Teeth] 2 99 [Teeth 



necessary in very old dogs to remove all the 

 teeth ; and when the food is given soft, and cut 

 up small, they appear to do very well without 

 them, and their breath is certainly a good deal 

 sweeter. 



Occasionally an abscess forms at the root of 

 the large upper molar tooth ; the face swells 

 just under the eye. The abscess, after a few 

 days, generally breaks. The swelling should be 

 fomented with hot boracic lotion, but to effect 

 a cure, the tooth must be removed. It is a 

 difficult one to extract unless it is loose, 

 and no amateur should attempt to do it. An 

 anaesthetic ought always to be given. 



Teeth, Cutting the Tusks : It is sometimes 

 necessary with sheep dogs, dogs used for catching 

 deer, and dogs in the habit of biting and fighting, 

 to cut the tusks level with the incisor teeth. 

 This is best done with a pair of strong bone or 

 wire nippers. The operation apparently causes 

 very little inconvenience or pain, for the dog is 

 always ready to eat immediately afterwards. 



Teeth, Tartar on the : 



Symptoms : Dogs always fed on soft food and 

 never having anything hard to eat, get their teeth 

 covered with brown-coloured tartar early in life, 

 even sometimes before two years old. If this is not 

 from time to time removed, it continues to increase, 

 until at last the whole tooth becomes thickly en- 

 crusted, and to such an extent, in old pet dogs 

 particularly, that the mouth is unable to be closed. 

 As the result of the tartar, the gums become swollen, 

 inflamed, and tender ; they recede from the neck 



