230 BREEDING . ' 



on is good. Plenty of milk is also what she needs. The nearer her time 

 gets the more she will need to eat. Feed her three times a day during the 

 last two weeks. On the feeding of the bitch during this time will depend 

 the size and healthfulness of the coming litter, and when the pups are born, 

 a warm pan of milk will be relished by the dam, in which may be put a 

 little baking soda. Soft food should be continued for a few days, when a 

 return to ordinary diet will be safe. 



Many times a female, after giving birth to her young, refuses to eat 

 and loses her appetite. A few drops of assafcetida given in water and a 

 little rubbed on her gums usually restores her appetite, and with a good 

 appetite usually comes a good flow of milk. 



It is usually after a lapse of sixty-three days that the pups come, and 

 some days before the event a suitable secluded place should be provided 

 for her. It is important that a record should be kept of date she was bred. 

 Have her stall or kennel prepared a week before she is due. If in winter 

 this must be warm, but with light and ventilation. The latter must only 

 be furnished from the top. 



I've found the best plan to be, to securely tack down an old carpet or 

 blanket. on the floor which enables the puppies to get a foothold when first 

 born, and thus crawl to their mother. The bitch will scratch and dig for 

 several days before whelping and try her best to scratch up the carpet, so 

 put in plenty of tacks. This carpet should be exchanged for a clean one, the 

 next day after she whelps. A little of Clayton's or the Vermilax Co.'s flea 

 powder sprinkled around in her box shoufcl be clone daily. A loose carpet 

 in box is not advisable, as a puppy is liable to get under it and get smothered. 



Not all bitches are good mothers, some being too nervous, and through 

 this nervousness and from fear that they may lose some of their children, 

 or that you might take one away, they get excited, and lay on a pup or two. 



A very safe plan I've found, and I always so fit up the stall or box, 

 is to fasten a shelf a few inches from the floor to the sides and back of box, 

 extending out a few inches so that if she gets nervous and turns around too 

 often to get a place to suit her, the pups are protected from being laid on 

 by this shelf. 



It is generally best not to disturb the bitch at the time of whelping, 

 but in case of fever or excitement, or, in fact, if anything indicating trouble 

 be detected, it may be necessary for some one to remain with her, and for 

 the pups to be taken away and kept warm until normal conditions return. 

 Veterinarian skill may be necessary in some conditions, but as a warm place 

 for the pups is all that is needed for a couple of hours after birth, it is easy 

 to take the milk from the teats with the hand if the fever is likely to have 

 rendered it injurious to the pups and the fever may be quickly remedied, 

 and a non-injurious flow made in time for the pups to rejoin their mother. 



The very best advice I can give the breeder is, do not interfere; the few 

 cases where it will be necessary to do so will only add force to this rule. 

 When help is called for, find a verterinary surgeon who understands treat- 

 ment of dogs, or one who makes dogs a specialty. Many veterinarians are 

 all right as to horses and cows, but woefully ignorant as to dogs. If manual 

 assistance has to be given, avoid unnecessary force. When labor is protract- 

 ed and bitch seems to need assistance to create more labor pains, then give 

 her Fellows' Compound Syrup of Hypophosphate, two hours apart; the dose 

 would be a half teaspoonful for a bitch of 15 to 25 lbs., and three-quarters of 

 "a teaspoonful for a 25 to 40-lb. bitch, with a teaspoonful for larger ones up 

 to 60 lbs., while for very large bitches such as a St. Bernard, a teaspoonful 

 and a half would be the dose. Get one ounce of the Fellows' Compound 

 Syrup of Hypophosphate and have your druggist add to it four grains of 

 quinine. I have found this very valuable, much better and safer than ergot 

 (the liquid extract of rye), which is liable to work both ways, favorable 

 and otherwise, expanding or contracting the womb. Such medicine is not 

 always necessary, as in very many cases Nature takes care of the matter, 

 and it is only needed and advised to be given when bitch requires assistance 

 — the object being to create more labor pains if bitch needs the same. In 

 several cases of bitches that required the Fellows' Syrup of Hypophosphate 



