868 VETERINAEY HYGIENE 



in its results, is rabies; happily (at the time of writing) 

 extinct so far as the British Islands are concerned. 



It may be said that dogs suffer from most of the diseases 

 of the human subject, and that they are largely preventable. 

 Eheumatism is common to the hound and gun dog, as the 

 result of excessive exertion, long fasting, and lying down 

 when wet upon cold and damp floors, or on the natural 

 earth ; and to the pampered pet, in which it takes the form 

 of rheumatic gout, and would appear to be influenced 

 greatly by retarded metamorphosis of tissue, or the pre- 

 sence of uric acid in excess of what the excretory organs 

 can deal with. 



Feeding of Dogs. — During the first month all the neces- 

 sary aliment is supplied by the bitch, and the general 

 custom among breeders is to wean at six weeks, a little 

 farinaceous food having been offered during the final week 

 or ten days. Economic reasons, however, will influence 

 the breeder ; the number of puppies may prove too serious 

 a drain on the mother, and parturient eclampsia be the 

 penalty incurred, or the conversion of her tissues into milk 

 for the offspring may so reduce her as to preclude any 

 hope of prize-winning at shows, for which she has already 

 been entered and for which a fee has been paid. 



So great a value will often be attached to a puppy that 

 failing a foster-mother it will be brought up by hand almost 

 from birth. Eeference to the analytical tables showing the 

 composition of milk will tell us that the bitch's milk is 

 richer than all the other domesticated animals save in milk- 

 sugar, and that the sow alone has more salts. The food 

 best suited to hand-reared puppies or for those weaned 

 early, is bread and cow's milk, with the addition of cane- 

 sugar and lime-water. It should be given at the tempera- 

 ture of the body or a little over. They should be fed four 

 times a day at first, and allowed to eat to repletion, after 

 which they will sleep, wake up and play, and again seek 

 food, as is the case with most young creatures. 



Very young puppies should be fat and have the appear- 

 ance of little pigs, if thriving well. From about the age of 



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