186 DOGS : THEIR MANAGEMENT. 



dog's mouth is frequently a torture to the beast, and a 

 nuisance to all about it. The teeth grow black from an 

 incrustation of tartar ; the insides of the lips ulcerate ; the 

 gums bleed at the slightest touch, and the breath stinks 

 most intolerably. The dog will not eat, and sometimes 

 is afraid even to drink ; the throat is sore, and saliva 

 dribbles from the mouth ; the animal loses flesh, and is a 

 picture of misery. 



When such is the case, the cure must be undertaken 

 with all regard to the dog's condition ; harm only will 

 follow brutality or haste. The animal must be humored, 

 and the business must be got through little by little. In 

 some very bad cases of this description I have had no 

 less than three visits before my patient was entirely 

 cleansed. At the first sitting I examine the mouth, and 

 with a small probe seek for every remnant of a stump, 

 trying the firmness of every remaining tooth. All that 

 are quite looso are extracted first, and then the stumps 

 are drawn, the gums being lanced where it is necessary. 

 This over, I employ a weak solution of the chloride of 

 zinc a grain to an ounce of sweetened water as a lotion, 

 and send the dog home, ordering the mouth, gums, teeth, 

 and lips to be well washed with it, at least three times in 

 the course of a day. In four days the animal is brought 

 to me again, and then I scale the teeth with instruments 

 similar to those employed by the human dentist, only of 

 a small size. The dog resists this operation more stoutly 

 than it generally does the extraction, and patience is im- 

 perative. The operation will be the more quickly got 

 over by taking time, and exerting firmness without 



