Milk properly condensed has essentially the same composition as before evaporation, minus the water, - that is, unless cane sugar has been added or the heat has been carried too high, - but that which is commonly used for domestic purposes is not above suspicion of sophistication and indifferent methods of preservation, therefore only the brands intended largely for infant feeding should be used. As for the dilutions required, they vary with the preparations, but as a rule half a teaspoonful of milk to eight tea-spoonfuls of water is about the correct proportion.

While feeding artificially it is highly important that the apparatus be kept perfectly clean, also that the intestinal discharges be constantly watched, and in the event they become diarrhoea-like it may be accepted that the milk is too rich and requires dilution, while if they have a sour odor it will be necessary to give at each feeding as much lime-water as milk. And the discharges being watery and sour-smelling, colic either exists or is imminent, hence one drop of laudanum should be given between each feeding until a change for the better shall have occurred.

If a puppy takes kindly to the bottle the first day the chances of carrying him through are fairly good. But only an occasional one will do this, and even he is likely to fall victim to diarrhoea, colic or other digestive disturbances. However, this unfavorable outlook ought not to deter any one from endeavoring to save valuable puppies when this is the last resource.

In some countries infants deprived of their mother's milk are often nursed by animals, and most frequently by the she-goat, which, besides being docile and easily trained to yield nourishment to the child, has teats of a very favorable shape and size, and this animal has proved as convenient a foster mother for puppies of large breeds. The sheep has also been pressed into like service, but being generally wild and intractable she has rarely proved an eminent success. As for the small breeds, to secure a foster for them is easier, as cats can as a rule be readily persuaded to adopt them; and their milk seems well suited to puppies, for in many instances they have been nourished by it from birth and thrived as well as they could have done on the milk of their natural mother.

Returning to the real mother, even if she has a goodly supply of milk she can rarely do justice to more than eight puppies, and were it the rule to reduce all large litters to six, breeding would be far more profitable than it is now; moreover, there would be a marked improvement in the canine race. But the man who has paid a large price for his bitch and a heavy fee for "service" is generally anxious to "get his money back" as soon as possible, and the larger the litter the greater his delight. As he views the matter, every puppy has a fixed value, and to sacrifice one is simply to throw away so many hard dollars; therefore, he looks to the mother to nurse them all, even if there are ten or more - that is, unless he has learned from experience that he is expecting altogether too much.

The infinite majority of those who have yielded to such irrational promptings have met with bitter disappointment and seen puppy after puppy drop off with alarming frequency. And oftentimes within such experiences the few remaining at the end of the third week have scarcely been worth raising; whereas had the litters been properly reduced in size at first, very many of the puppies would doubtless have been saved and reached the weaning strong and healthy.

While nursing a litter of good size a mother is under a strain that may affect her vitality. Unless a puppy has an abundant supply of milk to draw from he cannot thrive and develop well; and were one deprived of it to live he must be more or less weakly and stunted. Acting in accordance with these important facts the intelligent breeder who has too large a litter will promptly reduce its size, either by providing a foster-mother, by artificial feeding or drowning. If the latter means must be resorted to, as a rule he need not apply it the first day unless there are several females in the litter that he does not care to raise; in which event the sooner he disposes of them the better.

Other weedings may be left to the second day, because it is rarely possible on the first to distinguish between the weakly and the healthy and vigorous, and of course the former are to go if a sacrifice is demanded. And even with a litter reduced to fair size the chances are that more than one member of it will drop out before the weaning period has been reached.

Bearing strongly upon this point is the important fact already stated, that puppies should have ample nourishment in the first few hours of life. Now, if the milk supply is scanty during the first week, even if abundant afterward, the deprivation will very generally have a permanent effect. In other words, the puppies will as a rule have experienced a set-back, from the ill effects of which they will never recover, and if they live they will be but indifferent specimens of their breeds. The results from this cause, not unnaturally, are the most pronounced in the largest breeds, and are exhibited by impaired growth, malformations, etc.

Notwithstanding every precaution is taken, mothers will sometimes be found with puppies under them; and while many or the little victims of this accident are crushed and at once beyond all hope, now and then one is suffocated without other injury; in which instance recovery is possible if treatment is applied promptly. Consequently, if a puppy that has been lain on is warm when found, efforts should always be made to restore him, even if there are no signs of life. Enveloped in hot flannel, his head only left uncovered, one thickness of clean cloth should be spread over his gaping mouth, and to the upper side the holder should put his own mouth and slowly inflate the unfortunate's lungs. That done he should remove his mouth and gently compress the chest, so as to force out the air that he has driven in. And this artificial respiration should be persisted in for at least ten minutes.