2/8 KENNEL SECRETS. 



is alone or has but one or two mates, has been given 

 ample exercise, fed from her master's table and otherwise 

 treated with the consideration she deserves, to empty the 

 breasts as advised is rarely necessary. Also, that the 

 operation can do no harm if it fails to do good. 



An abnormal condition of the milk that is responsible 

 for not a few deaths among puppies is excessive acidity. 

 Now, the milk of a healthy dam is either slightly alkaline 

 or else neutral, and a slight acidity is not appreciable to 

 the eye, but when this reaction is a decided one the milk is 

 thicker than usual or distinctly curdled, and gives rise to 

 colic and diarrhoea, which are speedily fatal unless prompt 

 relief is afforded. 



This peculiar trouble is often caused by fermented 

 foods, as meal puddings that have been too long kept. 

 There are some mothers, also, that exhibit it no matter 

 how they are fed, and in them it is attributed to some 

 functional derangement, possibly in the organs con- 

 cerned in digestion. And it may be suspected if the 

 puppies, healthy at birth, begin on the third or fourth 

 day to moan and cry, grow cold and clammy to the touch, 

 and at the same time emit a sour and otherwise offensive 

 odor. 



As soon as these signs are noted a piece of blue lit- 

 mus paper should be obtained of the nearest druggist 

 for the purpose of testing the milk, and if the same turns 

 it red it is very acid, and the puppies must be taken 

 from the mother and vigorous treatment applied to her 

 at once. 



By means of a breast-pump all the milk must be drawn 

 out, and this operation repeated three or four times during 

 the next twelve hours. As soon as possible, also, the 

 mother must be given an antacid in the form of bicar- 

 bonate of soda, of which the dose for other than toys is 



