59 



THE NEW BOOK OF THE DOG. 



fever of the system and cause greater ex- 

 penditure of the much-needed nervous 

 force. Yet men, and especially women, 

 who have sick pet dogs will persist in 

 cramming them with spoonfuls of beef-tea 

 and doses of port wine. Such a silly prac- 

 tice tends to lead to a fatal termination to 

 the case. In all cases of severe illness let 



a skilled veterinary surgeon be called, and 

 if he be a. skilled one, and not a mere rule- 

 of-thumb man, he will give full directions 

 about food and nursing, and tell the owner 

 straight, as I do here, that these are more 

 important than medicine, which, after all, 

 is merely adjunctive, and never to be ad- 

 ministered haphazard. 



CHAPTER II. 



RULES FOR PRESCRIBING ADMINISTERING MEDICINES PREVENTION OF 

 DISEASE POISONS AND THEIR ANTIDOTES. 



THE medicines or drugs used in treating 

 the ailments of dogs need be but very few 

 and simple. Blind faith should never be 

 placed in medicine alone for the cure of 

 any ailment. If we can, first and foremost, 

 arrive at a correct knowledge of the nature 

 of the disease which we propose to allevi- 

 ate, there need not be much difficulty in 

 prescribing secundum artem; but medicine 

 alone is only half the battle, if even so 

 much ; for good nursing and attention to 

 the laws of hygiene, combined with a 

 judiciously-chosen diet, will often do more 

 to cure a sick dog than any medicine that 

 can be given. The following rules are 

 worth remembering : 



1. In prescribing medicines we should 

 rather err on the side of giving too little 

 than too much. 



2. A strong medicine should never be 

 prescribed if a milder one will suffice. 



3. The time at which medicines are given 

 ought to be well considered, and the vet- 

 erinary surgeon's orders in this respect 

 strictly obeyed ; if a drug is ordered at bed- 

 time, the dog should on no account be 

 allowed his freedom that night after the 

 administration of the dose. 



4. Age must be considered as well as 

 weight, and a young dog and a very old 

 dog require smaller doses. 



5. Mercury, strychnine in any form, 

 arsenic, and some other medicines require 

 extreme caution in their administration. 

 They should never be used by an amateur. 



6. Quack medicines should be avoided, 

 for many and obvious reasons. 



7. Never despair of a dog's restoration 

 to health ; he may begin to come round 

 when least expected. 



8. Cleanliness of all surroundings is 

 most essential to sick dogs ; so are gentle 

 warmth, fresh air, and perfect quiet. 



9. Be very careful in dividing the doses, 

 i.e. never guess at the quantity, but always 

 measure it. 



10. One word as to the quality of the 

 medicine prescribed. Expensive remedies, 

 such as quinine, etc., are greatly adulter- 

 ated. Get all articles, therefore, from a 

 respectable chemist. The best are cheapest 

 in the end. For example, never give to a 

 dog for how dainty and easily nauseated 

 his stomach is we all know the castor oil 

 usually administered to horses, nor ordinary 

 coarse cod liver oil, nor laudanum that has 

 been made with methylated spirit, nor any 

 medicine one would not take one's self. 



Of late years there has been a scarcity 

 of cod liver oil of a good quality almost 

 amounting to a famine, and it has conse- 

 quently been very much adulterated. At 

 the best this oil is now almost out of date, 

 and in a very large number of hospitals 

 Virol has taken its place. This is prepared 

 from the red marrow of the ox, and for 

 puppies that are not thriving, also for 

 leanness in dogs, and chronic chest com- 

 plaints of all kinds, as well as the hacking 

 cough of old dogs, I find it of very great 

 value indeed. Plasmon is also excellent. 



1 1 . Do not force a dog with medicine if 

 he is going on well without it ; recovery 

 must be slow to be safe. 



