CASTRATION OF THE BITCH 223 



that the}' arc unable to perform the act properly, or there may be partial 

 loss of erectile power in the corpus cavernosum and the dog does not hold 

 long enough, for the sperm to be secreted and it is ejaculated after they 

 separate. 



Therapeutics. — If there are any pathological alterations they should 

 either be alleviated or the case may be such as to be impossible to alle- 

 viate, or we may administer an aphrodisiac to the animal for some time 

 previous to the time the animal is to serve the bitch. Tincture of can- 

 tharides 2 to 10 drops once or twice daily in wine or barley water or hydro- 

 chlorate of yohimbin two or three times daily, a fourth to a half tablet 

 which contains 0.01 in solution of acacia. In the bitch yohimbin should 

 be administered for five days and then the bitch is put with another bitch 

 in heat, this as a rule, produces sexual excitement in ten days. If ster- 

 ility is due to acidity of the secretion of the vaginal mucous membrane, 

 irrigations of alkalines are advised such as carbonate of soda, 1 per cent, 

 bicarbonate of soda 2 to '3 per cent. 



Excessive Venereal Excitement. Satyriasis and Nymphomania. — 

 This may occur as a result of certain diseases of the genital organs, but 

 frequently occurs in the male, from unknown causes, (see also priapismus). 

 Venereal excitement is a common thing in male dogs, their actions, in 

 play or in excitement all tend toward stimulation of the sexual act, and 

 frequently dogs learn to practice onanism, gradually becoming emaciated, 

 accompanied by dulness of the senses, weakness or loss of sexual power, 

 and frequently, partial or complete paralysis. 



Therapeutics. — If the venereal excitement is not due to any patho- 

 logical alteration of the genital organs, the animal should be kept on low 

 diet, very little meat, and the administration of saline laxatives, and the 

 salts of bromide of soda or potassium, and if these methods fail, resort to 

 castration. 



Castration of the Bitch {Ovariotomy). 



This operation is generally performed to avoid the trouble that 

 owners have when a bitch is in " heat," and also tends to make them good 

 quiet house clogs. The operation is a very simple one and not attended 

 by any great danger if the proper antiseptic rules are followed, provided 

 the animal is not too fat, pregnant or in ''heat" at the time of operation, 

 or there are no tumors of the ovaries, that by either greatly increasing the 

 size of the ovary or adhering to the adjacent tissues interfere with their 

 removal. Xormally the ovaries are small, elongated, somewhat irregular 

 bodies about the size of a small bean, lying posterior to the kidney and 

 cncapsuled in a pouch and generally surrounded by fat. The operation is 

 either performed through the flank or on the linea alba, while the animal is 



