the craving must have caused prior to my being conscious of its
existence. The next litter was not eaten by the mother. She brought them
up, and they likewise did well, drinking as much as they pleased. The
disposition of the doe appeared to undergo a change. From having been
savage, that is, from always endeavoring to bite and scratch the hand that
cleaned her residence, or even supplied her table, she became gentle and
familiar, allowing her person to be caressed, and letting her progeny be
looked at. She was at last as good as she was beautiful; and I parted with
her for a sum exactly four times that which she had cost me.

After a bitch has pupped, there always is from the vagina a discharge,
which rarely ceases before a week expires, and sometimes flows forth for a
longer period. Some gentlemen of the "fancy," as the dog breeders term
themselves, boast they know how to check it; and to what extent their
knowledge may reach I cannot pretend to say. I have been requested to
perform such an office, but hitherto I have not attempted to fulfil it;
and I should be very sorry to do so, even if I were certain there existed
the means to arrest the exudation. It is natural; if the animal be left
alone, she will be sure to perform the offices of cleanliness, and to do
everything her state requires.

For the first week the bitch is very attentive to her family; and as it
gives her pain when one is taken up, it is better not to handle the pups
more than is absolutely necessary. She should be well fed; not crammed,
but nourished; and she will require more food than formerly, for there are
many mouths to feed through hers. The quantity of support she needs may be
conjectured from the rapid growth of the pups.

A small bitch of my own had a litter of four. The mother weighed seven
pounds six ounces; and between the second and fourth weeks the young ones
daily added one ounce and a half each to their bulk. It would require some
amount of milk to supply such a quantity of flesh; and we have also to
remember that, during the rapid growth, the process of consolidation is
simultaneously going forward. Good nourishing food, sufficient in bulk, is
absolutely imperative; for if the pups be stinted, the dogs will assuredly
be weak.

A strong bitch may be able to bring up as many young as she can produce at
a litter; but the animals of the smaller or more choice breeds are seldom
possessed of such capabilities. The very diminutive will no