PREVENTION AND REMOVAL OF VERMIN. 25 



means of the sponge, and the towels will complete this part of the operation. When there is 

 no fear of his taking cold, the dog can be returned to his kennel, where it is desirable that 

 some clean straw should be provided for him. 



Dogs kept in the house should be washed once every week or ten days ; those out of 

 doors about every three weeks or a month in summer, and less frequently in the cold weather. 

 Washing is not so necessary where grooming is strictly attended to, but an occasional bath 

 benefits a dog considerably. Many persons use brown or soft soap, but in breeds which show 

 white this is objectionable, as it causes the coat to appear yellow after being used. 



VERMIN. 



If not properly attended to in the way of grooming and washing, all dogs are sure to be 

 pestered with vermin. The remedies for clearing them of such torments are very numerous, 

 but we have found the most ordinary means the most effective. Fleas can generally be got 

 rid of by rubbing the dog thoroughly over with oil, from the tip of his nose to the end of 

 his tail, and then washing him in water to which a little Condy's fluid or solution of 

 permanganate of potash has been added. The oil should be left on three or four hours, and 

 if thoroughly applied completely settles the fleas. Carbolic acid in the water and carbolic 

 soap are also efficacious, but a too constant application of such remedies is apt to injure the 

 dog's coat. Quassia chips are an excellent remedy in mild cases. Get two or three ounces 

 from a chemist, and steep in boiling water ; let them remain in it for some hours, and then 

 drain off the liquor into the water in which the dog is to be washed. 



Lice are very troublesome, and often will not yield to the above remedies. White 

 precipitate powder will invariably destroy them, but must be used very cautiously, or it will 

 poison the dogs. It should be applied dry to the coat, as if wet there is danger of the dog 

 being poisoned by absorbing it into his skin. The patient should be securely muzzled, as a 

 small dose in the mouth is sure to act fatally. The powder must be well brushed out with a dry 

 brush in one or two hours, and care must be taken that the dog does not get wet. 



Ticks are frequently found on the bodies of dogs which have been neglected, and are 

 most troublesome to cure. They burrow into the skin, and hold on most pertinaciously. White 

 precipitate powder has generally to be resorted to in order to get rid of them, and should be 

 applied as stated above. 



If the benches and bedding are not periodically cleaned and removed, vermin of some 

 sort or other are sure to make their appearance in the kennels with disastrous results. The 

 only remedy is a thorough purification ; the walls and partitions must be at once white or 

 lime washed, and the floor, benches, and iron-work well scrubbed, a good proportion of carbolic 

 acid or Condy's fluid being added to the water used for the purpose. If discovered in time, 

 and stringent measures are taken for their extermination, vermin soon disappear, but when 

 allowed time to settle down they soon spread all over the building and occupy every crack 

 in it. No time therefore should be lost in meeting their first appearance. On the other hand, 

 vermin are sometimes confounded with effects arising from heated blood ; and whenever a dog 

 seems uneasy, an owner should make thorough examination, and satisfy himself that it is really 

 vermin which cause the irritation. 



Vermin will very seldom appear in dogs which are well groomed, but they must occasionally 

 be communicated by means of dogs met in the streets, and especially at shows. An inspection 

 of all dogs on their return from exhibitions will therefore be oftentimes profitable, as by dis- 

 covering the presence of insects in good time a check on their advance can be made. 

 4 



