630 THE BOOK OF THE Doc. 



troubled with fleas, the powder should be introduced out of doors, not in, as the insects are more 

 often driven off than killed. 



Olive oil or warm castor oil may be used. If so, we must thoroughly soak the animal's 

 coat with the oil, and we have to take care he does not catch cold in the meantime. If we 

 soak the dog at night, we can wash him next morning. This process also will want repeating. 



Then there is a remedy which is better suited for long-haired dogs : we refer to the quassia 

 wash. With this the dog's body must be thoroughly wetted, and he may then be turned out 

 to shake himself and have a scamper. 



There are many other remedies, but we think we have named sufficient. Mr. Gamgee 

 recommends the oil of aniseed mixed with common oil. We have not tried it, but should think 

 it would do good. 



Carbolic acid and tobacco juice, to which we may add corrosive sublimate, are all fatal to 

 flea life, but may destroy the dog as well. 



Why is it that people find it so difficult to rid a dog of fleas ? We may keep on poisoning 

 the fleas and washing the dog, and a few days thereafter find he is as bad as ever. This is 

 the reason : he gets a new stock of fleas from the place he lies in, and fleas are wonderfully 

 prolific. The main point, then, is to give the dog a perfectly clean kennel. Change his bed from 

 straw to pine shavings, sprinkled with a little turps, and thoroughly clean out and disinfect his 

 kennel. We may also dust a little of the powdered pyrethrum flowers in the place where he lies. 

 You will thus get to the very root of the evil. 



2. Lice. 



There are two species of these troublesome insects found upon the dog the Trichodectes 

 Latus and the Haematopinis Piliferous. The latter is far from common, the former being the one 

 "ye usually see. 



The common dog louse is not unlike the head louse of mankind, but is not so large, more 

 squarely built, and of a light-grey or straw colour. They are found occasionally on the bodies 

 of all breeds of dogs, but mostly in long-haired animals like St. Bernards, Newfoundlands, 

 &c., who have been allowed to roam about wherever they list, and sleep out on dirty straw. 

 But lice do not seem to inconvenience those out-of-door dogs very much ; but let an in-door or 

 house dog catch a breed of the disgusting creatures, and you will find that they not only cause 

 very great distress to the poor animal, but that they are very difficult indeed to eradicate. 



On puppies, on the other hand, lice multiply very quickly indeed, and the agony the poor 

 things suffer is sometimes really pitiful to see. 



We have known a case of a black-and-tan English Terrier infested with lice, but, strange 

 to say, in this case they turned out to be not dog lice, but the Trichodectes Equi, or horse louse, 

 and it was afterwards found that this dog, which we bought from a coachman, was in the habit 

 of sleeping every night on the back of one of the horses. They did not seem to give him any 

 trouble, however, and were soon got rid of. 



The lice are hatched from nits, which we find clinging in rows, and very tenaciously too, to the 

 hairs. The insects themselves are more difficult to find, but they are in puppies sometimes in 

 millions ; in older dogs they are found about the back, the tail, the neck, behind the ears, and 

 in the face, and congregate around the teats of bitches. 



They do, contrary to the opinion of some, get upon human beings, and we have known 

 them remain there for days and create great annoyance. 



To destroy them we have tried everal plans. Oil is very effectual, and has safety to 



