DOGS ! THEIR MANAGEMENT. 389 



long. A sharp point might, at the first glance, seem more 

 likely to answer the purpose in view ; but its employ- 

 ment would be attended with danger, and on being 

 tested, it would be found more apt to tear away. In 

 fact, the sharper the point, the less firm would be the 

 hold, since the substance to be secured is somewhat of a 

 pulpy nature ; whereas, by using as broad and flat a 

 point as possible, the force is exerted on a larger surface, 

 and the grasp is proportionably the more likely to be 

 retained ; the object being not to rend the foetus, or tear 

 it away, but to gently pull it through the vagina, using 

 only so much violence as the judgment assures us is 

 imperative for the accomplishment of the purpose." 



On reflection, I am inclined to think the measures 

 adopted in the case narrated above were somewhat more 

 precipitate than they ought to have been. Now, I should 

 have taken more time ; and the success does not assure 

 me that the haste exhibited was fully warranted. 



It is not always easy to ascertain when the whole of 

 the pups have been removed. The last in the womb, 

 always occupying the extremity of one of the horns of the 

 uterus, may by an inexperienced practitioner be over- 

 looked. Most persons seek to learn whether the labor 

 has been perfected, by inserting the finger up the vagina ; 

 and they who base their opinions upon an " examination" 

 of that description will often be deceived. External 

 manipulation will best lead us to the knowledge we 

 desire to gain ; and when the hand is properly directed, 

 an approach to certainty can be obtained. The pup to 

 be felt through the walls of the abdomen is an uneven 



