CHAPTER III. 

 CASTRATION AND SPAYING. 



I. Castration. 



1. The best time to castrate a dog is when he is young, 

 although it may be. done at any age. 



2. The operation should be performed as follows: Roll 

 the dog in a blanket, turning his front legs back and his 

 hind legs forward so as to catch them in the blanket, and 

 have him held on his back with his hind end stuck out of the 

 blanket enough to get at the bag. Take hold of the testicle 

 with your left hand, and with a sharp knife in your right, let 

 out the testicle by making a cut in the bag large enough to 

 let it out. Separate the covering which is attached to the 

 back part of the testicle with your knife ; as soon as this is 

 cut draw the testicle well up, and if a young dog cut the 

 cord off with a scissors, which will stop the bleeding, but if 

 an old dog, tie the cord tight with a piece of strong string, 

 leaving the ends long enough so that they hang out of the 

 bag. Cut the testicle off about one-half an inch below where 

 it is tied. Operate on the other testicle in the same way, fill 

 the holes with salty butter and let him go. 



II. Spaying. 



The operation of spaying consists of removing the ovaries 

 from the bitch to prevent her coming in heat and becoming 

 with pup. 



1. The best time to operate is at the age of from six to 

 nine months, just before she comes in heat the first time. It 

 may, however, be done at any time. We have even per- 

 formed the operation upon a pregnant bitch without injury. 

 When performed during pregnancy she is liable to lose her 

 pups. In any case it is better that she be thin. * 



2. Prepare her for the operation by feeding only milk 

 for twenty-four hours before commencing. 



3. The instruments required are a sharp knife, a sewing 

 needle and string (such as is ordinarily used for wounds), a 

 probe (made of a piece of wire about eight inches long, 

 rounded on one end to prevent injury when passed into the 



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