PARTURITION. 225 



in the course of a few days. It has been said that the castrated dog is 

 more attached and faithful to his master than he who has not been 

 deprived of his genital powers : this, however, is much to be doubted. 

 He has, generally speaking, lost a considerable portion of his courage, his 

 energy, and his strength. He is apt to become idle, and is disposed to 

 accumulate fat more rapidly. His power of scent is also very considerably 

 diminished, and he is less qualified for the sports of the field. Of this 

 there can be no doubt. It has been said that he is more submissive : I 

 very much doubt the accuracy of that opinion. He may not be so savage 

 as in his perfect state ; he may not be so eager in his feeding ; but there 

 is not the devotion to his master, and the quickness of comprehension which 

 belongs to the perfect dog. 



The removal of the ovaries, or spaying of the female, used to be often 

 practised, and packs of spayed bitches were, and still are, occasionally 

 kept. In performing this operation, an opening is made into the flank 

 on one side, and the finger introduced one of the ovaries is laid hold 

 of and drawn a little out of the belly ; a ligature is then applied round 

 it, just above the bifurcation of the womb, and it is cut through, the 

 end of the ligature being left hanging out of the wound. The other 

 ovary is then felt for and drawn out, and excised and secured by a liga- 

 ture. The wound is then sewed up, and a bandage is placed over the 

 incision. Some farriers do not apply any ligature, but simply sew up the 

 wound, and in the majority of cases the edges adhere, and no harm comes 

 of the operation, except that the general character of the animal is essen- 

 tially changed. She accumulates a vast quantity of fat, becomes listless and 

 idle, and is almost invariably short-lived. 



The female dog, therefore, should always be allowed to breed. 

 Breeding is a necessary process ; and the female prevented from it is sure 

 to be affected with disease sooner or later; enormous collections and 

 indurations will form that will inevitably terminate in scirrhus or 

 ulceration. 



A troublesome process often occurs when the female is not permitted to 

 have young ones, namely, the accumulation of milk in the teats, especially 

 if at any previous time, however distant, she may have had puppies once. 

 The foundation is laid for many unpleasant and unmanageable complaints. 

 If she is suffered to bring up one litter after another, she will have better 

 health than those that are debarred from intercourse with the male. 



The temporary union which takes place between the male and female 

 at the period at which they are brought together is a very singular one. 

 The corpora cavernosa of the male and the clitoris of the female being 

 suddenly distended with blood, it is impossible to withdraw either of them 

 until the turgescence of the parts has entirely ceased, 



PARTURITION. 



The pupping usually takes place from the sixty -second to the sixty- 

 fourth day ; and the process having commenced, from a quarter to three 

 quarters of an hour generally takes place between the production of each 



puppy- 

 Great numbers of bitches are lost every year in the act of parturition : 

 there seems to be a propensity in the females to associate with dogs larger 

 than themselves, and they pay for it with their lives. The most neglected 



Q 



