BREEDING AND RAISING OF PUPPIES. 151 



For a few days after being bred, quietude and exercise on chain is advisable 

 for safety, and should then follow exercise twice daily, in proportion to consti- 

 tution, 'temperament and condition, and as she near the time of whelping, the 

 chain may be again necessary, as a restraint. 



Prom the 'time bitch is bred, the food need not be different from usual until 

 five or six weeks gone, and showing heavy with pups, when she will of course 

 need more to eat. Feed her now more liberally with a fair proportion of beef 

 and mutton. Raw beef cut up fine, is very good in winter, a little once a day as 

 she approaches the time of whelping. Bread and milk and especially soups wilt 

 be very good for the other meals; soft foods and of an opening nature being 

 desirable. A large beef or veal bone to gnaw on is good. Plenty of milk is also 

 what she needs. The nearer her time gets the more she will need to eat. Feed 

 her three times a day during the last two weeks. On the feeding of the bitch 

 during this time will depend the size and healthfulness of the coming litter, and 

 when the pups are born, a warm ,pan of milk will be relished by the dam, in 

 which may be put a little baking soda. Soft food should be continued for a few 

 days, when a return to ordinary diet will be safe. 



Many times a female, after giving birth to her young, refuses to eat and 

 loses her appetite. A few drops of assafoetida given in water and a little rubbed 

 on her gums usually restores her appetite, and with a good appetite usually 

 comes a good flow of milk. 



It is usually after a lapse of sixty-three days that the pups come, and some 

 days before the event a suitable secluded place should be provided for her. It 

 is important that a record should be kept of date she was bred. Have her stall 

 or kennel prepared a week before she is due. If in winter this must be warm, 

 but with light and ventilation. The latter must only be furnished from the top. 



I've found the best plan to be, to securely tack down an old carpet or blanket 

 on the floor which enables the puppies to get a foothold when first born, and thus 

 crawl to their mother. The bitch will scratch and dig for several days before 

 whelping and try her best to scratch up the carpet, so put in plenty of tacks. 

 This carpet should be exchanged for a clean one, the next day after she whelps. 

 A little P. D. Q. powder sprinkled around in her box should be done daily. A 

 loose carpet in box is not advisable, as a puppy is liable to get under it and get 

 smothered. 



Not all bitches are good mothers, some being too nervous, and through this 

 nervousness and from fear that they may loise some of their children, or that you 

 might take one away, they get exdited, and lay on a pup or two. 



A very safe plan I've found, and I always so fit up the stall or box, is to 

 fasten a shelf a few inches from the floor to the sides and back of box, extending 

 out a few inches so that if she gets nervous and turns around too often to get a 

 place to suit her, the pups are protected from being laid on by this shelf. 



It is generally best not to disturb the bitch at the time of whelping, but in 

 case of fever or excitement, or, in fact, if anything indicating trouble be detected, 

 it may be necessary for some one to remain with her., and for the pups to be taken 

 away and kept warm until normal conditions return. Veterinarian skill may 

 be necessary income conditions, but as a warm place for the pups is all that 

 is needed for a couple of hours after birth, it is easy to take the milk from the 

 teats with the hand if the fever is likely to have rendered it injurious to the 

 pupjs and the fever may be quickly remedied, and a non-injurious flow made in 

 time for the pups to rejoin their mother. 



The very best advife I can give the breeder is, do not interfere; the few cases 



