When the family have settled down, and the puppies are dry and comfortable, it is time to give them a little attention. Have a saucer full of nice, warm milk-gruel, made with patent groats as daintily as for an invalid, and let the mother drink it, which she will be sure to do with gratitude; she may have more at intervals during the first day. Then roll away the soiled folds of sheet from under her and the litter, which can now be done without disturbing them, and leave them cosily ensconced on the clean, warm blanket, which has been all the time underneath.
A little later the mother may be put out into the garden for a few minutes, not more than two or three; but she must not be allowed to get chilled. After the first day she should go out for a little walk morning and afternoon, the time of her absence to be gradually lengthened as the puppies grow older.
Until they begin to crawl, valuable toy puppies are much safer and better upstairs in a big chair as described, or in a flat basket with a folded blanket at the bottom set upon the chair, than they can possibly be in any stable or in the kitchen premises, for, no matter how warm, such places are draughty too. There is absolutely nothing about a litter of little toys, if healthy, to be in the least offensive anywhere, and a good mother will keep them in the very pink of perfection for nearly a month under such circumstances.
Where a poor or weakly mother is concerned, and where the puppies are restless, squall, and seem damp and comfortless, it is another matter. By constant attention as to the changing of the bed, partial hand-feeding from a small old silver spoon with cream and hot water, and Plasmon or Lactol, half and half (better than milk, though _warm_ milk will do), and a great deal of patience, the mother may be helped out and the puppies saved; but where they are not valuable it is better to destroy all but one or two; and where they are so, a good foster-mother offers them by far the best chance of life and health. There are people who make it their business to supply fosters, and one of these should be applied to as soon as possible; taking pains to ensure, by careful examination on arrival, that the stranger has no skin disease and is free from objectionable insects.
