SIMPLE REMEDIES. 



589 



from one teaspoonful to one ounce. Exer- 

 cise (moderate) and a non-stimulating diet 

 will soon make matters straight. 



Headache. — Dogs frequently suffer from 

 headache. The symptoms are dulness, 

 quietness, slight injection of the eye, and 

 heat on the top of the head. Bathe the 

 head for a quarter of an hour at the time 

 with cold water. Give in the morning a 

 dose of Epsom salts, with a little spirits 

 of nitre. Give sulphur, a small dose, half 

 a drachm to three drachms, every second 

 night ; reduce the diet, and let the dog 

 have abundance of fresh air. 



Simple Catarrh succumbs readily to a 

 dose of mindererus spirit at night, or to a 

 dose of Dover's powder. Foment the fore- 

 head and nose frequently with hot water. 

 Give Epsom salts, with a little spirits of 

 nitre, in the morning, adding thereto from 

 one to six grains of quinine. Light diet. 



Simple Constipation is relieved by the 

 bucket bath every morning, or a quarter of 

 an hour's swim before breakfast. A piece 

 of raw liver is a good aperient. Opening 

 the bowels is not curing constipation. 

 The cause must be sought for and removed. 

 Plenty of exercise and a non-binding diet 

 will do much good. 



Simple Skin Diseases usuallv yield to 

 application of the home-made lotion, com- 

 posed of one part of paraffin, two parts of 

 salad oil, mixed with sufficient powdered 

 sulphur to form a cream. 



Pain. — Pain is inseparable from animal 

 life, but much can be done to relieve it. 

 No one except a professional man ought to 

 handle such powerful narcotics as opium 

 and its preparations, but there are other 

 means which anyone can apply. The 

 warm bath (not hot) is an excellent remedy 

 for little dogs. Then we have hot fomenta- 

 tions. These are used thus : Have two 

 pieces of flannel, each large enough to well 

 cover the part. The flannel must be three 

 or four ply. Wring each piece, time about, 

 out of water as hot as the hand will bear 

 it, and apply to the seat of pain; keep on 

 fomenting for half an hour at a time. This 

 is best suited for short-haired dogs. For 

 long-haired there is nothing better than 

 the bag of hot sand, or ironing with a 

 heated iron, if there is no skin tenderness. 



Chloral hvdrate is seldom to be given to 



produce sleep, or allay internal pain, with- 

 out the orders of a skilled veterinary sur- 

 geon ; but in cases of rheumatism, or great 

 pain from injury, such as broken bones, 

 etc., a little mav be given. The dose is 

 from five grains to twenty or thirty. 



The hydropathic belt often does much 

 good. It is used thus : A bandage is to 

 be wrimg out of cold water and wound 

 several times round the animal's body — 

 the hair being previously wetted — and then 

 covered with a dry bandage, or oiled silk 

 may be placed over the wet bandage. It 

 must, however, be kept wet. This, worn 

 for a day or two, is found useful in cases 

 of chronic or sub-acute bowel disorder, 

 whether diarrhoea or constipation. 



Two grains of powdered alum to an 

 ounce of water is a nice little wash for sore 

 eyes. Drop a little in night and morning. 

 Cold green tea infusion is another. 



Tincture of arnica half an oimce, one 

 ounce of brandy, and a tumblerful of cold 

 water make a soothing wash for sprains or 

 bruises from blows. 



When the skin is not off, turpentine acts 

 like a charm to a burn. 



Quinine and Virol are capital restoratives 

 when a dog is thin and out of sorts. 



Examples might be multiplied, but 

 enough has been said to prove that simple 

 remedies are not always to be despised. 



So valuable an animal as the dog de- 

 serves all the care and attention we can give 

 him when ill. It is not possible to cure 

 every case, but in the very worst cases 

 there is one thing that can always be done 

 — we can alleviate suffering. 



It is well to conclude this chapter with a 

 warning to over-anxious owners of dogs. 

 These are generally very tender and affec- 

 tionate masters or mistresses, but make ex- 

 ceedingly bad nurses. The practice I wish 

 to mention, and at the same time to con- 

 demn, is that of recklessly dosing a sick 

 dog with nutriment when he has no inclina- 

 tion but probably a loathing for food. It 

 is impossible for anything forced into the 

 stomach at such a time to do the slightest 

 good, because it remains undigested; but it 

 will do much harm bv acting like a foreign 

 bodv in the stomach, and at such a time, 

 if nature makes an attempt to assimilate 

 such nourishment, it will be added to the 



