DISEASES 59 



has a fairly good appetitte, but is bothered with diarrhea. His passages 

 are very thin and very offensive. The puppy tries to do something quite 

 often, and then walks all over the kennel yard and passes a few drops only. 

 At the first stage of the distemper I doctored him for worms and took many 

 from him. For the last five or six weeks I have fed him on eggs and milk, 

 boiled together, with a few crackers in each mess. The diarrhea seems to 

 hold him back so he don't get fat as he should. The answer was to give 

 the dog the following, and, if necessary, to repeat the dose: 



Chalk 5 grains 



Laudanum 5 grains 



Ether 5 drops 



Mix and give in soup or milk; continue same feeding and to also give dry, 

 well-browned toast soaked in meat broths or meat gravy made with flour 

 in it. Understand that the above prescription was for one dose. 



Dislocations. — It is much the safest and best plan in such cases to at 

 once summon the veterinarian, and not trust to yourself, as the veretin- 

 arian's knowledge of anatomy and experience in operations of this kind 

 enables him to perform it more readily, and with the least pain possible 

 to the dog. If you are situated so that you cannot secure the veterinary, 

 first examine and determine in what direction the bone is parted from its 

 socket; for instance, in dislocation of the hip, the head of the thigh bone 

 is generally carried upwards and backwards, this being apparent to the 

 eye, as the injured side is thereby made higher and can readily be felt. 

 Have an assistant to hold the dog around the loins steady in one position, 

 while you take hold of the dislocated limb above the stifle joint, which will 

 retract the thigh bone downward and forward. In similar operations you 

 must be guided by the same principle. Rest will be needed for the pa- 

 tient, and violent exercise must not be allowed for some time. There is 

 always a disposition to a repetition of a dislocation. 



Dropsy. — This is an unnatural accumulation, of water in different parts 

 of the body, as in water on the brain, dropsy of the chest, dropsy of the 

 skin, and dropsy of the belly; and it is the last-named to which the dog 

 is most liable. Dropsy is generally, if not always, the result of some other 

 debilitating disease, and especially of inflammatory disorders; but it may 

 be brought on by unsuitable diet, or by the abuse of drastic purgatives. 

 With the development of shows a new danger has sprung up, as dogs are 

 too often kept on their benches to the suppression of the discharge of thf' 

 excretions, which is a recognized caused of inducing dropsy. Dropsy of the 

 belly need not in the bitch be mistaken for pregnacy, for in the latter 

 the teats enlarge with the belly, which is altogether firmer, and does not 

 droop until just before whelping, while the puppies can be felt through the 

 abdominal walls. In dropsy the belly is more pendulous and baggy, the 

 back is arched, and the water moves readily under pressure; the dropsical 

 animal, too, is generally poor in flesh and harsh in coat. The medicines 

 principally employed in dropsy are iodine, iron and other mineral tonics, 



