Fortunately this method of "shaping" is rarely ever applied excepting to a few small breeds in which the injuries of too early maternity are only comparatively slight, and it is easier to condone it since there exist standards which demand that certain varieties of dogs be unnaturally long in body and low on the legs. Moreover, it is simply natural for a breeder to prefer a symmetrically formed little bitch to a big one greatly out of proportion; and there are not many who would allow the question of health to weigh very heavily could he stop a bitch from running up like a weed.

This other view of the question certainly lessens the force of the arguments against breeding bitches at their first season. Yet even now the conclusion must be that the custom is prejudicial, although, doubtless, the infinite majority of those who consider the matter will be ready to concede that it is sometimes justified as a remedial measure.

If such is the acceptance and bitches are bred at their first season to correct threatened irregularities of form of the nature described, let the enfeebling influence of the remedy be kept in mind and every effort made to combat it by a generous diet, ample exercise in pure air, and other hygienic means.

There are a few breeders possessed of the idea that to delay maternity one period merely will impair the functions of the breasts and render them less capable of secreting milk. It ought not to be necessary to say that this is a rank absurdity. Consider greyhounds, for instance, that are kept for coursing, they are not bred until they are several years old, yet they are usually free-milking mothers. But to discuss this fallacy is unnecessary, for cases which refute it are constantly occurring in the practice of all who breed extensively.

As a matter of fact, instead of the secreting power of the breasts being prejudiced by delay it is really strengthened by it. And here appears another reason for condemning the practice of too early mating. The mammary glands are either under the direct influence of the reproductive organs or in close sympathy with them, and where those organs are lacking in development the secreting power of the breasts is lacking in corresponding degree. Consequently an immature mother cannot be as able support as she who has been fully developed by age.

The period of maturity varies greatly in different breeds, and while it is reached by some early in the second year, others are not fully matured until they have entered the third year. The larger breeds are, as a rule, the last to mature, and but very few of them have done so before they are two years old, while many are still growing even at their thirtieth month. Yet there are toys, Italian greyhounds and Maltese terriers for instance, that are only a little in advance of the big ones, for they are not mature until two years old, and some are still developing several months afterward. Individuals also vary, and while a breed may generally have matured at the age of two years, oftentimes members are still on the way even when two and a half years old.

In some bitches there is a slight change of demeanor as they are about to come in season, characterized by restlessness and an increased show of affection, but the earliest conclusive sign of that peculiar condition is a sanguineous discharge, which deepens in color during the first twenty-four or forty-eight hours, when it lightens a little and usually becomes bright red and of the consistency of blood that has been several times diluted. This generally persists with but little variation, except it may be of darker color in some instances, for five or six days, when the color begins to fade, and by the tenth or eleventh day from its first appearance the discharge has merely a slight reddish tinge, which generally entirely disappears in the course of a day or two.

The mucous membrane lining the passage from which this issues is invariably more or less congested and reddened. In many cases, also, there is considerable swelling or puffiness of the outer parts; and this is the rule with young bitches, but with those that have borne several litters there is generally a little less swelling than at the first season, while in occasional instances it is so slight it might easily escape notice.

When the swelling is present it remains hard and tense for about a week, after which it gradually softens, as it were, and becomes much less resistant to the touch; and usually it has entirely disappeared before the end of the second week.

With such obvious signs it will doubtless seem to the inexperienced that where due care is used it must be well-nigh impossible for a bitch to pass through a "season" without her condition being discovered, yet were these alone relied upon such mishaps might occur provided the swelling was only slight, for the discharge might be scanty, in which instance detection would not be so very easy, or it might be moderately profuse and still not appear on examination because of having been shortly before washed away by the excretions from the kidneys. But unless a bitch is kept closely confined to her kennel and alone, the change in her demeanor, also the attraction she offers for dogs, must clearly indicate when this period is on.

It usually extends over about three weeks, but only during a small part of it will the approach of the dog be permitted; and the duration of this all-important period, while generally from four to seven days, sometimes longer, may in occasional cases be much shorter. And this fact the novice in breeding will do well to keep in mind.

In this period, during which only is mating possible, the swelling is no longer hard but has softened greatly and is rapidly subsiding, or it may have disappeared entirely. The discharge is now but slightly tinged with blood or is quite colorless, and there is a decided disposition exhibited to court the society of others of her kind, in the presence of which very often her tail is lifted and carried to one side.