HO DISEASES 



back-yard, and thrives best upon the poor chained-up brute that is more 

 human than his owner who keeps him chained there'. In a word, filth ia 

 the soil on which alone the sarcoptic parasite can thrive. 



"A dog with ordinary skin irritation, developing into redness and 

 rash, has acquired that in one of two ways. Either he has an hereditary 

 predisposition to skin complaint (and here let it be said that this heredi- 

 tary predisposition is a very common fact, and is due undoubtedly in a 

 great measure to the in-breeding which has been carried on to a greater or 

 less extent in all breeds) or else he is suffering from impurity in the blood 

 which may be clue to over-feeding or liver complaint or want of sufficient 

 exercise or any one of a dozen other things. If the former be the case it is 

 by no means probable that a cure will be effected, and the most important 

 thing that can be done is in the direction of preventing the disease from 

 being handed down to other generations. If it is intended to breed from 

 the dog it should be mated with the newest blood possible — that is to say 

 with an animal having a very different pedigree from its own. The disease 

 is certain to reappear even after the dog has been apparently cured. A 

 ^hange of diet or of weather will always be liable to precipitate a fresh 

 attack." 



The following treatise on mange was written by Dalziel, and to it your 

 attention is called. A very able handling of the subject: 



Sarcoptic Mange — The mite producing this most nearly resembles the 

 itch-mite of man, and as it is propagated by eggs, and transmitted by 

 contact, direct or indirect, there seems nothing impossible in the idea of 

 stamping out this chief "enemy to the comfort of a brave spaniel," if only 

 we could get every clog owner to be careful and clean. There is much virtue 

 in an "if;" but at least we can learn from the facts about the mange-mite 

 that we need not harbor it in our own kennels, and by stamping it out 

 there, lessen it generally. Dirt unquestionably harbors and encourages 

 mange, although it does not produce it; left undisturbed by cleansing pro- 

 cesses, the pests breed and multiply with great rapidity. 



When the mite reaches the dog, it burrows into the skin; the pro- 

 cess, and also a poisonous fluid discharged by the creature, causes intol- 

 erable itching, and to relieve this the dog scratches, with the result that 

 the skin is broken, small red points appear, and these become pustular 

 and discharge a fluid which dries or crusts and forms a scab; the hair 

 falls off. The multiplication of the original cause of the evil is rapid, and, 

 left unchecked, the whole surface of the body soon becomes involved, 

 while the poor dog is an object of pity, and from want of rest and other 

 causes sinks into a helpless condition. This state is often called virulent 

 or scabby mange, and presents many of the characteristics of Blotch. The 

 skin is harsh, dry, and rough, until small pimples appear, when therefrom 

 oozes a purulent matter, forming scabs, which mat the hair together, and 

 bring it off in patches as the dog rubs or scratches himself. The back, 

 breast, and inside of the thighs are generally the first places attacked, and 

 every crease and wrinkle in the skin becomes inflamed and moist with the 

 irritating discharge. If the disease is left unchecked, it soon extends over 

 the whole body, reducing the dog to a deplorable condition, disgusting to 

 all who see him and intolerable to himself. These are severe and extreme 

 eases. In others a dry, scurfy mange exists, marked by little red spots, 



