Pupping] 2 5 " [Pupping 



likely will prove, an excellent mother, the very- 

 excitability which, when over-stimulated, induced 

 her unnatural impulse, making her, when tranquil, 

 the more alive to the instincts of her nature. 



For the first week the bitch is, as a rule, very 

 attentive to her family, and as it gives her pain when 

 one is taken up, it is better not to handle the pups 

 more than is absolutely necessary. She should 

 be well fed ; not crammed, but nourished ; and 

 she will require more food than formerly, for 

 there are many mouths to feed through hers. 

 The quantity of support she needs may be 

 conjectured from the rapid growth of the pups. 



A small bitch of my own had a litter of four. 

 The mother weighed seven pounds six ounces, 

 and between the second and fourth week the 

 young ones daily added one ounce and a half 

 each to their bulk. It would require some 

 amount of milk to supply such a quantity of 

 flesh ; and we have also to remember that, 

 during the rapid growth, the process of con- 

 solidation is simultaneously going forward. Good 

 nourishing food, sufficient in bulk, is absolutely 

 imperative ; for if the pups be stinted, the dogs 

 will assuredly be weak. 



A strong bitch may be able to bring up five 

 or six young ones, though I have known some 

 instances where a bitch has reared successfully as 

 many as ten ; but the animals of the smaller or 

 choice breeds are seldom possessed of such capa- 

 bilities. The very diminutive will not generally 

 rear two pups without suffering ; and four are a 

 very heavy drag upon the majority of the animals 



