The Dog Part 19

At the proper period, however, she brought forth four pups without any a.s.sistance. On the opposite side numerous instances might be quoted: but, on this topic, enough has been said to warn the reader that the dog, however small, should not be permitted to approach the b.i.t.c.h whose mother was large, or whose brothers and sisters stand much higher than herself.

Let the reader look at the two portraits that follow. They are evidently of one and the same family. They both had a common progenitor. The beagle is the blood-hound, only of smaller size; and often these beautiful diminutive creatures suffer in parturition, or throw pups whose size takes from them all value. However, for the chance of security, if for no more tangible object; let the dog, in every instance, be smaller than the b.i.t.c.h; and let it also have no disease, but be in perfect health, strong and lively. A dog in any way deformed or affected with any disorder ought to be avoided. Blindness, skin eruptions, piles, paralysis of the tongue, and a host of other annoyances, I more than suspect to be hereditary. The mental qualities are transmitted, as well as physical beauties and defects. Sagacity, health, and beauty are to be sought for, and if all cannot be obtained, those most desired must be selected. Where shape is wanted, let the dog possess such form as the b.i.t.c.h is deficient in; thus the female having a long-nose or legs, may be put to a male short in these respects; and the rule may be applied in other instances.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE BLOOD-HOUND.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE BEAGLE.]

Judgment is needed; and, of course, the choice is to be in some measure regulated by the kind of stock the dog has been known to get. All dogs kept as stock-dogs have reputations for the qualities of their offspring; and these, sometimes, are better guides than the appearances of the animals themselves; for it does occur that the pups procured by a diminutive dog, do occasionally prove the very reverse of what might be antic.i.p.ated.

The b.i.t.c.h, for breeding, should be rather long in the back; and it is scarcely possible for her to be made too wide in the hind-quarters. She should be strong, and rather large than small of her breed; and where a diminution of size is desired, it is better to obtain it through the father than the mother. When the last method is adopted there is no danger of the b.i.t.c.h bearing pups of gigantic proportions, and which she may not be capable of bringing forth. The breed, also, should be as pure as possible; for there is a disposition in these animals to throw back, as it is termed; that is, supposing a b.i.t.c.h to be of spaniel breed, to that degree which allows of no cross being detected; nevertheless if there should be a stain of cur or terrier in her pedigree, one or more of every litter she bears, may prominently exhibit it. It is often long before this natural proof of a degraded family can be entirely eradicated; and it is very common for persons to express surprise at the pups born resembling neither of the parents they were derived from.

Another caution not to be neglected is, to keep the b.i.t.c.h from all communication with dogs it is wished her progeny should in no way resemble. A low-bred playmate may not appear to be of much consequence; and the proprietor may imagine, if actual connexion is provided against, no further precaution can be required. The females of the canine race, however, are able to bestow their affections; and tender recollections are as potent over them as they are known to be in other cases, where higher animals are concerned. b.i.t.c.hes are not always prudent in their loves, but are apt to fling themselves away on curs of low degree. If reared with a companion of vulgar appearance, there often springs up between the pair a devotion which no time can afterwards subdue. The pa.s.sion, for such it really is, becomes of a more than romantic endurance. The loved one's image grows to be so impressed upon the mind--so much so, that all the fruits of the body afterwards bear its likeness. There may have been no intercourse between the pair, but to animals of her breed, the b.i.t.c.h may, contrary to her longings, have been devoted: and yet, in the offspring she brings forth the object of her affections will be represented. This, however, is very likely to be the case, when the first male accepted is by accident or neglect of impure origin. There have been several well-marked cases ill.u.s.trative of this fact, and probably many which have never been properly observed. The peculiarity of a high-bred b.i.t.c.h bringing forth a blemished litter, would be set down to her throwing back; but perhaps a fair proportion of the cases thus accounted for, might with justice be attributed to the mental influence which has been pointed out.

The first indication of a b.i.t.c.h approaching to desire, is a slight enlargement of the teats. This may be observed for a week, more or less, before the parts show any signs of change. These last, however, soon begin to swell, and a thick glairy discharge of simple mucus drains from them in small quant.i.ties. The secretion becomes more copious, and thinner, gradually changing its character to that of blood; and as that alteration in the fluid is remarked, the l.a.b.i.a grow larger, redder, and more hot.

The animal has then "heat," or oestrum, upon her, and her system is generally excited. She is more lively, and should any other dogs be with her, she indulges in a variety of coquettish antics. Her att.i.tudes when thus excited are very picturesque, and the beauty of the animal is never exhibited to greater advantage.

A lively grace animates her whole frame; and she is now the creature a painter should study, or a poet describe. She will not immediately accept the male, whose pa.s.sion she evidently practises all her arts to excite.

For a few days, perhaps, a romping courtship may go forward before union is actually permitted.

Dog fanciers almost universally attach importance to the appearance of the discharge. Some say the dog should not be offered before the bleeding begins to diminish. If these rules are not attended to, I have been most confidently a.s.sured the evil consequences of the neglect are certain to be present in the pups. The litter prematurely begotten, it is foretold, must be bad in some way; though why this should be the case, or how the cause produces such effects, none of the dog fanciers have been able to explain.

As by attempting to obey these injunctions I have known many disappointments to be produced, there was every inducement, even had I not been inquisitive from professional motives, to set me testing the truth of these a.s.sertions; for I am not inclined to sneer at every opinion announced by persons devoid of education. A power to observe is by no means regulated by an ability to read or write; and as the dog fanciers bred much more largely than I possibly could do, their experience ent.i.tled their opinions to attention. Nevertheless, ignorance is so exposed to misconception, that its declarations at all times should be examined, and I resolved to test the truth of the rule which so many announced to be established.

The result has not confirmed the belief generally entertained; but it has induced me to conclude that the dog may be allowed whenever the b.i.t.c.h will permit him. Nature, I have found, regulates the matter, so as not to necessitate man's supervision. The b.i.t.c.h will, by her instinct, decide the question; and she may, without any dread of mysterious consequences, be left to its direction. In support of this conclusion, a large number of animals can readily be adduced. The numerous b.i.t.c.hes, especially in the country, that are placed under no restraint, but are left free to gratify their impulses, afford obvious demonstration of the fact. These creatures have litters that are much stronger and healthier than those which are more tenderly guarded.

The fatality that attends the offspring of very choice breeds, does not infer that the customs they are subjected to conduce materially to their benefit; and my experience, so far as it has been carried, supports the conclusion which this circ.u.mstance would seem to countenance.

Let the b.i.t.c.h therefore follow her inclinations; but it is not unusual for force to be employed on such occasions. This should never be allowed. The female ought on no account to be compelled; but it is a common practice to employ restraint when she is unwilling. Some a.s.sistance may occasionally be needed, particularly with the smaller breeds, which are apt to be physically disabled; but it should be limited to such offices as favor the desires of the parties princ.i.p.ally concerned. Whenever man's aid goes beyond that, it is likely to be injurious; for if Nature orders an animal to decline the gratification of its instinct, we may rest a.s.sured there is good reason why such a phenomenon is exhibited, although we may not possess the ac.u.men to rightly interpret its indication.

Some people permit the dog and b.i.t.c.h to remain together for several hours; but with favorite stock-dogs, it is customary to present the female twice.

I have found the second visit to be needless; and a single occasion has never yet failed to procure me three or four pups, which is quite as many as the majority of b.i.t.c.hes are able to rear. The ordinary practice, however, appears to do no harm, so far as I am aware of its consequences.

I do not, therefore, object to it; but I know it is not imperative, and it is well to be convinced on such a point.

After the b.i.t.c.h has been lined, she should be most carefully watched. Her desire rather increases than diminishes, and she will be most anxious to escape in search of new admirers. Her appet.i.te renders her ingenious; and the owner is often vexed to find she conquers at this time those bounds which at other periods confined her. Let her be securely housed, or kept under the eye of her master, who must not forget her propensity to rove.

When the discharge ceases, and the local swelling subsides, the necessity for vigilance is at an end. The animal has then returned to chast.i.ty, and will be as obedient as before her pa.s.sions were inflamed. During the nine weeks of gestation, she demands no special care. She thrives best if left to take her chance, and does better in proportion as she is not pampered.

Her food should be wholesome, and her exercise rather increased than diminished. She should not be made fat, neither ought she to be suddenly reduced.

The safest course is to take no notice of the particular condition of the animal, but to let her ordinary treatment be continued without any change.

The b.i.t.c.h will return to her usual manners and appearance, nor will there be for some time anything to denote her having conceived. In the middle of the fourth week, however, the presence of the young within the abdomen may, by skilful manipulation, be detected. I know of no one who has before made the observation, but I am confident as to the correctness of the statement; since I have frequently been enabled to inform parties that their dogs were in pup, when the circ.u.mstance was not suspected. In many instances, I have been able to ascertain before the expiration of the first month the number of young that would be born; but of course these matters are not always to be told with equal certainty. They can, however, be generally ascertained with tolerable accuracy; but where there is only one sense to guide the knowledge, and that one is not quite un.o.bstructed, the judgment is liable to be mistaken with regard to particulars, though it may be a.s.sured concerning the main point.

To discover whether a b.i.t.c.h is in pup, let her be placed upon a table, and her fears or excitability banished by caresses. Then lay her upon her side, and with the fingers gently manipulate the intestines. If the womb is impregnated, the person, directing his attention first to the situation the uterus occupies, near to the rim of the pelvis, and inferior to the r.e.c.t.u.m, will there detect round smooth bodies, like little eggs. These may not be perceptible if the bladder be loaded; but if the catheter be employed to draw off the urine, they will surely be felt. If the r.e.c.t.u.m be full of foeces, it serves as an admirable guide to the position of the uterus; though he who is acquainted with anatomy needs no such a.s.sistance.

Some globular substance being detected, the fingers are advanced, and if more than one pup be conceived, another similar to it will speedily impinge upon the touch; then another, and so on, until the whole of the promised family have been thus announced. The last is the most difficult to discover: for should there be more than two or three, it may, and will, generally occupy the extremity of a horn; and, in that situation, may escape observation. There are to the womb of this animal a pair of horns, which are long, and extend to the region of the kidneys. Both cannot be traced at the same time, and there is a chance of the two being confounded. Therefore it is well not to be positive as to the precise number of young the b.i.t.c.h will bring forth; and I never presume to speak confidently upon the point; for though, in the majority of cases, my opinion may have been corroborated, nevertheless, I have often known a pup more than I supposed the uterus contained to have been delivered.

From the end of the fourth week, the litter, as it were, go away, or are lost; but when the seventh week arrives, the contents of the abdomen may be plainly detected; and if the b.i.t.c.h be taken upon the lap, and her belly supported with the hand, they at this period will be felt to move, and the motion even of their limbs is clearly recognised.

Milk appears in the teats about the middle of the ninth week, and the presence of the fluid declares the event is near at hand. The following day, or the one succeeding, is marked by a mucous discharge from the v.a.g.i.n.a; and when that is witnessed, parturition is seldom delayed beyond a day or two at most.

The exact period is announced by the animal being disinclined for food and desirous of solitude. Some b.i.t.c.hes do not wish for seclusion; but others are very anxious to obtain it; and in either case the disposition should be gratified. All that is necessary for the comfort of the creature should be provided; but if the accommodation designed for her be rejected, she should as far as possible be allowed to indulge her own liking for another spot.

As the time of parturition draws near--that is, when the increase of mucus is remarked--a daily meal of boiled liver should be given; but nothing stronger, of a laxative nature, ought to be administered, unless the absolute necessity of such relief as aperients afford is ascertained. Many persons are in the habit of giving buckthorn or castor oil at this season; but the dog is naturally very delicate; and nothing calculated to detract from the strength which the coming effort must severely tax, should be heedlessly resorted to.

When the b.i.t.c.h retires, let her wish for privacy be respected. For three or four hours allow her to be undisturbed; but at the expiration of that time, the person who most enjoys her confidence, may approach her. After an exchange of recognitions, the animal may be examined. If nothing extraordinary can be remarked, nothing should be done beyond offering food and water; neither of which, however, need be pressed upon her. A day possibly may thus pa.s.s, without any sign of decided progress being made; nevertheless, the owner's patience must not be alarmed, for the greatest danger springs from premature a.s.sistance.

The first pup is often long before it is delivered; so that the cries be not sharp, loud, and frequent, the delay need not generate fear.

Four-and-twenty hours having elapsed, and the indication of suffering with constant straining being present, the help which man can give should not be pressed upon the animal. The throes must cease, or the b.i.t.c.h appear exhausted by lying on its side, and emitting low moans before any aid is offered. Then the little finger, well greased, may be pa.s.sed gently up the v.a.g.i.n.a, to learn if anything be within the pa.s.sage; and if a pup be felt, instruments, as hereafter described, may be employed; but, on no account, need the finger be pushed beyond the os uteri. If the mouth of the womb be well opened, free, and the pa.s.sage clear, the attention must be bestowed upon the b.i.t.c.h, and every means employed to revive the strength and bring back the pains. Some unusual circ.u.mstance is needed to justify manual interference--such as a pup with its side presented, or the os uteri well expanded, and the head of a dead pup filling up the s.p.a.ce.

To such an extent have I practically followed out the measures here recommended, that under my care the labor-pains of a Scotch terrier ceased without anything being born. The b.i.t.c.h returned to her customary habits, but appeared dull, while a dark discharge was emitted. I told the proprietor the b.i.t.c.h had a dead pup within her, and entreated him to give the animal time. He consented to do this; and on the fourth day from that of the unsuccessful labor, the animal was delivered of a dead pup, with perfect ease.

The presence of straining alone should never be regarded as a symptom of pupping being actually at hand. The b.i.t.c.h, like other animals, is subject to spasms, called false labor-pains. These are in appearance highly deceptive, for they are generally accompanied with plaintive cries. To distinguish their true character, let the hands embrace the abdomen; and at the time when spasm seizes her, let gentle pressure be made upon its sides. If the pains be false, the convulsion will be felt to render turgid the muscles of the abdomen, but nothing within it will at the same time feel hard. Should, however, the labor have commenced, other signs than these will then declare the fact. When the throes come on, the uterus will contract; and beneath the hands it will be then felt a hard, harsh, and solid body. Its character, when naturally excited, is not to be mistaken; but is so well and strongly marked, that there is no excuse for not detecting its indication.

For false pains nothing need be done for some time; but if they continue, and seem to distress the animal, ether and opium may be freely given by the mouth; this will have the effect of quieting the spasm without injuring the pups.

The existence of true labor being ascertained, should there be sufficient cause to suspect obstruction to be present, then let the finger be oiled and introduced up the pa.s.sage with caution as directed. Some persons when called to a b.i.t.c.h in pup, always begin at once doing this, but it should not be done unless there be some reason for the practice. I have known fellows poke the poor animals about, as though to do so was an important duty, which they were bound incessantly to perform. The introduction of the finger cannot do otherwise than remove the mucus which Nature provides to lubricate the pa.s.sage and facilitate the egress of the pup. It is the mildest and best moisture the membrane can receive, and its removal is not to be slightly thought of. The finger, moreover, by the friction it occasions, irritates the parts; and however gently it may be introduced, it cannot otherwise than in some degree have this effect. The less it is used, therefore, the better; and when it is inserted, the attention should be alive to note every circ.u.mstance the touch can acquaint us with.

Other parties, when the labor is difficult or tedious, think it advisable to place the b.i.t.c.h in a hot bath. All the authors I know of, recommend this measure; but I must, without reservation, in the strongest possible terms, condemn it. In obedience with the directions of those who wrote or lectured on this subject, I originally followed the practice; but it was not long before I was apprised of its evil effects; and my wonder now is, how so injurious a custom ever came into general favor. I have known the b.i.t.c.h, when the throes were energetic, to be placed in the warm bath; and under its action to have indeed been quieted, for the pains never subsequently returned. The efforts, upon the vigor of which the delivery depended, have, to my knowledge, been more than once, twice, or thrice, dispersed, by the warmth which at such a time is a poison; for I can recollect but few cases where the b.i.t.c.h was taken from the water to survive.

Still, as the a.s.sertions of an individual cannot be supposed of sufficient force to overthrow an established habit, let me here, at the hazard of wearying the reader, venture to reason upon the matter. The uterus is princ.i.p.ally composed of white muscular fibre, upon which structure heat has a sedative and cold has a stimulative action. The members of our profession well know this fact; and the reader, who can hardly be unacquainted with the colic, may in that affection find a proof to convince him of its truth. Cold water will bring on the belly-ache. This is occasioned by a chill to the intestines, causing their muscular fibre, which resembles that of the womb, to spasmodically contract. The vitality of the muscles of the intestines is excited; and to allay the pain, that excitability must be destroyed. Heat will effectually do this; and hot clothes, bags of sand, or bottles, are placed against the belly for that purpose. When the suffering depends on cold alone, the relief is speedy; and when it is dependent on other causes, the sense of comfort imparted testifies to the effect of the application. The heat allays the spasm, which the cold provoked.

Warmth, therefore, is a sedative to organic muscular fibre; and now, let it be asked, if during labor we should seek to dispel the contraction of the womb? During gestation the muscular coat of the uterus is pa.s.sive; but when that function has been perfected, Nature endues it with energy to expel the foetus. Upon the violence of its contractions the performance of this important office is wholly and entirely dependent. Without it the young cannot be borne; and however painful may be its force, nevertheless, such pain is to be welcomed, and regarded thankfully. The throes may be agonizing, but it is more cruel to check than to promote them; for the temporary relief we obtain by causing them to cease, will certainly be purchased with the life of the animal that enjoys so dearly-bought a repose.

The shriek of the b.i.t.c.h during the time when a pup probably is being forced into the world, may harrow the heart of an affectionate master, and his sympathies may be wrought upon by beholding the convulsion which stretches every fibre of her frame. The sounds may grate upon the ear, and the spectacle may be terrible to look upon--for in dogs I have seen misery so powerfully exemplified, that I do no wrong to any man, when I suppose the picture would be piteous to his humanity--but it is not charity which would put a termination to the pangs. Place the b.i.t.c.h, then, in a warm bath, and the appearances almost instantaneously are changed. The animal rejoices in the ease which a cessation of torture produces. No doubt she, for the time, luxuriates, and her face expresses the sense of happiness she then enjoys. But her fate is with the pleasure sealed; and she obtains a momentary ease to meet with a lingering, or perhaps a frightful death, for I have known inflammation of the womb to follow the use of the warm bath. The use of the warm bath is, during labor, at best a mistake generated by ignorance; and unfortunately it is one of those errors which can rarely be afterwards redeemed; for the weakness it induces is so great, that the tonicity required in parturition is destroyed; and this no medicine can restore.

Another common failing in veterinary pract.i.tioners is, a belief that the ergot of rye, or secale cornutum, acts upon the dog as a direct uterine excitant, and thus promotes the parturitive function. In this belief, however, they are not single. Many writers speak with confidence of its operation upon the animal. The accounts are positive; and I would not lightly place my unsupported testimony to the fact against a host of authors who can be suspected of no motive to misstate. The gentlemen alluded to are authorities of such weight that a strong conviction of the truth is required to make me advance, against such and so many witnesses, my single word. The reader must, however, take both for what they are worth; and remember the truth is not the less true because there may be but one humble individual ranged upon its side. It is not my intention to say the authors who speak decidedly concerning the action of the ergot on the b.i.t.c.h had no grounds for the statements they advance. I should not be justified in making so gross an a.s.sertion; on the contrary, I believe sincerely they saw all which they narrate; but, nevertheless, I am prepared to maintain that secale cornutum is not an excitant to the uterus of the dog in that sense which would warrant the veterinary pract.i.tioner in regarding it as a lawful agent. To be so esteemed by such persons, it should be both safe and certain in its operation. It should not only possess a chance of doing good in one direction, but it ought to be attended with no probability of doing harm in another way. It may, in the hands of others, have caused the uterus to contract, and thus have favored parturition, or have brought about abortion. I have seen it do neither, but I cannot say it has never thus acted; I am in no position to prove the negative. When I have given it to the animal, it has disordered the stomach and induced vomition. The dogs I tried its action upon might possibly have been bad subjects for experiment, but I am not aware that they presented any peculiarity. In every case that has pa.s.sed under my observation, secale cornutum has been injurious; and I fear lest it may be so, when employed by others; I, therefore, discountenance its use, declaring the custom of exhibiting it with a view to quicken labor to be dangerous. I have used it as an emetic, though, rarely; as, for ordinary circ.u.mstances, there are preferable agents at command; but for some time I have abandoned its employment as a parturient for the b.i.t.c.h.

To reconcile, in some measure, the opposite opinions, and explain the probable source of difference, let the reader consider the possible conditions of the animals I and others have subjected to observation. The medical man, when experimentalising upon a dog, generally buys the animal; and as he merely wants a life to practise upon, he does not give money to procure beauty or high breed; cheapness is an object with him; and any unfortunate straggling brute, that can with impunity be trapped, is sufficient for his purpose. Such unhappy creatures are to be caught roaming about the country; perhaps poorly fed, but strong and low-bred curs.

The dogs I am called to are not of this kind. They have been tenderly fostered, and generally their health has been deteriorated by the excess of care bestowed upon them. They are high-bred animals, and their sensibility is equal to their caste. My object, also, is not to play with life, but to save it; and that at which the medical man would laugh, I have reasons to regard with a serious countenance. Therefore, the accident which to me would be most important, might to others be so trivial as to deserve no notice, and even to excite no remark. However, supposing no accident to occur, the vigorous and low-bred mongrel might well endure that which a delicate and high-bred pet could not sustain. The stomach of the one being strong, would retain that which should induce violent spasm in the morbidly sensitive organ of the other. Dogs, it is true, are but dogs; yet, as a group, they present such varieties that there can be many things a.s.serted of them which shall be true or untrue as applied to individuals.

Consequently, when I, writing of medicines as applied to certain descriptions of dogs, a.s.sert a particular agent is not in its action such as various writers have described, it is just possible I may not contradict the declarations previously made.

We may probably be both speaking of our knowledge only of really different things. Nominally the creatures we each observed were dogs; but though they were the same in race, in capabilities and bulk, they were perfectly distinct. The dog of the pharmacologist is a kind of beast I know nothing of; I am ignorant--entirely and totally ignorant--of the creature that Magendie and other respectabilities report of. As to the tales told by the French physiologists, I confess an inability to credit one-third of them; and from the list of those narrated by English physicians, I am obliged to make a very wide selection. My unfortunate capacity for incredulity in this matter has been educated by a professional acquaintance with the animal; and gentlemen must pardon me if I am disposed to think, they who are not ashamed to publish their wanton disregard for life would not be very tender with respect to a mere report about the creature whose suffering they despised. Where sympathy is dead, the conscience cannot be very acute.

I have yet another custom here to deprecate; and I am sorry to add, it is one which books and teachers equally countenance. I allude to the employment of instruments in parturition, without any rule being pointed out as to the time when such aids are necessary. Hundreds of b.i.t.c.hes are murdered by the misdirected efforts of Veterinarians; and of the brutalities resorted to by other persons, I designedly take no notice.

Such fellows--mere pretenders--are below the contempt of every honest mind; and my indignation pa.s.ses over them to face the persons by whom their interference is permitted. It is horrible to think of the amount of torture which man's favorite animal is hourly subjected to, through the culpability or weakness of those who should, in grat.i.tude for the poor beast's affections, be cautious to protect it.

Poetical as the dog is at all times, I know of no circ.u.mstance that develops more pathetically the disposition of the creature than that of pupping. At such a time, the b.i.t.c.h in her agony seems to trust more confidently in mankind. Animals that at other periods have allowed no one to approach them, at such moments have seemed to welcome me, and have appeared to comprehend the motive which brought me to their sides. To be examined they submit; and the pain it will often occasion may cause the animal to cry, but it draws forth no sign of resentment. The eyes are fixed upon the operator, as if to tell him of the suffering, and entreat for his sympathy. The expression of the face is mild and even plaintive; but, if possible, still more appealing are the endeavors the creature almost invariably makes to a.s.sist her attendant's designs. She seems, by some process that I cannot otherwise than consider to be a mental one, to comprehend human motives, and to more than appreciate our intentions. Her grat.i.tude now would appear to be intense, and her confidence to be boundless. Where I have reluctantly been necessitated to resort to force, the dragging of a dead pup through a swollen pa.s.sage has produced the pain which brought a sharp shriek from the animal; the agony has been such that even the fort.i.tude of the canine parent could not silently sustain; and under its almost maddening influence, the head has been turned instinctively to bite. The natural impulse, however, was never fully gratified; the nose has touched my hand, but the jaws have closed before they grasped it. I have then distinctly felt the snapping motion, and plainly heard the teeth rattle as they quickly hit against each other, but they have never injured me. The dog could not repress the natural instinct; but though the hand was against its mouth, the n.o.ble beast has bitten the air.

If men knew more of dogs, the animal would be more esteemed. The persons who pretend to dislike them are always ignorant of the creatures. It is impossible for human beings to see much of, and be acquainted with, these despised brutes, without becoming their admirers. To like dogs denotes no peculiarity of taste or strangeness of disposition; for he must be incapable of appreciating natural goodness, who can observe these animals and not grow fond of them. There is no mental sympathy between a shrub and ourselves; yet a pa.s.sion for flowers is pretended to by many who cultivate a horror of the canine race. Both feelings are affections, and a person of good sense would be ashamed to acknowledge either. Flowers are sweet and pretty, but man cannot love such things; whereas, between us and dogs there can be a positive bond of affection. In this world no one should be proud of disliking anything it is possible for him to love, or indulge a hatred towards any life that can adore him.

I have too many reasons to be grateful for the generosity of the brute, not to feel warmly toward it. There is no day my hands are not spared, for they are constantly exposed, and never protected; and I should long ago have been torn to pieces if the canine race were legitimate objects of dread. Therefore I merely discharge a debt, when I a.s.sert the magnanimity of the creature; and it is a duty on my part to do all in my power to benefit the despised brute. With that object I speak most unreservedly, in condemnation of the way in which instruments are employed during parturition. Many various inventions are sold in shops; and of these, the great majority are very dangerous. Of themselves, very few indeed are safe, with any skill; and most are seldom needed. In the mode of employing them, they are almost sure to do injury; for in ninety-nine cases out of every hundred, they are introduced much too early, and in the hundredth they are used with unnecessary violence.

Before any instrument is employed, the pup should be within the pelvis.

The forceps sold in shops are made with the intention of dragging the foetus from the womb; and one of the difficulties the pract.i.tioner is supposed to encounter in parturition of the b.i.t.c.h, is taught to be the impossibility of hauling the foetus from the horn of the uterus. One pup generally occupies the body of the womb, and the rest of the litter are located in the horns. That is their natural situation; and as in the gravid state the length of the horns is greatly extended, of course some occupy a place far within the abdomen. The length of the horns, however, though supposed to const.i.tute the only obstacle, is not the single cause which prevents the pup being reached by instruments. The horns, in consequence of their greater length, become bent, or folded upon themselves; so that an instrument which should drag the pups to light, where more than two or three are present, should be made to pa.s.s forward in the first instance, and then be constructed to take a backward direction. Those who invented these instruments to deliver b.i.t.c.hes with, would seem to have been ignorant of this necessity; and I here mention it to prove how perfectly inadequate such things are for the purpose intended.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE GRAVID UTERUS.]

Before any instrument is employed, the pup should be within the v.a.g.i.n.a.