TREATMENT OF THE MOTHER. 253 



occasionally threatened and makes watching advisable, 

 especially with all that are mothers for the first time, 

 namely, the puppy-eating tendency, which is very strong 

 in some bitches, and beyond doubt can very generally be 

 attributed to the deprivation of meat, although now and 

 then it seems due to love, fear or other passion the true 

 nature of which it is hard to determine. 



The influence of the first as a cause has been clearly 

 demonstrated in a large number of cases in which the 

 deplorable tendency was entirely cured by feeding gen- 

 erously on meat during the period of gestation; while 

 that it can be excited by the passions is evident from the 

 following instance related by a well-known breeder. 



A bitch that had never before shown any such tendency 

 gave whelp to seven puppies — in color, six black and one 

 red. Being a great pet the members of the family visited 

 her often and made much of her little ones, until at last 

 she ate all the black ones. 



Certainly into this case the question of diet did not enter, 

 for meat had been its principal ingredient from puppy- 

 hood, her owner being strongly prejudiced against all 

 other foods, and it is reasonable to assume that love or 

 fear lead her to do as she did. 



In evidence that other passions than these may possibly 

 cause bitches to eat puppies the writer records an in- 

 stance that occurred in his kennels. A bitch had a litter 

 of eleven puppies, six of which were taken from her and 

 destroyed. One week later another of the same breed 

 whelped and subsequently lost all but one of her puppies, 

 largely in consequence of neglect on the part of the 

 kennelman, who failed to detect that she had but little 

 milk. The facts of the case being discovered the survivor 

 was put to the breasts of the first ; and she resented what 

 she evidently considered an imposition by eating the 



