CHAPTER XX 



FRACTURES AND DISLOCATIONS 



Fractures 



Hounds, like every other variety of dog, not uncom- 

 monly suffer from various injuries to their bones and 

 joints, more especially fractures of the long bones 

 of the limbs. Broken bones in puppies unite more 

 readily than in adult dogs, and in the middle-aged 

 quicker than in old dogs. It may be accepted as a 

 practical truth that nearly every injury, the result 

 of direct or indirect force appHed to the bones of 

 the vertebral or spinal column, is either at once fatal 

 or subsequently proves so, so that the deduction is 

 when a hound receives a severe spinal injury the most 

 economical method is to have it as speedily as pos- 

 sible put out of existence. One of the commonest 

 methods of injury occurs through the animal being 

 run over either with a vehicle or motor-car, but as 

 a rule, in the latter case, death is instantaneous. 

 Spinal injuries are often difficult to determine, and 



if there is any doubt it is better to give the animal 



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