52 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



a lai;-gard, which remains small and feeble even off matters which they have in their bodies, and 



when adult. A mother can suckle ten at a which ought to disappear as soon as possible, 

 time, but the anatomical construction of her Mothers who are very young give birth at 



breast gives a smaller relative production of first to few pups. Their litters become larger 

 milk than is the case with any of the 



other domestic animals, which 

 alone is reason enough to 

 limit the number of pups 

 .If the mother is a very 

 valuable dog, a substi- 

 tute is found for her 

 after a time; and 

 advertisements often 

 appear in the news- 

 papers, to the great 

 amusement of those 

 who know nothing of 

 dogs, soliciting the ser\ 

 ices of a " w e t - n ii r s e 

 bitch." An attempt has been 

 made to manufacture an artificial 

 nurse, consisting of an apparatus in 

 which the pups are kept warm and 

 supplied with nursing bottles of warm 

 milk. Some pups are brought up on 

 the bottle, but the mother's milk is so efficacious 



YOUXG MASTIFF'S 



I'hotn J. T. Newman. 

 ISurkhampstead 



till their fourth year, when they begin 

 to diminish. During the period 

 of suckling the mother should 

 be given food that is easy 

 to digest, and in which 

 there is much white of 

 egg, grease, and salt, 

 which serve to make 

 milk for the 3'oung 

 ones. A broth of flesh, 

 with much warm milk 

 and rice, makes excel- 

 lent nourishment for the 

 nursing mother. At the 

 end of five or six weeks 

 meat can be given to her, 

 either cooked or raw, minced 

 fine, with bread and, if necessary, 

 biscuit. Salt must not be forgotten, 

 nor phosphated chalk, nor bone dust 

 to strengthen the bones. 

 If the weather is warm, the pups can be 

 from the birth of the little ones that art is taken out of the box on the fifth day and put 

 found powerless to equal nature. It is, in fact, in a basket. The box should then be thor- 

 absolutely necessary that the pups should suck oughly cleansed. At the end of eight days 

 the first drops from the mother's breast, because the young dogs begin to open their eyes and 

 that milk, watery in appearance, contains sub- try to creep ; by the fifteenth day they can, 

 stances which warm them internally and carry though very awkwardly, lap milk from a dish 



or a plate. The milk, however, should be mixed 

 with water or limewater. Weaning must not 

 begin till after the fifth week. The mother 

 will try to fulfill her nursing duties as long as 

 possible ; but if the pups are fed during her 

 absence from them (which ought to take place 

 four or five times a day), the difficulty will 

 soon be overcome. If the little creatures are 

 fed at first on milk, broth, cod-liver oil, or 

 biscuit prepared for young pups, they will 

 soon take these things as their regular food. 

 Rut they should be fed several times a day in 

 small quantities, and not all at once, in which 

 case they will be likely to stuff themselves to 

 their ears, to the great detriment of their health 

 YouNo B.\ssi:i- Mounds — Gmrman and well-bein£:. 



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