46 A MANUAL OF TOY DOGS 



to a veterinary surgeon, who dressed him all over with 

 mercurial ointment. The improvement in his condition 

 continued for about three months, when it was discovered 

 that he ate with difficulty. His mouth being examined, 

 the teeth, previously sound, were found to be like so 

 much dark, yellow-brown leather, and the gums sore. 

 The next development was in the form of a cancerous 

 growth in the posterior nares, and so the poor animal 

 died, a victim to a cruel " fake," for which the surgeon 

 had obtained the credit of a cure. Such cases are not 

 at all uncommon. 



Dental Caries, such as affects our own teeth when 

 they decay and have to be stopped, occasionally, though 

 luckily not often, distresses dogs. They may bruise the 

 dental pulp inside a tooth by biting very hard on a bone, 

 or by playing too roughly, and more especially by 

 carrying stones, a very bad practice. The only thing 

 to be done is generally to extract the tooth under 

 chloroform, since it is difficult to find dog-dentists who 

 will stop a decayed tooth. A dog with toothache, rubbing 

 his face on the ground and crying, is a pitiable sight. 



Abscesses between or on the Toes are a form of 

 eczema, and should be treated constitutionally, as sug- 

 gested under the heading of Anaemia, eczema's usual 

 cause. Dogs will worry these sores, and must be pre- 

 vented from doing so by having the foot encased in a sock 

 made of strong washed calico, tied round the leg with 

 tape. Before putting on the sock, dress the sore with 

 iodoform powder or zinc ointment. 



Docking Puppies. Being docked is not an ailment 

 nor an illness, but as a very sad conclusion may be put 

 to a valuable pup's life by the operation caielessly 

 performed, it is as well to say a word about it. Docking 

 should never be left until the eyes open and the nervous 

 system is fully organized. At such an age it is a piece 

 of gross cruelty and the risk of haemorrhage is enormously 

 increased. Unless puppies are very weakly, they 



