THE DOG 



71 



they eat nothing but abnormal substances, 

 such as splinters, stones, leather, and straw. 

 The presence of such matters without other 

 food in the stomach of a dog, together with 

 other symptoms of rabies, indicates the true 

 disease. That infected animals have a horror of 

 water is a popular delusion, as is also the belief 

 that the dog days in August cause the poor 

 creature's madness. The dog days are as- 

 tronomically related to the dog star Sirius, 

 which has its full brilliancy on the 23d of 

 August and following days, when it 

 rises and sets with the sun, 

 consequently in the hottest 

 part of the summer. The 

 Romans called those 

 days dies caniciilans ; 

 and the summer 

 holidays of the 

 schools were for- 

 merly called /r/'/w- 

 c anic 11 1 a res, in 

 which the dog is 

 named without any 

 mention of madness. 



Inflammation of 

 the eyes, most fre 

 quent in summer and 

 caused by dust and heat 

 is a less serious trouble, which 

 is successfully dealt with by purg- 

 ing the animal and bathing the eyes 

 with bora.x water, keeping them clean 

 and dry. After cleaning them with 

 warm soap and water, a salve made of ten parts 

 vaseline to one part boric acid should be spread 

 on the inflamed parts. The animal must then 

 wear a sort of linen cap (to prevent him from 

 shaking his ears) and be fed on liquid food. 



Skin diseases, by which nearly all dogs are 

 tormented, are very annoying and some of 

 them are contagious. An e.xpert often finds 

 difficulty in diagnosing a case by aid of the 

 microscope, on account of the infinite number 

 of different parasites that may have caused the 

 disease and will certainly aggravate it. There- 

 fore, as soon as an eruption appears, and red 

 spots or even little pimples are seen, especially 



on the abdomen, the breast, or the pit of the 

 fore legs, send immediately for the veterinarian, 

 and while waiting for him appl\' a wash of creolin 

 diluted with much water, — a five per cent solu- 

 tion. E.xcellent remedies against the mange are 

 now to be had, salves that have cured very 

 virulent eruptions. Therefore it is best not 

 to give up hope too soon, though a dog thus 

 afflicted is horrible to see. 



Dogs also suffer from toothache ; therefore, 

 strange as it may seem, it is a good plan to 

 inspect and clean their teeth thoroughly 

 from time to time. The worms 

 with which all dogs are tor- 

 mented are easily driven 

 ut by a vermifuge, 

 especially if they are 

 solitary worms. The 

 case is more serious 

 when it concerns 

 the tania ccliino- 

 coccHS (tapeworm), 

 which can be con- 

 veyed to human 

 beings. F"or this 

 reason, wherever 

 dogs are kept, the fol- 

 lowing precept should 

 be rigorously enforced : 

 Never use the plates, dishes, 

 etc., which a dog has licked with- 

 out carefully cleansing them ; never 

 allow him to lick the face of any one, 

 especially a child, and wash your 

 hands at once if they have happened to come 

 in contact with a dog's saliva. It is unnecessary, 

 as in all other helminthic cases, to say. Remem- 

 ber our advice, send for the veterinarian. 



If the disease is incurable, or if the dog is 

 too old to move about, put an end to his 

 sufferings. Let whoever loves his dog give 

 him a quick and easy death if life becomes a 

 burden to him. 



Surgical operations can sometimes be per- 

 formed successfully, veterinary science having 

 attained a degree of development which must 

 be to the benefit of the dog as well as to that 

 of other animals. But when all remedies are 



)UT AFTER 

 .LNESS 



