572 DISEASES OF CATTLE, SHEEP, GOATS, ETC. 



or the drug may be fed in soup or milk, or in pills made up with 

 honey and meal or molasses and meal. 



The dog should be fed nothing but milk or left without food 

 the evening before the medicine is to be given. It is sometimes ad- 

 visaible to give one or two grains of calomel at this time. The next 

 morning administer the tapeworm medicine, but do not feed. Keep 

 the dog shut up or tied up. If tied, it is advisable that a long rope 

 be used, as some dogs object to defecating when tied with a short 

 rope. After a couple of hours administer three to four grains of 

 calomel, or one to two grains of podophyllin, or one to two drams of 

 jalap, or a tablespoonful of magnesium sulphate. The calomel or 

 podophyllin can be purchased in 1-grain pills of any druggist. 

 Castor oil, in doses of an ounce or so, may be used, but is not recom- 

 mended, for the reason that it appears in some cases to increase the 

 solubility of the tapeworm medicine, all of which medicines are 

 more or less poisonous, and so increases the likelihood of the medi- 

 cine being taken into the dog's system with harmful or even fatal 

 results. 



The feces and worms should be burned with hay or buried with 

 quicklime or sheep dip, as already advised. As has been noted, the 

 coyote probably carries the gid tapeworm. As the coyote can not 

 be treated for tapeworms and is a difficult animal to exterminate, it 

 is evident that the most important measure in the elimination of 

 gid is the destruction of the heads of giddy sheep. In order that 

 efforts at eradication may not be rendered ineffective through the 

 importation of dogs infected with the gid tapeworm, the Secretary 

 of Agriculture has issued an order, under date of November 25, 1910, 

 providing that collie, shepherd, or sheep dogs imported into the 

 United States be subjected to quarantine and inspection until the 

 presence or absence of infection with this tapeworm can be ascer- 

 tained. 



SUMMARY. 



Gid has occurred in Montana for over twenty years and causes 

 at times severe losses. It is usually confused with loco disease or 

 other diseases. The losses and the history of the disease here and 

 in Europe warrant prompt efforts at eradication. 



The gid parasite occurring as a bladderworm in the brain of 

 the sheep, is transmitted to dogs by the latter eating the heads and 

 brains of sheep dying in the last stages of gid. The heads on the 

 bladderworm develop into tapeworms in the intestines of the dog, 

 and the eggs formed by these tapeworms are passed onto the range 

 or pasture and taken up by sheep in their food or water. From these 

 eggs an embryo gets to the brain of the sheep and forms the gid 

 parasite. There is absolutely no evidence to show that this life his- 

 tory of the gid parasite is incorrect. 



The life cycle takes about a year for its completion and appears 

 to be closely related to weather conditions. The weather and the 

 nature of the forage appear to determine to some extent the amount 

 of infection. The symptoms of gid are very striking and readily 

 distinguishable in most cases. The eradication of gid is very easy. 



