Beagles and Beagling 
106 
to call in a man who is qualified in canine practice 
to take charge of the situation. 
As to number of services, this has always been 
a mooted question. Some breeders prefer two or 
even three, with intervals of one day between each, 
but from personal observations and from the experi¬ 
ences of many others who have given the matter 
attention, I believe that one service at the right 
time is as productive of results as more; indeed, 
sometimes the outcome is even more satisfactory. 
Most owners of stud dogs that are in great demand 
positively refuse to give more than one service and 
from the records I have before me, I find that the 
one service plan has in all cases shown just as large 
litters and the average of misses is not in the least 
larger, than when the two and three service plan 
is adhered to. 
A normal bitch is supposed to come in season 
once every six months. This time varies in indi¬ 
viduals however, and sometimes one finds them 
coming in every four months; or occasionally they 
are very irregular, ranging from four to eight 
months, but the average is twice a year. The fre¬ 
quency that a bitch should he bred depends entirely 
upon the individual. Many strong, healthy bitches 
have been bred at every season for two or three 
years, and raised large, strong, healthy litters; but 
it does not follow, because they show no apparent 
decline, that this constant sapping of their vitality 
will not prove baneful in the end. Usually such 
bitches age very early in life and in many instances 
their breeding days are over when, as a matter of 
fact, they should be in their prime. Some bitches 
