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Creator (Definite): Medicus (Our Dogs contributor)Date: 19 Dec 1930
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Cites E. Mayhew, Dogs: Their Management. Being a New Plan for Treating of the Animal (London: G. Routledge, 1854).
Description:‘of course, feeding is a matter of the highest importance. If the mother be strong and hearty, and her litter be not too large, they will thrive rapidly, provided their parent is fed on nutritious, milk-forming foods. If the mother is not able, from any cause, to suckle her offspring, a foster mother is the next best method. And indeed owners of valuable dogs should always provide a foster mother in case of need. In good time, before the nine weeks of gestation comes to a close, inquiries should be made and some quiet mongrel bitch, due to have whelps at the same time, should be procured in readiness. If no foster mother can be had, and the foster mother fails, they must be brought up by hand. In that case recourse may be had to the one of the well-known advertised dry-milk foods, which are specially prepared so as to imitate the bitch’s milk as closely as possible. On this hand-rearing topic there is no more sensible advice to be found anywhere than that given many years ago by the late Edward Mayhew – a well-known veterinarian of by-gone days. He says that the pups want to be fed early and late, consequently they must be taken into the bedroom, and when the feeding time arrives the soundest sleeper will be reminded of his duty. A bottle such as is used for infants of the human kind must have a sort of nipple made of wash-leather fitted to it. The leather is to be pricked all over with a fine needle, and within it is to be placed a small piece of sponge, to give substance and form to it... Each pup occupies from ten to fifteen minutes at a meal, and they may be allowed to decide the quantity that will do them good, unless they should be obsessively gluttonous, when the indulgence of its appetite should be retained. The plan thus indicated in one that may very well be adopted not only for rearing orphan puppies, but for relieving any bitch of a part of the cares of maternity. It can, indeed, be adopted for helping any bitch to rear a big litter. The idea is to save the bitch’s strength.’
Relevant passage from Mayhew:
'Hand-rearing 'is more troublesome than difficult to do. The pups want to be fed early and late; consequently, they must be taken into the bed-room; and when the feeding time arrives, the soundest sleeper will be reminded of his duty. A bottle, such as is used for infants of the human kind, must have a sort of nipple made of wash-leather fitted to it. The leather is to be pricked all over with a fine needle, and within it is to be placed a small piece of sponge to give substance and form to it. There is need to do that, because the pup when it licks wraps the tongue round the teat; and unless the body thus grasps has bulk, it cannot extract the liquid. This, therefore, being attended to, the little creatures very soon learn their lesson, and all that is subsequently to be done will be to hold them to the bottle, and the bottle to them. Each pup occupies from ten to fifteen minutes at a meal; and they may be allowed to decide the quantity that will do them good unless one should obviously be morbidly gluttonous, when the indulgence of its appetite should be restrained.
During the night the bitch must be kept away from her hungry tormentors; but in the day-time she may be allowed to go to them every time after they have been fed; and she may remain to enjoy their society for half-an-hour on each occasion. The small gluttons, though full of cow juice, will nevertheless find appetite for such a luxury as mother’s milk; but their energies being blunted, they will have power to do no more than to prevent an accumulation within the glands. The little, however, which they can swallow seems to do them much good; for after this manner have brought up many pups, though, when I have attempte to rear them wholly upon cow’s milk, success has not alway rewarded my care.' (221-222)