0¥ BREEDING GENERALLY. G63 



cleaned by her tongue, it will be proper to select such as are 

 to be kept, while those that are deemed superfluous should 

 be immediately drowned. In the chase, a preference should 

 be given to those having a resemblance to dogs of the pack 

 of established worth, and possessing at the same time the 

 strongest make, as the smaller puppies are likely to turn out 

 weak. If a whole litter is wished to be preserved, and if it 

 is larger than can be nursed with ease and safety by the 

 dam, a few should be taken from her and given to a foster- 

 mother. Sometimes, however, it is difficult to get another 

 bitch to nurse strange puppies. A method, which has been 

 successfully practised, is to rub the puppies so selected with 

 a little of the foster-mother's milk, when, in general, she will 

 carefully lick them, and adopt them as her own. 



While nursing, the bitches should be well fed with flesh, 

 broth, milk, porridge, &c., several times a day. When 

 puppies are a few weeks old, milk should be offered them, 

 and they will soon learn to lap it, which will greatly relieve 

 the dams. By the end of six weeks they will be able to feed 

 themselves, and may then be removed from the nursing- 

 quarters. These observations apply to dogs generally. 



Many of the most experienced sportsmen, and also writers 

 on this subject, conceived that hounds may be hunted while 

 nursing ; but this is an opinion with which no physiologist 

 or medical man can concur ; for violent exercise of any kind 

 has a strong tendency to injure the quality of the milk, 

 and must, consequently, have a bad effect on the young pro- 

 geny. 



When the puppies of dogs of the chase are three or four 

 days old the points of their tails should be twisted off*. 

 This operation is performed by placing the tail between the 

 fore-finger and thumb ; press the nail of the latter on the 

 joint, and twist the tip of the tail gently round, and a 



