159 

 liowtWT, more usual to be more than less frequent 

 than this. At this time there is generally great heat 

 and fever in tne constitution, and dogs that have any 

 tendency to fits have th^m now very bad ; and others, 

 tha? \m\e never had them before, often have them 

 now. 



Bitches, when at heut, are very canning, and elude 

 the greatest vi^'ilaiiee to escape and seek a dog. From 

 this cause numbers are destroyed every year; for, 

 gettitig loose, they uuite with any dog, however 

 large, and, in tiieir puppmg time, die from the exces- 

 sive Size of the puppies. Nothing, therefore, short of 

 perfect contiiiemeut can make them safe. From the 

 heat and fever that exist in the constitution, they 

 should have but BioOerate food ; and^ if not intended 

 •to breed, tiiey should be still further restricted m this 

 particular, and the bowels should be kept open with 

 physic. It is, however, by no means prudent to let 

 bitches be wholly without puppies, even ii ever so in- 

 convenient : whenever they contmue long without 

 breeding, they are almost sure to become diseased in 

 some way or other. They become immoderately fat, 

 aarl the glands of the teats swell and harden: some- 

 times those of the throat do the same, and the ovaria 

 (which is the part situated in the loins that is removed 

 in spaying) likewise takes on a diseased collection of 

 fat. 



When the glands that secrete the milk have be- 

 come very much enlarged, they frequently ulcerate, 

 and a cancerous complaint is brought on, which no- 

 thing but complete extirpation will remove, and fre- 

 quently not even that. 



When bitches are prevented from breeding, there 



P 2 



