After the bitch 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 appetite 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 chastity, and will be as obedient as before her passions 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 bitch 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 circumstance 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 unobstructed, the judgment is liable to be mistaken with regard to particulars, though it may be assured concerning the main point.
To discover whether a bitch 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 rectum, 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 rectum be full of fœces, it serves as an admirable guide to the position of the uterus; though he who is acquainted with anatomy needs no such assistance.
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 bitch 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 bitch 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 vagina; 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 bitches 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 bitch 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 pass, without any sign of decided progress being made; nevertheless, the owner's patience must not be alarmed, for the greatest danger springs from premature assistance.