256 KENNEL SECRETS. 



if milk does not seem agreeable, broths can be substituted 

 and the same foods used for thickening. 



For the second day, three meals will be quite sufficient. 

 And as early as this it is very generally safe to begin the 

 use of solid foods, notwithstanding the popular notion 

 that soups should be wholly relied upon in the first and 

 largely during the second week. As a matter of fact, as 

 generally prepared such products of meat are very rich, 

 and if frequently given they disturb digestion and loosen 

 the bowels. And these effects are singularly liable to be 

 passed on to the puppies, through the milk, and they in 

 consequence made to suffer from diarrhoea, which in them 

 is usually attended with colic. Manifestly, therefore, 

 these foods must be given cautiously ; and rarely are 

 they allowable oftener than once daily; while if the 

 intestinal discharges are liquid they should be withheld 

 entirely. 



Milk may properly be the basis of the breakfasts, and 

 it will be ample support if fortified by bread crusts, crack- 

 ers, or dog cakes that have been crushed, soaked in cold 

 water and then boiled for a time. 



As some breeders give their bitches very large quanti- 

 ties of milk while on puppies, with the idea that it "makes 

 milk," it is necessary to introduce a word of caution here 

 and remind the reader that this food in very considerable 

 quantities will often cause " acid stomach ; " and this 

 digestive trouble in a nursing mother is quite likely 

 to render her breast milk highly acid. Consequently, 

 only moderate quantities of milk should be allowed at any 

 one time, and it is advisable to add lime water to it, in the 

 proportions of from one-half to two-thirds of a teacupful 

 to every pint. 



Unless the discharges show that they are contra-indi- 

 cated, broths can constitute the midday meals, provided 



