BREEDING AND WHELPING. 
from that strain members who, while ex- 
hibiting similar characteristics, are not 
actually too closely allied in consanguinity. 
To move perpetually from one strain to 
another is only to court an undesirable 
confusion of type. 
In connection with the theory of breed- 
ing it is to be noted that many dogs and 
bitches are more powerfully prepotent than 
others. That is to say, they are found to 
be more apt in impressing their likeness 
upon their progeny. The famous prize- 
winning dogs are not necessarily to be 
relied upon to beget offspring similarly 
endowed with merits, and a champion’s 
brother or sister who has gained no honours 
may be far more profitable as a stock-getter. 
There are many perplexing points to be 
taken into consideration by breeders, and 
the phenomenon of atavism is one of them. 
A dog is to be regarded not only as the 
offspring of its immediate parents, but also 
of generations of ancestors, and many are 
found to be more liable than others to throw 
back to their remote progenitors. Thus, 
even in a kennel of related dogs, all ot 
whom are similar in appearance, you may 
sometimes have a litter of puppies in no 
visible sense resembling their parents. A 
white English Terrier bitch, for instance, 
mated with a dog equally white, may have 
one or more puppies marked with brown 
or brindle patches. Research would prob- 
ably show that on some occasion, many 
generations back, one of the ancestors was 
crossed with a mate of brindle or brown 
colouring. But the old-established breeds 
seldom reveal a throwback, and one of the 
best indications of a pure strain is that it 
breeds true to its own type. 
Then, again, there are the influences of 
environment and mental impression. Our 
domesticated dogs lead artificial lives, and 
we artificially restrict and direct their breed- 
ing. It is therefore not to be wondered at 
if occasionally our experiments lead to 
sterility. Mr. Theo Marples has declared 
that probably forty per cent. of prize-bred 
bitches which visit prize-bred dogs are un- 
productive, and his estimate is to be relied 
upon. Ina wild state dogs would exercise 
the freedom of natural selection, but we 
do not permit them to do that. Still the 
instinct to follow their own choice remains 
581 
strong, and most dog-owners must have 
experienced difficulties with what is called a 
“shy breeder.’? It may be of either sex, 
but usually it is a bitch who, refusing to 
mate herself with the dog that we have 
chosen, yet exhibits a mad desire for one 
with whom we would not on any account 
have her mated. The writer is of opinion 
that, apart from the possibility of physical 
defect on either side, this enforced and love- 
less mating is accountable for the small and 
feeble litters which frequently occur in 
many of our modern breeds. To send a 
bitch who is in temporarily delicate condi- 
tion boxed up in a railway van on a long 
journey, and to assist her immediately on 
her arrival to a strange and possibly ab- 
horrent dog cannot be good; yet this is 
very frequently done. The chances of a 
good and healthy litter are immeasurably 
increased when inclination is added to 
happy opportunity, and there is a possi- 
bility of natural wooing and consent. 
On the other hand a too great familiarity 
is not to be advised, and one has known 
many instances of a bitch in season refus- 
ing to be allied with a kennel mate with 
whom she has fed and lodged and hunted 
all the days of her life. The natural pro- 
clivities and preferences of a bitch ought, 
to some extent, to be considered. Give her 
the privilege of choosing one out of three 
or four approved mates; she will probably 
select by instinct the one best suited to be 
the sire of her puppies. But force her to 
form an alliance with a dog whom she 
hates, and the resulting litter is likely to 
be a disappointment. 
Mental impression, both at the time of 
connection and during the period of preg- 
nancy, exercises a very considerable influ- 
ence upon the physical condition and the 
individual appearance of the offspring. 
Even the bitch’s surroundings during the 
sixty-three days before the puppies are born 
are believed to have a determining effect. 
Obviously they must be of a kind calculated 
to contribute to her comfort and peace of 
mind; but some breeders go further, and 
argue that even the colour of the immedi- 
ate surroundings influences the colour of 
the progeny, as that if you wish for pure 
white puppies the interior of the kennel 
should be white, and that black walls are 
