2 1 8 Diseases of the Generative System. . 



foeiation is common, the animal " throwing " or giving birth 

 to pups at intervals of two, three, four, or even seven 

 days, each bearing unmistakable evidences of separate 

 parentage. Epileptic fits occur in some animals during 

 the prevalence of oestrum, but subside with the attendant 

 excitement and as impregnation proceeds. It is also 

 remarkable in closely kept and unimpregnated animals, 

 that after the subsidence of the venereal excitement, say 

 from the fortieth to the sixtieth day, they behave as 

 though they were pregnant and about to give birth ; 

 they make their bed, are uneasy, constantly moving about, 

 &:c., while the mammary glands appear swollen, the vulva 

 is dilated, and the lining membrane is reddened, a dis- 

 charge of viscid mucus escaping from the passage. Milk 

 is also obtained from the teats, and such animals have 

 been known to rear the puppies of other females as 

 tenderly as those of her own body. Pregnancy is usually 

 detectable at the end of the fourth week, by exploration 

 of the abdomen. At this period the teats enlarge, the 

 abdomen becomes round and drooping, and by succes- 

 sive stages the signs are more pronounced ; when at the 

 end of about the ninth week, or within a period of from 

 fifty-five to seventy days, delivery is effected. Meanwhile 

 the signs already alluded to are present as conducive to 

 the process. 



Parturition usually takes place as the creature lies 

 upon her side, the process extending over variable time, 

 and is attended by severe muscular throes which cause the 

 sufferer to cry piteously. Owing to the cartilaginous con- 

 dition of the bony framework, the pups are exceedingly 

 elastic and yielding, a state often highly conducive to 

 delivery in vialpositiou, which however is somewhat rare in 

 this animal. When such occurs it may be usually traced to 

 the mother being served by animals of larger breed than 

 herself, or when she exhibits the tendency of "throwing 

 back," that is, giving birth to pups which resemble former 

 sires. Untimely and persistejit interference during par- 

 turition is often attended with fatal results. Canine 

 patients possess an exceedingly nervous temperament, 

 and more than actual assistance is baneful. Simple 



