DISEASES.J 



THE DOa, AND ITS VAEIETIES; 



^DISEASES. 



way or another, valuable servants. No one, 

 we presume, will suppose that the instiuctive 

 propensities implanted by nature in the shep- 

 herd's Colley, could make it, not a destroyer, 

 but a preserver of sheep. On the contrary, this 

 dog, like every other, is carnivorous, and nature 

 intends it to destroy and devour. But educa- 

 tion has supplanted instinct, to a certain point, 

 and implanted a disposition which has become 

 an hereditary characteristic, and hence a 

 Colley of the true breed takes to its duties 



naturally. But a shepherd's dog could not, 

 delicate as its sense of smell is, be brought to 

 take the place of the pointer in the field, even 

 though it were subjected to training from the 

 earliest age ; nor, on the other hand, could a 

 pointer be substituted with equal advantage 

 for a shepherd's dog, ds the assistant of the 

 drover. Each is civilised, but in a difterent 

 style ; and education has impressed upon each 

 a different bent of mind, and a different class 

 of propensities. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



DISEASES OF THE DOG. 



The diseases to which dogs are subject are 

 numerous, and their treatment various. In 

 the highly artificial state in wliich they are 

 forced to exist, in order to serve the purposes 

 of man, they require the utmost attention, 

 especially such as are kept to assist in the 

 sports of the field and the forest. These, like 

 the race-horse and the hunter, require what is 

 technically called " conditioning" before they 

 are fit for use. Colonel Cook observes, that 

 he lost three of his best dogs, wholly by 

 inattention to their state in this particular, 

 which caused him afterwards to pay double 

 attention to that most material point — condi- 

 tion. " A dog, to be in condition, should be 

 neither too fat nor too thin. His ribs should be 

 visible, and the flanks moderately hollow; 

 but the loins must be well filled up in 

 a dog in perfect condition. AVhen dogs 

 exhibit general fulness and too much flesh," 

 observes Colonel Cook, " commence by physic 

 and a regular course of exercise, which should 

 be mild at first, but increased until it is 

 severe. Avoid too great a privation of food, 

 otherwise the conditioning process will be 

 retarded." As a general rule, hounds, grey- 

 hounds, pointers, setters, spaniels, and all 

 sporting dogs, require to be put into a proper 

 state for their work. They must be co}i- 

 dilioned, by either lightening their bodies of 

 472 



flesh, or hardening that flesh to such a degree 

 as to give firmness to its whole texture. 



The physic necessary for this purpose is 

 variously formed. " Julap," says Mr. Blaine, 

 " is a favourite purge with some sportsmen ; 

 but it is uncertain in its action. Gamboge is 

 very drastic. The submuriate of mercury 

 (calomel) is likewise very irregular in its 

 action on dogs. "We have known eight grains 

 fail to open the bowels of even a small one ; 

 while, on the contrary, we have, ourselves, seen 

 a pointer totally poisoned by ten grains. It 

 forms, however, a useful auxiliary to purga- 

 tives in doses of three or four grains ; and, as 

 it not unfrequently acts upon the stomach, so 

 it may be used with advantage as an emetic in 

 some cases, particularly in conjunction with 

 tartarised antimony (tartar emetic). When, 

 therefore, a purgative is brought up again in 

 which calomel was a component part, it may 

 be suspected to arise from this source ; and if 

 it be necessary to repeat the purge, the mer- 

 cury should be omitted. Epsom salts are 

 used in some kennels; but they are bulky; 

 and if attempted to be given in the food, are 

 often refused. Syrup of buckthorn has long 

 been a favourite purge with dog-fanciers. 

 Mr. Beckford recommends it, but mixes with 

 it sulphur and antimony, in the proportions of 

 two pounds of sulphur, one pound of crude 



