ON BREEDING
Very small bitches, and especially those belonging to certain breeds
which are known to be "shy," are not only often reluctant to breed at
all, but are not infrequently very indifferent mothers, while there are
great risks to the bitch in pupping where the sire is larger than
herself, or where larger dogs occur in the immediate ancestry on either
side. For these reasons, brood bitches are always wisely chosen of
medium size, and mated to very tiny dogs. In all the breeds which come
under the head of toys, smallness is a desideratum, but the practice of
inbreeding which has been extensively resorted to cannot be too highly
condemned; while the equally mistaken idea of attaining this end by
under-feeding puppies has also contributed to the weakliness of
constitution which is an immense drawback to some breeds. Reckoning size
by weight is another faulty practice much against the true interests of
toys, which we want to be small and healthy at the same time; for a very
tiny dog, if compact and sturdy, may weigh much more than a leggy
specimen which, to the eye, seems half as large again.
A bitch from 5 lbs. to 7 lbs., if, as I said before, of a small strain,
may be safely used for breeding, and the smaller the dog the better,
provided he is healthy. The plan of sending away bitches to a stud dog
saves the expense of buying a dog of one's own; the sire's wins help to
sell the puppies very materially, and the good offices of his owner may
generally be reckoned upon to assist the novice; but there are other
facets to the question.
These tiny dogs, which are frequently exhibited, are often very
unreliable sires; they work too hard, and their owners are sometimes
very indifferent as to whether the visiting bitches are satisfactorily
attended to. True, the terms always do, or certainly always should,
include a second visit free if the first proves fruitless, but there is
the loss of time, the disappointment to the owner, and sometimes to the
little bitch herself, who may have been quite anxious to breed and not
have had a fair chance, and the trouble and expense of travelling for
her. On the whole, I am much inclined to advise the novice to, at any
rate, _begin_ by rearing up a male puppy of such breeds as Pekingese and
Griffons, or the scarcer toy Bulldogs, and using it for the home stud;
for the other plan is less likely to result in disappointment when a
little knowledge has been gained of the kennel world in general. This,
of course, unless the whole thing is gone into under the aegis of some
experienced owner, as before suggested. Some little bitches are
exceedingly capricious, and will not take the least notice of a strange
dog, where they would willingly mate with one they knew and liked;
others are so upset by a journey and a strange place as to be useless
_pro tem._; others, again, instead of being ready to breed twice a year,
as is the usual habit of female dogs, may only come in season once in
twelve months, and then but fugitively. In such cases it is a positive
necessity to have a dog on the spot. Where a sire must be chosen from
among strangers, his points should correct any in which the bitch is
deficient; your toy pug may have too small a head, with little
wrinkle--you must look for a dog with good head properties as her mate;
your Pom may be long in back, and you must seek a male with the opposite
quality, and a plume well over and touching his frill.
The first puppies of two young dogs are generally larger than the
parents, but I do not believe the theory often advanced that the first
litter is always the best. Puppies by a very old sire are usually small.
A toy bitch, if sent away, should be carefully packed in a roomy, warm
basket; the provision of draughty, tumble-to-pieces baskets is false
economy, both for show and breeding purposes. If possible, a toy dog of
either sex should have a cosy little basket kennel, with a door, which
it can use at home as a sleeping-place, and in which it can travel; the
basket can be fitted with an outer case of wood for greater security,
but the dog will stand the journey much better if it is in a familiar
basket. Something with a peaked or rounded top should be chosen; the
ventilation being safer in this, as flat-sided and flat-topped packages
may be so crowded upon with others in a guard's van as to suffocate the
inmate.
Illustration: GRIFFON BRUXELLOIS. _"Sparklets," the property of Miss
Johnson._
The usual period of willingness to breed in a toy bitch is, more or
less, one week. This is preceded by about a fortnight's preparation, a
week or so of gradual enlargement of the parts concerned, and a week of
a coloured discharge from the uterus and vagina. Either or all of the
stages may last a longer or shorter time; but three weeks is generally
accepted as the period. No attempt at mating the bitch should be made
during the first two stages; it is when the discharge begins to cease
that she is ready, and the correct judging of this time is what chiefly
puzzles amateurs, though after they have once been through it they will
not find any difficulty. As a rule, bitches are sent away too soon, and
as the conveniences for keeping them at the stud dog's house are often
few, they are cooped up for day after day, and may become quite "stale"
and dull before the real mating time comes--a poor prospect. If the two
dogs are in the house together, the male should be kept entirely away
from the female from the very beginning of her attraction for him, until
she is ready, otherwise he will worry her incessantly and become himself
ultimately indifferent and useless in the matter. Toy dogs should never
be left to themselves in breeding matters; it is highly dangerous to do
so, especially if they are young and inexperienced, and I strongly
advise the beginner either to get some experienced breeder to overlook
matters and give advice, or failing this, when the female is ready, to
send the two dogs for a few hours to some kind and sensible veterinary
surgeon. They should be allowed to be together twice, either on
consecutive days, or with a day between.
Once mated, the little toy bitch must be petted and taken good care of:
not over-fed, but given plenty of good, nourishing food, and
systematically exercised. If she is in pup it will become evident about
the fifth to the seventh week. Some dogs show it much more than others;
whether she has puppies or not, she will have the natural provision of
milk for them. If she does not pup, she may very likely come in season
again in half the usual time. A failure to prove in pup is generally
evidenced by a time of great heaviness and dullness, the bitch sleeping
a great deal, getting very fat, and decidedly stupid; under these
circumstances give her extra exercise and one or two small doses of
sulphate of magnesia in food, to ward off skin irritation, a not
uncommon correlative. People are far too apt to decide that "missing" is
the bitch's fault; certainly she is apt to miss if she is too fat at the
time of mating, and Nature often, and very sensibly, arranges that she
shall do so when she has been regularly bred from at her seasons for a
number of times; but outside these occasions it is quite as often the
dog's fault as not.
A question which is frequently asked is as to the desirability or
otherwise of giving a toy bitch worm medicine, or an aperient, while she
is in pup or just before her babies arrive. It is as well to give one
mild dose of worm medicine about the end of the third week, if the bitch
is known to be troubled with these parasites to any great extent; but it
would be much better to have dosed her before her breeding time came on.
As to the aperient before pupping which we often see advised, it is a
totally unnecessary interference with Nature, and when castor oil, a
violent irritant to dogs, is employed, it is a sheer piece of cruelty,
likely to have very bad effects.