'2S0 KENNEL SECRETS. 



cover several hours. Half an hour, however, is probably 

 not far from its average length ; and during the greater 

 part of it the mother rests quietly and may even seem to 

 sleep. Towards its close she gets up and unless inter- 

 fered with eats the after-birth and membranes that consti- 

 tuted the bag, and again lies down. The pain comes on, 

 another puppy is born, and the routine described is again 

 followed ; and so on to the end of the whelping. 



During these operations the attendant will occasionally 

 be able to render valuable assistance, but he should never 

 interfere as long as the mother is doing her work speedily 

 and well ; and when he does so he should be gentle and 

 easy in his movements yet act with firmness and without 

 any hesitation. If her teeth are poor or she is " under- 

 shot " — as in the case of bull-dogs, and quite often with 

 mastiffs — it will not be easy for her to rupture the bags, 

 and even having sound and well-placed teeth it may be 

 difficult because of the unusual thickness of the mem- 

 branes. Obviously, therefore, this part of her duty 

 should be promptly met and the puppies quickly freed, 

 otherwise they must soon drown in the water in which 

 they are floating, or die from the want of air. 



Where the mother is at fault the remedy is easy, for 

 the attendant has merely to tear open the bags by pinch- 

 ing a side with his thumbs and forefingers ; or he can if 

 he prefers use scissors or knife, which may be required 

 when the membranes are very thick and resistant. 



The severing of the umbilical cord should be left to 

 the mother when she can possible attend to the operation, 

 for it contains blood-vessels that require just the treat- 

 ment she administers, and were it cut by a sharp instru- 

 ment at once after birth hemorrhage would occur. But 

 if she fails in this work it should be done by the attend- 

 int, who should amputate the cord, by the means of scis- 



