218 Diseases of the Generative System. 
fetation is common, the animal “ throwing ” or giving birth 
to pups at intervals of two, three, four, or even seven 
days, each bearing unmistakable evidences of separate 
parentage. pileptic fits occur in some animals during 
the prevalence of cestrum, but subside with the attendant 
excitement and as impregnation proceeds. It is also 
remarkable in closely kept and unimpregnated animals, 
that after the subsidence of the venereal excitement, say 
from the fortieth to the sixtieth day, they behave as 
though they were pregnant and about to give birth ; 
they make their bed, are uneasy, constantly moving about, 
&c., while the mammary glands appear swollen, the vulva 
is dilated, and the lining membrane is reddened, a dis- 
charge of viscid mucus escaping from the passage. Milk 
is also obtained from the teats, and such animals have 
been known to rear the puppies of other females as 
tenderly as those of her own body. Pregnancy is usually 
detectable at the end of the fourth week, by exploration 
of the abdomen. At this period the teats enlarge, the 
abdomen becomes round and drooping, and by succes- 
sive stages the signs are more pronounced; when at the 
end of about the ninth week, or within a period of from 
fifty-five to seventy days, delivery is effected. Meanwhile 
the signs already alluded to are present as conducive to 
the process. 
Parturition usually takes place as the creature lies 
upon her side, the process extending over variable time, 
and is attended by severe muscular throes which cause the 
sufferer to cry piteously. Owing to the cartilaginous con- 
dition of the bony framework, the pups are exceedingly 
elastic and yielding, a state often highly conducive to 
delivery in malposition, which however is somewhat rare in 
this animal. When such occurs it may be usually traced to 
the mother being served by animals of larger breed than 
herself, or when she exhibits the tendency of “throwing 
back,” that is, giving birth to pups which resemble former 
sires. Untimely and persistent interference during par- 
turition is often attended with fatal results. Canine 
patients possess an exceedingly nervous temperament, 
and more than actual assistance is bancful. Simple 
