PRACTICAL GREYHOUND BREEDING 77 



will lend powerful aid to the breeder ; whereas the rigours of 

 March and the uncertainty of April are calculated to retard 

 the growth and impair the well-doing of the January puppy. 



Those who are anxious to see their charges in the slips as 

 early as possible would do well to avoid breeding from a bitch 

 that comes in use later than May i, because dogs born in 

 July and August are seldom of much account during their 

 puppy season ; but we have known very late ones, that have not 

 run at all as puppies, come out in good form the following 

 season. 



During pregnancy the bitch should have plenty of exercise ; 

 it is not everyone who finds it convenient to let her wander 

 about at her sweet will, though this is the most desirable 

 course ; but, at any rate, she must be taken out for slow 

 exercise, which must be gradually decreased as she nears the 

 time of labour. For those that run loose a suitable place must 

 be provided for whelping, and for early bitches it will be found 

 necessary to call in the aid of artificial warmth. A loose box 

 in a warm but well- ventilated stable is an excellent accouchement 

 chamber, and if the bitch is shut in every night she is sure to 

 betake herself thither when the time of her trouble comes. 

 Great care must be taken that she has constant and uninter- 

 rupted access thereto, or we may have the chagrin of finding 

 that our best bitch has whelped a fine litter to a 25-guinea 

 dog under a neighbouring stack of firewood or behind a 

 haystack, and that they have all been frozen to death. 



A bedding of good oat straw sprinkled with K eating's 

 insect powder should be placed on a low bench not raised 

 more than six inches from the ground, and guarded by an 

 edging of matchboard four inches in depth, and this should 

 be placed in the corner of the stall. Many people allow their 

 bitch to whelp in an old wine case or other box ; but this 

 is dangerous, especially if it be her first litter, as she is 

 prone to injure her babies when she jumps out or in. The 

 reason for providing a low bench is obvious : not only might 

 the whelps fall off, but, in her naturally weak condition after 



