MISCELLANEOUS 215 



continue without drugging or attempting to stimulate or create an artificial 

 appetite until such time as all is well again, and then the appetite will re- 

 turn naturally. The greatest fallacy that can be practiced is to resort to 

 drugs and tonics directly a dog is capricious about his food or eats less 

 heartily than usual. It is all very well to tempt the sick dog daily with 

 milk or a little raw, scraped beef and gelatine, but go no farther. It is a 

 mistake to force food upon a stomach that has no desire for it and surely 

 retards return to health. 



The dog has remarkable control over the muscles of the stomach. It 

 can vomit at will or by eating a little grass. Emptying the stomach re- 

 lieves the system of that which is inimical to it, preventing many attacks 

 of sickness and greatly protecting the digestive organs. Vomiting with 

 the dog, therefore, means but little, and is not a symptom of any par- 

 ticular disease, unless repeated violently at short intervals, when poisoning 

 is suggested. It is always well, however, to examine the character of the 

 vomit. If mixed with blood or yellowish slime, gastritis or inflammation 

 of the stomach is indicated. If mixed with bilious, yellowish matter, it is 

 probable that the liver is out of order. 



Straining to Urinate. — Foxterrier, suffers at times from some affection 

 of the bladder, trying to pass water with much straining. Appetite and 

 coat good, and does not seem indisposed otherwise. 



Answer. — Give 5 grains of nitrate of potash occasionally; allow a lim- 

 ited quantity of boiled water, with 10 drops of dilute hydrochloric acid once 

 a day. 



Lump on Groin. — Black spaniel has a lump on the groins like a cherry. 

 Can I have it cut off? Is it a cancer? 



Answer. — The growth is best removed by ligature. Tie a piece of strong 

 silk tightly round, and renew once a week till it breaks away. 



Sulphur, Proper Use of. — Sulphur is a very excellent thing, probably 

 the finest blood purifier that exists, but it is insoluble as sulphur, and 

 such well meaning people as use it in that form might just as well soak 

 a stone, a lump of coal, or, being millionaires and inclined that way, a 

 diamond, for any good it will do the animal for which it is intended. If 

 you want to give it you can take a leaf out of the nurse's book and go in 

 for brimstone and treacle, or use the same in the form of a pill, or bolus, 

 with other things, such as cream of tartar, or merely sprinkle flowers of 

 sulphur in the water so that when drinking the dog laps some of it up. 



By all of these means the sulphur is received into the system and a 

 portion absorbed, which is all that was wanted. 



Milk, Proper Use of. — Milk is very beneficial and nutricious in combi- 

 nation with different forms of food, has also certain drawbacks. Given 

 alone not only is it frequently an indubitable cause of worms, but, should 

 the bitch's stomach be at all upset, will turn acid and provide the puppies 

 with diarrhoea, indigestion and all sorts of enjoyable aids to the relief of 

 monotony. Consequently, under any circumstances, it is well to previously 

 boil it for some minutes, the addition of one-third lime water is to be 

 advised. A much safer concoction is a fairly strong solution of Nestle's 

 preparation which does not contain the ova of intestinal parasites, and may 

 be trusted not to go sour even during a self-respecting thunderstorm. 



Ulcers on the Tongue — This painful condition when met with in the 

 dog is usually the result of neglect, the teeth being allowed to accumulate 

 tartar. The ulcers may be due to rough or decayed teeth as well as to a 

 disordered stomach, the latter being a frequent cause. In the latter case 

 aperients must be administered, and a plain diet be furnished, and in mod- 

 erate quantities, when, as the condition of the stomach improves, the ulcers 

 will disappear. If tartar is present, it must be removed by scaling, and the 

 teeth afterwards gone over with an ordinary tooth-brush dipped into weak 

 listerine. Any decayed teeth must be extracted. The ulcers themselevs 

 should be slightly touched with nitrate of silver 



Milk for Weaning Puppies — I have some greyhound puppies I am wean- 

 ing. I don't want to use cow's milk. Is there any way of making a mixture 

 that will give a milk equal to the bitch's milk? Ans. — Yes. Add to 15 



