The practical conclusions to be drawn from this are, that the several stages of season vary not only in the different breeds but in members of the same breed, and while some bitches will not permit the approach of the dog, or in other words are not "ready," before the end of the second week, others have reached this most important stage by the end of the first week. Moreover, that while as a rule bitches remain for several days in a state when to mate is possible, in some cases this period scarcely extends beyond a day.

Most bitches can be mated about the twelfth day, but in occasional instances they are ready on the sixth or seventh, while in others mating is impossible before the fourteenth or fifteenth day. And these peculiarities are not constant, for the same bitch at one season may be ready in the beginning of the second week, and yet at her next this essential condition be delayed until a much later day.

Obviously no rule can be fixed which will meet all cases, and the only safe course to pursue after a bitch comes in season is to note each day the condition of her discharge and admit the dog when it has lost most of its redness. Some writers, by the way, advise waiting until the redness has entirely disappeared, and to this no objection can be offered where the handlers are experienced and the bitches old acquaintances, but for tyros, or even masters with strange subjects, to delay until such complete change in the discharge has occurred would be decidedly hazardous a statement which doubtless many who recall their earliest attempts at breeding will fully indorse.

A bitch may act shyly at first in the presence of the dog, but if ready she will generally soon give evidence of the fact by frisking about him, assuming peculiar attitudes and very likely jumping upon him. If, however, she growls and snaps when he approaches, and persists in doing this for about ten minutes, he should be removed, to be returned on the following day. And it is well to add that the custom of turning the two into a yard and leaving them together for some hours is thoroughly wrong and a cruelty to both.

Where this test cannot be applied because the mating must occur at a considerable distance, it is wise to ship the bitch to the kennels of the dog soon after the first signs of season have appeared, lest it prove one of those instances in which the mating period is very short.

Here intrudes a fact which, while of no great importance, is worth recording, namely, that bitches that have been successfully served have generally seemed to go out of season more quickly than those in which the service was unsuccessful. And in the experience of the writer this has been quite constant in bitches that have passed the third or fourth year and were mated at every period, while the most notable exceptions were bitches that had been allowed to "go by " one or more periods, or where for causes unappreciable the intervals had been much longer than usual. For instance, in one case for several periods at which successful service occurred the bitch went out of season by the third day, then a year and a half passed without her coming in, and when she did so she remained in season for eight days and was mated on every alternate day. The services, however, proved unsuccessful.

Perhaps it is sentiment merely that leads to the suggestion that two perfect strangers be permitted to become somewhat acquainted before they are put into the same enclosure. And if allowed to run for a short time in adjoining yards, separated by a picket fence, the strangeness for the visitor - the one deserving the greatest consideration - will soon wear off and subsequently the desired result will be more easily attained, especially if she is of nervous and timid nature.

How many "services" are required ? One only if complete, although breeders, with but few exceptions, favor a second, after an interval of two days. The practice of their theory is open to one objection only, namely, the hardship that it entails upon the dog, whose vitality must inevitably be greatly exhausted if too frequent demands are made upon him.

The position has been taken in the foregoing that bitches are guided by nature in their conduct with the dog and resent his overtures at all times except when in season and in the favorable stage. This is the rule and exceptions to it are exceedingly rare, but still, that they do occur is a fact beyond dispute, for cases are on record in which the services took place between the periods of season; and several of the bitches were in pup, while one was in her last week before whelping.

At this point the writer is reminded of the extremely prevalent idea that unless the dog and bitch are tied the service cannot be productive. Now, while this condition can be accepted as positive evidence of a successful service, and in its absence success may well be doubted, it does not follow that in every case where speedy separation occurs failure is inevitable; and as a matter of fact a number of instances are known in which such assumed failures proved eminent successes, the testimony being in one of them a litter of fourteen puppies. On the other hand, the fact that tying occurs and to all appearances the dog is perfectly sound is not proof that he is capable of getting puppies.

Notwithstanding these exceptions, however, with which it is well to be familiar, the condition in question should be held highly essential, and where one dog fails to attain it another should be tried if possible. But in the absence of a resource, if the appearance and behavior of the dog indicate that tying only has been wanting, the case should not be considered hopeless, although the chances are very many indeed that it will prove so.

High health and vigor are of infinite importance in both subjects of a union, otherwise the offspring must very generally be more or less wanting in health and vigor at birth; and where the constitutional defects are pronounced in either the sire or dam, not only do the puppies require the most intelligent and painstaking management, but even when this is afforded and they live they seldom thrive and develop into good specimens of their breeds.