 

 The sixty-three days ended on a Saturday. 

 We named Friday as the day of delivery, 

 pursuing the theory that a heavy litter in- 

 dicated an early delivery, though we cannot 

 agree with the theory the first delivery usu- 

 ally is made early. 



We had settled down, I in my favorite 

 chair a rocker (may some one come at 

 last uipon the scene to sing its praises 

 properly), to listen to the Louis-Schmeling 

 fight in New York City for the World's 

 Heavyweight Boxing Championship. The 

 Brown Bomber must have known our situ- 

 ation ; he ended the fight before the close 

 of the first round, and four minutes later. 

 Duchess began to walk about, look for a 

 secluded spot ; she squatted but there were 

 no labor pains. 



The water sac had emerged part way out 

 of the vagina, in size that of a hen egg, 

 and it remained there to her anxious an- 

 noyance. After an hour of this dangling 

 dalliance, she still did not begin travail. 

 One injection of pituitrin was made be- 

 tween layers of skin near the loin, this at 

 10:30 p.m., and a second about a half hour 

 later. But she did not begin laboring until 

 about 3 :30 a.m. Thursday, dropped the first 

 puppy at six and five more by noon, a 

 family of six, and without difficulty — ap- 

 proximately a puippy per hour. 



We weighed the puppies at the age of 

 twelve hours. Duchess immediately went 

 back to her pre-mating weight of 20 lbs. 



Duchess had eight filling stations and 

 within an hour, the bully of the gang, the 



parti male, largest of the litter (12 oz. at 

 birth), was monopolizing the most gener- 

 ous teat, located in the rear. 



Puippies, eyes shut, unable to walk, or 

 hear, do not practice brotherly love. To 

 the strongest belong the juiciest breasts. 

 And it is brute strength which dominates. 

 He who waits for an invitation, ends with 

 the front breast and the label of runt. 

 Pushing, whimpering, turning, moving 

 seal-like, crying furiously the instant they 

 were hungry and no teat at mouth's edge, 

 the puppies lived a lazy life for days. 



Came forty-eight hours, or Saturday 

 noon, and the time for de-tailing. The 

 cocker in proportion to weight, build and 

 height has the thickest of tails among the 

 breeds that are docked. Indeed in thig 

 breed, one should not delay in docking. 



FOUR DAYS AFTER WHELPING— 

 Duchess is beginning to shed profusely. She 

 should continue to lose coat until at wean- 

 ing time about five weeks hence, she will be 

 ipitiably coatless. 



SIX DAYS AFTER BIRTH, the pink 

 noses of the buff and parti had darkened 

 considerably. 



Toe nails of the puppies are sharp aad 

 stiff— and used at every opportunity. 



Duchess is too zealous in her mother- 

 hood ; the puppies are suckling and suck- 

 ling, jabbing, pawing, and nipping ever- 

 lastingly at her breasts. She must be kept 

 away forcibly from the puppies for an hour 

 interval at least twice a day. 



EIGHT DAYS AFTER BIRTH— rectums 

 of two puppies had caked shut altho the 

 mother, we thot, had kept them clean and 

 soft. We applied some vaseline. 



NINTH DAY— Two puppies have both 

 eyes open wide ; a third has one open and 

 one shut ; the other three still have both 

 eyes closed. 



One of the puppies, the smallest female, 

 is most active. She can almost change her 

 crawl into a walk. She is beginning to 

 hold up her head when she moves. It 

 usually is to be observed that the smaller 

 puppies learn soonest to walk ; the big ones 

 are fat and consequently lethargic. 



13TH DAY— Already they feel over- 

 warmth. The temperature is 88 degrees and 

 for the first time they break out of a hud- 

 dle, wend their crawling ways separately, 

 and becoming quiet, fall asleep. 



