ABC GUIDE TO CANINE AILMENTS. 



6og 



or four times. To do any good, the whole of the 

 dog's coat must be drenched in oil, and the dog 

 washed with good dog soap and warm water 

 twelve hours afterwards. 



Hunting recommends, to kill lice and fleas, a 

 solution of soft soap in spirits of wine, medicated 

 with creosote in the proportion of one ounce to a 

 pound of the soap. It is very effectual. You 

 pour a portion of it along the spine and down 

 the legs and thighs, work it into a lather with 

 warm water, and well work it all over the coat. 

 Then wash clean, and give a bucket-bath of soft 

 water. 



Liver. See Sluggish Liver and Hepatitis ; also 

 Jaundice. 



Lock-jaw (technical term Tetanus). — We sel- 

 dom meet with this, but it is a most terrible com- 

 plaint, often called rabies by the ignorant. I 

 question the utility of forcing the jaws open. 

 Sedatives, such as hydrate of chloral, 2 to 12 

 grains, with 5 to 30 grains of bromide of potassium, 

 in plenty of water, may be given thrice daily. 

 Liquid nourishment only, beef tea, eggs, milk, and 

 Bovril. Send for skilled vet. 



Lumbago. — Pain, stiffness, semi-loss of power in 

 hind legs. Stimulating embrocations, ammonia 

 and turpentine, application of hot iron over 

 flannel. Bandage to be worn. Otherwise treated 

 as for rheumatism. 



Mange. — -Not a very happy term used to denote 

 many kinds of disease of the skin of the dog. 

 It is no doubt derived from the French manger, 

 to eat. Vets, of the old school and gamekeepers 

 use it most. It will be found described in the 

 paragraphs on Skin Diseases. 



Medicines. — I have already mentioned this at 

 page 591, but I may add here medicine must 

 always take a second place to the proper manage- 

 ment of cases, as of sickness with regard to (i) 

 rest, (2) quiet, (3) light and sunshine, (4) warmth 

 or cold, (5) fresh air, (6) the sick bed or bedding, 

 (7) appropriate food, and (8) proper drink. It 

 should be the aim and object of all medical men, 

 whether doctors or veterinary surgeons, to teach 

 those who do not know how to prevent illnesses, 

 and this will undoubtedly be the practice in the 

 future. 



Though not holding with the doctrine of 

 homoeopathy and infinitesimal doses, or the 

 similia siiiiilibiis curaiititr, small doses are cer- 

 tainly less dangerous 'than big ones. 



Really good dog-doctors are scarce, and it is 

 always best if advice is needed to have a regularly 

 qualified veterinary surgeon, and if he is worth 

 his salt he will explain to the owner of the dog the 

 physiology and pathology of the case and his plan 

 of treatment, with its why and its wherefore. 



The veterinary surgeon is, however, not always 

 at hand, especially in the country or at sea. It is 

 therefore obligatory on all who keep a dog to 

 know when to physic him, what to give him, 

 and where to get it. I have therefore considered 

 it my duty to give in my supplementary chapter, 

 page 6if), a complete description of the Doo's 



Medicine Cupboard, and what it should contain, 

 with several hints that will, I trust, be found 

 handy. 



Meningitis, or Inflammation of the Brain, 

 is a disease we find sometimes among puppies, 

 especially if over-fed and excited by too much 

 exercise in the sun. It may be caused by worms 

 as well as the poison of distemper. 



Symptoms. — Fits, convulsions, whining or 

 moaning, great heat of head, and a rise in the 

 temperature of several degrees. 



Treatment. — On correct diagnosis this entirely 

 depends, so that, although opening medicine and 

 salines in the form of nitrate and chlorate of 

 potash in the drinking water should be given by 

 the owner, he should seek the assistance of a 

 skilled vet. as quickly as possible. If one cannot 

 be had, keep the animal in a quiet, cool, dark- 

 ened apartment, and give only the lightest of 

 nourishment, milk, beef-tea, milk and ef^g mix- 

 ture, etc., and put ice to the head for fifteen 

 minutes at a time. 



Milk Troubles. Vide Lactation. 



Mouth, Ailments of. — The mouth of the dog is 

 one of the most important portions of his anatomy, 

 important to himself and to his owner as well. 

 Nature has not given hands to the dog whereby 

 he can form weapons of defence, but has pro- 

 vided him with splendid teeth in lieu thereof. 



Like the human being, he is furnished during 

 his lifetime with two sets of teeth. The first — 

 the milk teeth — are all cut within a fortnight after 

 the birth of the puppy. They are exceedingly 

 beautiful and very fragile. They begin to fall 

 out and be replaced in the following order : First 

 the front teeth or incisors go (this in from a month 

 to seven weeks), and soon after the second, third, 

 and fourth molars fall out, and in a few months 

 the other molars follow suit; so that in from 

 five to six or eight months the milk teeth are 

 replaced by the permanent. These latter are 

 forty-two in number, twenty-two occupying the 

 lower and twenty the upper jaw. The following 

 is the correct formula as given by the highest 

 authorities ; — 



Upper jaw. — Incisors, 6; Fangs, i — i ; \ 



Molars, 6 — 6 = 20 | 



Lower jaw. — Incisors, 6; Fangs, i — i ; ( 



Molars, 7 — 7 = 22 ' 



42. 



In most breeds of dogs the teeth are level, that 

 is, the incisors of the two jaws meet when the 

 mouth is closed, so that you cannot insert youf 

 finger-nail behind either row. But some breeds of 

 dogs are underhung, and in some the upper jaw- 

 projects. The four middle incisors are called the 

 pincers, the next four at each side of these the 

 intermediates, and the last four flanking these 

 molars. 



The teeth of the young dog, and, indeed, of 

 any dog that has been properly cared for and 

 correctly fed, are beautifully white and pearly, 

 one reason for this being that the crown, or ex- 



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