The Dog's Medical Dictionary / An encyclopædia of the diseases, their diagnosis & treatment, and the physical development of the dog

Bronchitis (Chronic Husk):

Symptoms: Though the dog may appear very well, with good appetite, there is a frequent dry, hard cough, which is generally worse at night and early morning, but any exertion or excitement induces a fit of coughing. After each attack, the dog retches as if he had something in his throat, and was going to vomit.

Treatment: Give aperient medicine occasionally, and the following mixture:—

Recipe:

Doses: One teaspoonful to a tablespoonful[1] three times a day. When cough is very troublesome give a dose of the mixture recommended for acute bronchitis at night, or from fifteen[1] drops to one teaspoonful of Smith’s glyco-heroin in a little water.

Diet: The diet in these cases is very important, and I find under-done meat the best possible food, as it nourishes the dog well without distending the stomach and causing pressure on the chest.

Bruises:

Symptoms: Discoloration of the skin from effusion of blood under result of injury.

Treatment: Apply following lotion often:—

Recipe:

When in a suitable part, so that a bandage may be applied, the lotion is more efficacious if applied on lint, which should be covered over with a piece oil silk, and then a bandage.

Give aperient medicine, and keep dog at rest for a few days.

Burns:

Symptoms: The skin may be scorched and the coat frizzled, but the roots not destroyed; or the skin may be destroyed and a large blister form, which sooner or later suppurates. Burns, the result of boiling water, are practically as severe as those of fire, for in either case the hair never grows afterwards.

Treatment: When the skin only is scorched, apply lime water and linseed oil. One part of the former, mixed with two parts of the latter, should be dabbed on two or three times a day. In severe burns the part may be smeared over with boracic ointment, and when the blister has broken the same ointment should be applied on lint, which must be kept in its place with a bandage or coat. Repeat dressing two or three times a day.

Calculi (Stones in the Kidney):

Symptoms: Blood, and also in many cases pus, is passed with the urine. The dog at times seems very ill, the temperature may go up to 103 or 104. Pain on pressure over the loins, sickness, loss of condition, and great wasting. In severe cases there is collapse, and death follows the result of uræmia poisoning.

Treatment: Open the bowels freely. Apply hot fomentations or poultices to the loins, and give following medicine:—

Recipe:

Give from sufficient to cover a sixpence to a teaspoonful,[1] two or three times a day, mixed with food or milk.

Diet: Give plenty of milk mixed with equal parts Vichy water. Also Benger’s food with milk, tripe, and fresh boiled fish, with well-cooked rice. Avoid red meat.

Calculi in Bladder:

Symptoms: In the dog the stones are generally small, varying in size from a millet seed to a pea, though occasionally one does find a large one. In bitches the stone is generally not discovered until it has become a good size, and set up irritation of the bladder. In the dog, when the stones are small they, as a rule, do not seem to do any harm or cause inconvenience until one or more escape from the bladder, pass into the urinary passage or urethra, and become lodged in the canal just behind the bone in the penis where the passage is smallest. If the stone is quite round—which, fortunately, is not always the case—it acts like a cork in a bottle, and the dog is unable to pass any water. He stands or stoops like a bitch, and keeps straining; but nothing comes away, except, perhaps, a single drop occasionally of blood-stained urine. If the stone happens to be not quite round, then he is able to pass a small quantity of highly-coloured water by great effort. To ascertain for certain if these symptoms are the result of gravel or stone, a small sound or catheter should be passed; and if there is any blockage in the passage it is easily ascertained, for in that case it will be impossible to pass the instrument for more than a few inches instead of from 6 to 24 inches, according to the size of the dog; and besides, the hard piece of gravel or small stone will be felt. In some cases when the stone is not quite round the instrument will pass to the side of it, and then one can easily feel the grating of the stone against the instrument as it passes, more especially as it is withdrawn.

Treatment: Medicines are of little use, though a sedative like hyoscyamus will sometimes relieve the spasm of the parts, and enable the patient to pass a little water when the passage is not completely blocked; when it is, the stone may sometimes be pushed back to where the passage is larger, and thus enable the dog to relieve himself; but in all these cases arrangements should be immediately made for an operation, which is the only cure.

In bitches the symptoms of a calculus in the bladder are somewhat similar to those shown by the male: she is constantly straining to micturate, even after the bladder is emptied of water; the urine is high-coloured and smells strong, and often a few drops of blood are passed at the end of micturition, or the water may be blood-stained.

Treatment: Operation. Dogs once suffering from calculi are always liable to a recurrence. This may sometimes be prevented by giving occasionally a course of the following:—

Doses: From sufficient to cover a sixpence to one teaspoonful[1] twice a day with food or given in water, and continued for a long time. Avoid meat as much as possible with the food.

Cancer:

Symptoms: A tumour which usually sooner or later ulcerates, emitting an offensive-smelling discharge mixed with blood. The animal loses condition and becomes very weak. A cancer may form anywhere, but the most frequent parts affected are: the mouth, inside of the throat, milk glands, the rectum, and the organs in the abdomen.

Treatment: An early operation is the only chance of effecting a cure; once suppuration has commenced, the case is practically hopeless.

Caries:

Symptoms: Ulceration of bone—generally result of some injury. Abscesses form, resulting in unhealthily discharging wounds which are difficult to heal. If the parts be probed, roughened exposed bone may generally be felt, which after a time separates from the healthy structure and escapes with the discharge.

Treatment: These cases must always be given time for the dead bone to separate from the healthy bone. Hot linseed meal poultice, dusted freely over with powdered charcoal, should be applied, and repeated two or three times a day, and as soon as the dead structure is loose, the wound, if not large enough, should be dilated with a knife and the dead bone removed. If this is successfully done, the wound generally heals quickly. In some cases when a limb is affected, and the inflammation has been very extensive, amputation may be necessary. Dogs do very well with three legs.

If after the dead bone has been removed the wound does not heal, syringe into it every other day about half a drachm of tincture calendula, and apply boracic ointment on lint and bandage. Wounds in cases of caries require keeping very clean with some disinfectant, as a saturated solution of boracic acid, or a solution of Pearson’s fluid; Condy’s fluid is also useful.

Cataract:

Symptoms: The formation of an opaque spot in the lens or pupil of the eye. In young dogs, when it occurs, which is not frequent, the whole pupil seems to be involved at once, but in old dogs it generally commences as a small speck, and gradually increases. The cornea or front of the eye generally remains clear. Of course there is loss of vision of the affected eye to a more or less extent, according to the size and density of the cataract.

Treatment: The following drops improve the sight when the cataract does not affect the whole pupil:—

Recipe:

Operation, except for improving the appearance of the eye, is useless in the dog, as wearing of spectacles is impracticable.

Catarrh of the Nose:

Symptoms: Generally follows a chill from exposure to cold or from careless washing; shivering and sneezing, thin mucous discharge from nose, which is not sticky as in distemper; water discharge from eyes; a husky cough. The dog is dull for a few days, and perhaps off his food, but as a rule there is no rise of temperature as in distemper, and the teeth do not become discoloured as in the latter disease.

Treatment: Keep quiet in a dry, warm room for a few days, and give the following mixture:—

Recipe:

Doses: From half a teaspoonful to a tablespoonful[1] three times a day. Give sloppy food for two or three days, and then the ordinary diet and cod-liver oil.

Catheter, How to Pass:

The passage (called the urethra) to the bladder is very small in the dog in consequence of there being a bone in the penis. It is also very long. The best kind of catheters are made of gutta-percha, and for small dogs the size called 0 is large enough. For dogs the size of terriers No. 1 size is required; for collies, etc., No. 2 size; and for larger dogs No. 3. These numbers refer to the diameter. As to length, they must, of course, vary also according to size of the dog—10 inches, 12 inches, 18 inches, and 2 feet respectively. Before being passed, the catheter must be well smeared over with vaseline, and the wire left in. The dog should be placed on his left side, with the right hind leg well drawn forward; the penis should be exposed for some inches, and held by means of a soft cloth; the catheter may then be gently passed. After going a short distance, that is to where the penis bends round, it will stop going in, or, at any rate, at this point it will be found a little more force is required to pass the instrument. When this part is reached, the wire should be drawn out for one or two inches, according to the size of the dog, then it will be found the catheter will pass on easily again; and when the bladder is reached, if it is full of water, it will commence to drip or dribble away—it never runs away fast, as the orifice in the catheter is small. Let the catheter remain in so long as urine continues to flow, and then gently withdraw it.

A catheter should never be passed more than twice a day. The instrument, when not in use, should, without the wire, be kept in a basin of saturated solution of boracic acid. The wire should be thoroughly cleaned and vaselined, and be put into the catheter just before being used.

Cerebral Congestion:

Symptoms: Often seen in distemper. The dog may be dull and heavy, or he may be very excited; eyes very congested; temperature high, 104 to 105° F.; constant working of the temporal muscles. Dogs in this condition are often ravenous for food, and diarrhœa may be present. If relief is not given, convulsions usually follow.

Treatment: Keep dog absolutely quiet in a darkened room. If bowels constipated, give purgative medicine, also give from three grains to one scruple of bromide of strontia[1] in water three or four times a day. Apply ice in a waterproof sponge bag or sheep’s bladder to forehead for fifteen minutes or so at a time several times a day.

Diet: Liquid food should only be given, as milk with Benger’s food, egg and milk—the yolk of the egg should not be given if there is much diarrhœa; some mutton broth or Brand’s essence may be allowed occasionally. In severe cases a blister or seton at the back of the neck should be applied.

Chalky Stones:

Symptoms: Affects principally the knees, hocks, and stifle joints occasionally of old dogs—the result of the deposit of urates.

Treatment: From a quarter to two grains of iodide of potassium three times a day, or from five[1] grains to two scruples of the boro-citrate of magnesia in water thrice daily. This medicine may be given with the food. Vichy water to drink instead of plain water.

Choking:

Symptoms: Dogs frequently choke themselves when eating bones, especially chop or cutlet bones; also occasionally with a large piece of meat which may become impacted in the gullet. But this is not so serious, as it can easily be pushed down into the stomach if it cannot be pulled upwards. When an offending bone or other matter becomes lodged in the back of the throat the dog coughs and retches violently, and may even die from asphyxia. But as a rule the bone does not stop there, but passes down until the gullet passes over the heart, where it is rather smaller, and then the bone is stopped, which causes the dog great distress. He keeps gulping as if trying to swallow, and occasionally retches. In a day or two the distress passes off and the patient seems fairly well and often ready to eat, but if any solid food is taken directly it reaches the part where the obstruction is it is brought up, and this continues to happen so long as the obstruction remains, but the dog as a rule is able to swallow liquids as milk, egg and milk, beef teas, etc.

Dogs, especially puppies, often swallow needles and pins, which generally become embedded in the back of the tongue, but sometimes they reach the gullet and pass through, causing a bad abscess to form in the throat just behind the angle of the jaw.

Treatment: When the bone or meat or other matter becomes lodged in the back of the throat, it is generally easily removed with the finger. Failing this, forceps must be used; but the symptoms are often very distressing, and prompt relief is necessary. When the bone has passed far down in the gullet and become fixed just over the heart, relief is much more difficult. Sometimes if the dog can be induced to take a few pieces of meat it will force it on. If this fails, forceps must be tried, and if the bone cannot be removed with them, then one must try to push it downwards into the stomach with a probang. Too much force must not be used or the gullet may be ruptured, which is fatal. If it cannot be removed, the dog must be fed on liquid food, and in time the points of the bone may become dissolved, and then it will be easier to push it down with a probang.

In removing needles from the back of the tongue or fauces, which is best done with forceps, care must be taken not to break them. The tongue should be drawn well forward out of the mouth by taking hold of it with a cloth so as to bring into view the back of the tongue and fauces.

Chorea, St. Vitus’s Dance:

Symptoms: Irregular contraction of the muscles. Almost any part of the body may be affected, and even the tongue, the dog poking it out of the mouth constantly. But the disease more often affects the limbs, perhaps one fore leg and one hind leg, or the muscles of the shoulder and neck; occasionally the muscles of the abdomen, the dog always appearing to be suffering from hiccough. The temporal muscle is a common seat of chorea, and in such cases the dog is constantly snapping his teeth together. It is almost invariably the result of distemper.

Treatment: In bad cases the disease is incurable, though often with time—in the course of months—the twitching becomes less, but never entirely disappears. There is no specific for chorea; what appears to do one case good seems to do harm in another. Small doses of arsenic with bromide is sometimes a useful remedy, as the following mixture:—

Recipe:

Dose: From half a teaspoonful to a tablespoonful[1] three times a day after food.

In other cases Easton’s syrup answers better.

Dose: From three or four drops to half a drachm,[1] in a little water, three times a day after food. Later, especially if there is much wasting, cod-liver oil should be given.

Coins, etc., Swallowing of:

Symptoms: The dog has a big swallow, and it is astonishing what can pass down his throat into the stomach. I have known small dogs as fox terriers to swallow coins the size of a penny, and smaller dogs still to swallow brooches, ear-rings, and finger-rings, and also keys, without even seeing any bad results to the dog, though the owner has been much alarmed as to what was going to happen; but corks are dangerous, as they block up the intestines, and so are big round stones, but small stones dogs swallow with impunity. Dogs, even small ones like pups, swallow occasionally meat skewers, but even such things as these do not always prove fatal. I recently had under my care a small puppy who swallowed a hat-pin ten and a half inches long, the head passed into the stomach all right, but the puppy was too small to take the whole length of pin, and the point, piercing some of the vital parts of the throat, killed him.

As a rule, a dog does not show much discomfort after swallowing things like coins, bones, small stones, etc., when they once have reached the stomach, though with young puppies the latter often cause severe colic; but large round stones and corks often cause serious mischief by blocking up the bowels, inducing inflammation, which, if not relieved by operation, soon causes death. Skewers and long hat-pins when swallowed seldom pass beyond the stomach, where they often remain for some considerable time, but sooner or later the point generally pierces the stomach, and peritonitis follows, which quickly terminates fatally; but sometimes the sharp point passes direct from the stomach through the walls of the abdomen and skin, and it may be seen sticking out and can be removed. The dog seems none the worse after a few days, as the wound soon heals.

It is often difficult by manipulation to detect things that have been swallowed, for as a rule, as before mentioned, they remain in the stomach for a considerable time before passing into the intestines. I have known coins to remain there for five or six months before being passed; however, with the Röntgen rays coins, keys, jewellery, stones, etc., can always be detected.

Treatment: Unless the foreign body swallowed is doing the dog visible harm, it is best left alone. Feed on solid food as suet puddings, rice, bread, meat and such like foods, so as to distend the bowels as much as possible and to cause big motions, and the foreign body, in all probability, will pass out safely; do not give purgative medicines, which only cause contraction of the bowels and do harm, but if there is pain give from two[1] to ten drops of laudanum in a little water, three or four times a day, or oftener.

When the substance swallowed causes real obstruction in the bowel, the laudanum may be given a trial for two or three days, but as a rule an operation becomes necessary, which consists in opening the abdomen, finding where obstruction is, and opening the bowel and removing the offending matter. It is an operation requiring aseptic precaution and some care, and the sewing up the incision made into the bowel wants carefully doing or a stricture may result.

Cold in the Head:

See Catarrh.

Colic:

Symptoms: Generally affects puppies from eating rubbish, but may also affect adult dogs, especially after receiving strong medicine as worm medicine. Restlessness, crying and whining, or even howling when pain very severe; abdomen tucked up and muscles feel hard and rigid. The attack may be accompanied by severe vomiting and diarrhœa.

Treatment: Give immediately, if there is no diarrhœa, a dose castor oil, which should be followed by an enema if it does not operate in about an hour. The enema may consist of half[1] to two teaspoonfuls of glycerine, mixed with one[1] to eight tablespoonfuls of warm water. Also, give following mixture:—

Recipe:

Doses: From half a teaspoonful to a tablespoonful[1] every two, three, or four hours until pain relieved.

Collapse:

Symptoms: The dog lies in a semi-unconscious condition; the body feels cold; the membranes are pallid, eyes glassy; the breathing slow and heavy; pulse weak. This condition may arise from shock, and is often seen in dogs after being run over. It may also occur as the result of hæmorrhage.

Treatment: Allow the dog to lie perfectly quiet on his right side. Give stimulants, as brandy, with from one[1] to ten drops of tincture nux vomica if given by the mouth, but only half if injected under skin. If this cannot be done, give an enema of milk and brandy, or strong black coffee. If body very cold, put hot-water bottles round it.

Coma:

Symptoms: Entire loss of consciousness, heavy breathing, pupils dilated, etc. This condition may result from injuries to head; sometimes follows a severe attack of epilepsy, apoplexy, and it is the last stage previous to death of many illnesses.

Treatment: This entirely depends on the cause. If as the result of epilepsy, the patient is best left quite alone for many hours; if the body becomes cold, hot-water bottle may be placed under it and also to the back. After some time, if there are no signs of return to consciousness, the body and limbs may be well hand-rubbed, and brandy injected subcutaneously. If the result of injuries to head, should the skull be fractured an operation may be necessary; but if there is simply concussion of the brain, you must give the animal time—the condition may last three or four days, and yet the dog may recover. Besides quietness, there is not much to do. Should the dog be very restless, apply an ice-bag to head; and to maintain strength give about every four hours an enema of peptonised milk, from one tablespoonful to a cupful,[1] or one or two meat suppositories. When coma is the result of the last stage of illness, there is little to be done. The inhalation of oxygen may be tried; brandy or strychnine, ⅟₃₀₀th to ⅟₁₀₀th of a grain[1] may be injected under the skin, and an enema of strong black coffee given.

Condylomata:

See Warts.

Conjunctivitis (Sore and Weak Eyes):

Symptoms: The conjunctival membrane lining the inside of the eyelids is much congested, and of a dark red colour, there is a constant flow of watery discharge; in bad cases there is a discharge of white pus which causes the lids to adhere together. The hair falls off around the lids, and the cornea, or front of the eye, may become cloudy and ulcerate.

Treatment: In simple cases an application of boracic lotion, made by dissolving half a teaspoonful of boracic acid in half a pint of water, which should be applied often, is generally sufficient to effect a cure. In bad cases when the discharge is purulent, the following should be used:

Recipe:

Apply several times a day, letting a little run on the inside of the lower lids. Iodoform dusted on the inside of the lower lid is also useful.

The edges of the eyelids should be kept smeared with vaseline to prevent them from sticking together.

Constipation:

Symptoms: The motions are big, hard, and dry, and difficult to pass; and instead of having an action at least once a day, the dog may only have one every two or three days.

Treatment: A good deal can be done by diet. Spratt’s biscuits have a tendency to keep the bowels open and regular; for small dogs the Pet-Dog biscuits should be given, and for large dogs the big biscuits. They should be broken up and soaked in some soup, and mixed with a little meat and some green vegetable added; this makes a very good principal meal. For a second or evening meal the biscuit may be given dry. For a change of diet give meat, brown bread, and green vegetables in equal parts moistened with soup. In obstinate cases some laxative may be necessary. Milk of sulphur answers very well; from sufficient to cover a threepenny-piece to half a teaspoonful[1] may be given daily for a fortnight, or a teaspoonful[1] to two tablespoonfuls of Dinneford’s fluid magnesia may be given every morning in a little milk. In some cases salad oil answers best, from half a teaspoonful to a tablespoonful[1] mixed daily with the food. In chronic cases a course of the following pills is useful:—

Recipe:

Divide into 12 pills—one to be given twice a day after food.

Consumption:

Symptoms: A rare disease in dogs. At first a dry cough, later becoming looser with expectoration of phlegm; wasting, though appetite may at first be fairly good; the patient gradually becoming very weak, and occasionally having diarrhœa. There is always present one or more degrees of fever, and the temperature is generally higher at night. If the phlegm be examined with a microscope the tubercle bacilli will be found if it is a case of consumption. In bad cases there is bleeding from the lungs, the blood coming as a rule through both nostrils.

Treatment: Seldom curable, but the best chances of a recovery are obtained by letting the dog live out of doors and giving cod-liver oil. Feed liberally, giving plenty of meat, also fish, milk, raw eggs, and cream.

The patient should be kept away from other dogs, and certainly should not be allowed to sleep in a room where there are people.

Convulsions in Puppies:

Symptoms: Young puppies, generally as the result of worms or during second dentition, often have convulsions. The immediate cause of the attack is generally due to excitement, more particularly on a hot day. The puppy, which may be apparently quite well, suddenly tumbles over on its side, kicks violently with its legs, champs the jaws, and froths at the mouth. In a minute it gets up, and looks about in a dazed manner; then, if not restrained, gallops off barking, not knowing where it is going. Sometimes one attack may follow another in quick succession until it dies from exhaustion.

Treatment: The puppy should be held to prevent it knocking itself about. (I may here remark that there is not the least danger from a bite of a dog when suffering from fits of any kind.) As soon as the puppy can swallow, a dose of the following mixture must be given:—

Recipe:

Dose: From a teaspoonful to a tablespoonful[1] to be given every two, three, or four hours, according to the severity of the symptoms. If the puppy is unable to swallow, double the quantity should be injected into the bowel, mixed with equal quantity of tepid water. In severe cases a hot bath is beneficial; also ice may be applied to the head. Keep the puppy in a dark room for some hours after the attack. To prevent a recurrence of the convulsions, treat puppy for worms. Feed on a milk diet for a few days.

Corns:

Horny elevations which form on the pads of the feet.

Treatment: They may be removed by cutting, or destroyed. The best way is by the application of a solution of chromic acid, one in four. It should be applied sparingly to the part with a glass rod about twice a week.

Coughs:

Symptoms: May arise from many causes; but a simple cough, the result of some irritation of the larynx caused by cold, is of a common occurrence during the winter and spring when the winds are cold.

Treatment: Give following mixture:—

Recipe:

Dose: From half a teaspoonful to a dessertspoonful three or four times a day.[1] When it is difficult to give a mixture, the following pills may be tried:—

Recipe:

Mix and divide into twelve pills, one to be given night and morning. A dose of aperient medicine should occasionally be given.

Cuts.

Symptoms: Division of structure, generally described as a solution of continuity; there is generally more or less bleeding.

Treatment: Thoroughly cleanse the cut with a warm solution of boracic acid, Condy’s fluid well diluted, or one per cent. solution of Pearson’s disinfectant fluid. Stop bleeding by applying pressure with fingers, or a pad of absorbent boracic wool, and bandage. When very severe, apply a ligature to the vessel above the part.

After cleaning the wound and stopping the bleeding, the edges of the cut should be brought together with a few stitches, about a sixth of an inch apart; a pad of some disinfectant gauze applied, also a bandage. If no swelling or discharge, the dressing need not be disturbed for about six days, when the stitches can be removed. Afterwards re-bandage for another day to protect the part from dog’s tongue.

Cystitis:

See Bladder, Irritable.

Cysts:

Symptoms: A sac containing fluid or semi-fluid substances, or even hair and other foreign substances. A form of cyst often seen in flap of the ear.

Treatment: Cysts can only be removed by cutting. In the case of the ear, it should be freely opened at the most depending part and a tube inserted, or at any rate the wound should be kept open for a few days, otherwise fluid will collect again. No other treatment required except keeping the parts clean. The dog must not wear a collar.

Dandruff (Scurf):

Symptoms: Dryness of the skin and hair, and the rising of branny greyish-white scales from the former, and mixing with the coat.

Treatment: As a rule, a thorough wash once a week, using a tar soap like Sherley’s shampoo, and putting a little borax in the rinsing water, with daily brushing of the coat, will effect a cure in mild cases; but in bad cases greasing the dog all over with some such preparation as the following is necessary:—

Recipe:

To be thoroughly worked into the skin twice a week, and after a few days washed off, using the soap mentioned. A course of arsenic is useful; give from one[1] to eight drops in water twice a day for two or three weeks, but it must be discontinued if it causes sickness or diarrhœa.

Deafness:

Symptoms: In many cases, especially in white dogs, as bull terriers, it may be congenital. In ordinary cases it is often due to an accumulation of hard wax, or from growths in the canal of the ear. In old dogs it may be due to thickening of the drum of the ear.

Treatment: When congenital it is incurable. If result of growths in the ear, these must be removed by operation. When caused by accumulation of hard wax, a little warm almond oil should be poured into the ear, and the next day the ear should be thoroughly syringed with five ounces of tepid water in which has been dissolved a scruple of carbonate of soda. When the deafness is due to a thickening of the drum of the ear, which is often seen in old dogs, there is nothing to be done.

Debility:

Symptoms: May be due to constitutional causes, as is often seen in highly-bred puppies, or it may result from severe illness, particularly after distemper. The pulse is quick and weak, loss of appetite, and disinclination for exercise, poor condition, and membranes pale.

Treatment: For puppies, Sherley’s chemical tablets answer well. When result of illness, the following tonic may be given:—

Recipe:

From half a teaspoonful to a tablespoonful[1] three times a day one hour before food.

Deformities, Congenital:

These are numerous in the dog. Inverted eyelids: puppies are sometimes born without eyes, squinting small eyes, eyelashes growing in. Hare lip, cleft palate, pig jaw, deformities of the feet and limbs: particularly the stifle joint, the patella being out of its place, and the leg contracted or drawn up. Deformities of the chest: this condition is common in Japs, but seems to do no harm. Puppies are sometimes born without tails; though a good feature in schipperke and bob-tail sheep dogs, one does not like to see a pug or a dachshund without a tail, and when he is good in all other points, it is disappointing. A screw tail is objectionable in all breeds except the bulldog, and some people object to it in these dogs. Absence of one or both testicles.

Treatment: Many cases of deformity may be remedied by operation, but in others there is nothing to be done. Inverted eyelids can be cured by operation, an elliptical piece of skin and also the muscle underneath being cut out immediately under the lower eyelid, when that one is affected, or immediately over the upper eyelid, if it is that one that is turned. The cutting is best done with curved scissors, and should extend nearly the whole length of the lid. As the wound made heals, it draws the lid out.

In-growing eyelashes must be plucked out with forceps from time to time. Very often as the puppy grows older and stronger, the lashes assume a normal position, and cease to be a trouble, but if they continue to turn in after the dog is twelve months old, a similar operation as for inverted eyelids is recommended, but in these latter cases it is not necessary to divide the muscle, but only the skin. Squinting may be cured by operation, but it is not recommended, as the defect does no harm, and with Japanese spaniels, who often squint, it rather adds to their quaintness.

In cases of unnatural small eyes, which often occur in fox terrier puppies, an operation is not of any use; but with time, it may be months, perhaps a year, the condition often improves. Matters are helped by giving the puppy affected something to stare at, as, for instance, placing his food for a time behind some railings, so that he can see it, but cannot get at it. Anything, in fact, that attracts attention, and causes the puppy to stare. A stuffed cat behind the railings does for a change, a lump of raw meat or a bone. Hare lip can be cured by operation, but in consequence of the position, it is difficult to keep the edges of divided lip together after sewing them, as the puppy will rub his nose on the ground if he has a chance, besides constantly licking at the stitches. The operation should not be undertaken before the puppy is three months old, and then just before operation a good square meal of meat should be given; this will take some time to digest, and will satisfy the puppy for a long while; at any rate, nothing more should be given for twenty-four hours, by which time the healing has made good progress, and for some days after the operation the puppy should be fed from the fingers, piece by piece, certainly no dish should be given for him to rub his nose in.

As to the operation, the edges of the split lip should be freely scarified, and also be loosened from the gum by cutting through the mucus membrane, then the two edges of the lip should be brought firmly together with pin sutures, and a few layers of collodion painted over the external part, and dusted over sparingly with powdered iodoform. It is not necessary to give chloroform for an operation of this kind, a few drops of a 4% solution of cocaine injected into each side of the divided lip is sufficient.

There is no cure for cleft palate, and a puppy born with this condition should be destroyed.

Pig jaw is incurable.

As to deformities affecting the feet, a dog may be born without toes, or with only two or three toes; in such cases, of course, nothing can be done, but sometimes there may be an extra toe. If a show dog, it spoils the appearance of his foot, and interferes with his gait, and so must be removed.

Dew-claws are not a deformity, but they are a useless appendage, and should be cut off close to the leg about three days after birth; if left they are a constant nuisance, either through being frequently broken, or torn off at the quick, or else turning and growing into the flesh, which causes a good deal of pain.

Nothing can be done for deformity of the stifle joint, it causes no pain, though it renders the leg useless; but if the subject is a bitch, and well bred, she may be kept for breeding purposes. A screwed tail may be remedied, if not too badly twisted, by breaking, setting it straight, and applying an adhesive bandage.

In cases of absence of one or both testicles in the scrotum, there is nothing to be done. A dog with both testicles absent is useless for getting stock, though he is able and will serve a bitch, but in cases where only one is missing, it does not prevent such a dog being useful for stud purposes.

Delirium:

Symptoms: Restlessness, constantly howling and barking. Dogs in this state lose flesh very rapidly. Delirium is seen in some bad cases of distemper.

Treatment: Unsatisfactory; bromide of strontia may be tried; from two[1] to sixteen grains in water three or four times a day. Ice bags should be applied to head.

Diet: Give easily digested food—as Benger’s with milk, kreochyle with water, and well-boiled tripe or fish, with rice or stale bread.

Destroy Dogs, How to:

There is no doubt that the quickest and most painless way of killing a dog is by shooting, providing it is done properly, and the man is a good shot and can be relied on. The best place to hit a dog is either behind the ear, or in the middle of the forehead; but there are many people who don’t like an old favourite destroyed in this way. Personally, I don’t like it. I consider a large dose of morphia, and then chloroform, is better. At any rate, it does not seem such a harsh way of taking an old favourite’s life.

To destroy a dog with morphia and chloroform, from half to two grains of acetate of morphia[1] should be injected under the skin; then after waiting until the dog is in a heavy sleep, chloroform should be slowly administered. It is necessary to do it very slowly indeed, or else the dog will wake up. In this case don’t place anything over the dog’s nose at first, but pour a trifle on a handkerchief or napkin, and hold it from six to eight inches away from the dog’s nose, then gradually get nearer and nearer until at last you cover the dog’s nose over with the cloth. The chloroform must be continued until the dog has stopped breathing for five minutes.

The administering of half[1] to a dram of prussic acid is also a very sudden and quick way of destroying a dog, but it is a debatable point whether this causes acute pain. At any rate, the dog invariably cries out loudly after it has been administered a few moments, and so he often does when going under the influence of chloroform. However, death by freshly prepared and strong prussic acid is very certain and sudden.

When administering this acid, one should be very careful never to stand in front of a dog, for if he coughs while it is in his mouth, and some goes into the eye of the person giving it, the consequences may be serious, as it is most deadly.