BREEDING TERRIERS 57 



Terriers whelp better if left to themselves. It 

 is the rarest thing for them to have any trouble, 

 and if one will just keep a weather eye open to 

 see that things are really going well, they will 

 continue to go well without interference. The 

 pups should be born inside two hour intervals, 

 and if this limit be passed the mother needs atten- 

 tion. The drugs used, however, are so strong 

 and so poisonous and an operation is so delicate 

 that it is invariably better to call in the veteri- 

 narian's skilled aid. 



After the puppies are all born the mother 

 should be given a bowl of thin oatmeal gruel and 

 left to herself. She will ordinarily clean up the 

 nest herself, eating the after-births and licking 

 the puppies clean. I have found that after she 

 has cleaned a pup, which she does as soon as it 

 is born, it is advisable to take it from her, wrap 

 it in flannel to keep it warm and dry, and to 

 wash off the navel cord with some mild disen- 

 fectant such as listerine, or a very dilute solu- 

 tion of bichloride of mercury or carbolic acid. 

 Cold is fatal to very young puppies, and the navel 

 cord is the source of a germ infection that kills 

 many in the nest. 



The dam, while nursing her family, must have 

 an abundance of food plenty of soups, gruels, 

 meats, and milk, but not many vegetables, for 



