Not unnaturally, the offspring of show winners are in the greatest demand, and these are notoriously the most unsound constitutionally, because of the treatment that is often inflicted to bring them into condition, the hardships inseparable from long journeys and shows, and the excesses that the dogs are obliged to undergo to meet the demands in their own kennels and of admiring patrons.

A notion which is quite generally accepted and contributes much to failures in breeding is, that notwithstanding one of the subjects of a union is much below the standard of health if the other is sound and vigorous the offspring will be strong and hardy. Such a happy result is not at all likely, for even were the constitutional infirmities themselves, of the sire or dam not transmitted, there must be, almost invariably, passed on to the offspring at least a predisposition to those infirmities; or, in other words, the puppies if not absolutely weakly must be specially liable to have, some time in their lives, the disease and weaknesses of their parents.

Of course a bitch of somewhat doubtful constitution might prove a success if always bred to dogs that possessed high health and vigor in an eminent degree, yet were her infirmities pronounced, or she was the victim of transmissible disease, then, certainly, she would be unfit for breeding purposes.

Should bitches be bred at every season? Upon this question, also, breeders are at variance, and while some contend that it is an injurious practice and one which must inevitably undermine the strongest constitution, others as stoutly maintain that they have never detected evidences of ill effects from it.

To sustain them in their position the first class rely mainly on the fact that bitches of sporting varieties lose speed after being bred often, and they claim that there is also a loss of vigor. The other class acknowledge that speed is lessened in breeding, but they point to the fact that great speed, in the greyhound for instance, is out of the question after breeding once only, and they are not ready to accept that this loss is any evidence of impairment of vigor.

In cases in which abnormalities exist, beyond doubt animals are sometimes improved in health by carrying young, but as a rule gestation and nursing must tax the energies of the system. And while the lost vigor is doubtless very often restored, it is certainly not restored in all cases. And whether or not the loss is permanent depends much upon the existing conditions. For instance, a bitch allowed entire liberty, fed rightly and kept under good hygienic influences, might be bred at every season without loss of constitutional vigor, whereas another confined much to kennels and fed as dogs so placed are generally fed would scarcely be so fortunate. In truth, many bitches living under such poor conditions and bred at every season present symptoms that can only be interpreted as evidences of decline. And in the most pronounced cases these are a lack of natural excitability and buoyancy of spirit, tendency to sluggishness rather than activity; and of those that have borne several large litters not a few are weak in loins and settled in the back.

Beyond doubt, considering them as a whole, and how they are usually fed and otherwise cared for, were it the rule to breed only at alternate periods, bitches generally would be better for it, and they would have healthier puppies. But assuming that the bitch is of large size and not mature before she is two and a half years old, she would not likely breed much after her sixth year, or if she did her litters would be very small. Consequently she would have only about four good litters; and but few breeders would consider her a profitable investment.

Those viewing this matter fairly must be ready to accept that he who considers only the welfare of his bitch will allow her to go by occasionally, while he who values his very largely for her produce and the income she yields will breed her as often as he can. But all can be assured that unless bitches are well cared for in every way they cannot be bred at every season and retain full health and vigor.

Here the writer is reminded of that ancient absurdity, which long ago ought to have been swept from the minds of breeders, that puppies of the first litter must necessarily be less strong and healthy than those of subsequent litters. As a matter of fact, all conditions being favorable, the first puppies are likely to be a trifle the best, provided always their mother had fully matured before she was bred. And the reason for this statement, which must surprise some, is, that considering the care given the average mother, her subsequent confinement to small quarters, and other abuses so often inflicted upon her, she would, as a rule, be in better health and vigor in her third year of life than ever afterward. Moreover, the younger the dam - provided, again, that she is mature - -not only the better and stronger her puppies but the larger her litters. Beyond all this, there have been cases where bitches never bred good ones after their first litters, and all puppies in those litters were grand.

Another important fact of which many breeders are unmindful is, that bitches must not be allowed to become too fat, for where there is a tendency in that direction there is usually a lack of constitutional vigor, an impairment of the milk-secreting glands and some loss of fertility. Take, for instance, a bitch that has been laying on too much fat during her second year; the chances are that when she reaches maturity her procreative functions will be so lacking that it will be hard to breed her, or if successfully bred she will have small litters and poor puppies, also be deficient in milk, for too much fat during the growing stage means retarded development of the generative organs and lessened activity in the mammary glands.

Now assume that the bitch which is much too fat had several litters before she became so. It will be hard to mate her, because the natural promptings which characterize the season have given place to almost complete indifference. Again, her generative organs are much less active than normal; moreover, there are chances that they have undergone some fatty degeneration which impairs or entirely destroys their functional activity. Or if such is not the case and she is successfully bred, the litters or the puppies, or both, are quite certain to be small, because of impairment of vital energy and vigor of the reproductive powers, and not impossibly some mechanical obstruction exerted on the generative organs by the fat deposited on and near them.

Some say a bitch can scarcely be too thin at the time of service if she is strong and healthy and free from worms, but she is nearest right, and her breeding powers are the most vigorous, when in the middle state - that is neither too fat nor too thin.

As for sterility from excessive fatness, where the generative organs have undergone fatty degeneration or other serious change a cure is out of the question. But short of that point improvement is likely to occur in many instances if a great amount of exercise is given, the quantity of starches is reduced or they are withheld altogether and the diet is made up largely of meat, and only such vegetable foods are allowed as grow above ground - as, for instance, spinach, dandelion and other greens, nettle tops, cabbages, etc.

According to reports, copious bleeding has been tried in some cases, but while this treatment might overcome sterility when due to a plethoric condition of the system, or, in other words, where the victims had too much blood and there was great irritability of the organs of generation in consequence of local congestion or inflammation which interfered with their function, it is certainly not appropriate for sterility from obesity, in which the constitution is impaired and must suffer a still greater loss of vigor with the depletion.