596 



THE NEW BOOK OF THE DOG. 



Liver, boiled or raw, to keep bowels just gently 

 open. Bovril if much weakness, and a little port 

 wine. Milk, cream, eggs, raw meat. 



Anaesthetics. I mention but to condemn, except 

 in the hands of a skilled vet., who will put a dog 

 under chloroform or ether before performing dan- 

 gerous operations. But dogs bear pain well when 

 they know it is for their good. I have opened 

 abscesses in large Mastiffs, and cut off toes from 

 Setters, without chloroform, and the dops sub- 

 milted cheerfully to after-dressing. 



Anus, Inflamed Glands of. The dog may be 

 in actual pain, or there may be only itching, and 

 he sits down to rub himself along the grass or 

 floor, or he frequently bites or licks under his 

 tail. May be caused by PILES, which see. 



Treatment. Examine the part, and if a boggy 

 abscess, incision whh clean lance and dressing 

 with carbolic lotion (any chemist). If deep wound 

 remains plug with sterilised lint, and dress with 

 oxide of zinc ointment. 



Anus Prolapsed. Most common in puppies 

 suffering from diarrhcea. It is a protrusion of the 

 lower part of the bowel, which may be swollen 

 and painful. 



Treatment. Wash in warm water with a pinch 

 of borax in it. Return after applying a little 

 vaseline, zinc ointment. If it keeps protruding, 

 the only thing to do is to get a vet., because an 

 operation may be necessary. 



Appetite, Loss of. Vide INDIGESTION or DYS- 

 PEPSIA. 



Asthma. Symptoms : Distressed breathing com- 

 ing on in spasms. In the dog it is nearly always 

 the result of careless treatment, especially if the 

 animal has been allowed to get too fat. A 

 skilled vet. should examine the lungs and heart. 

 Lower the diet. Be careful in exercise. Aperient 

 medicines. Avoid all starchy foods and dainties. 

 Vide OBESITY. 



Back, Stiffness of. May be the result of 

 chronic rheumatism in old dogs or of lumbago, 

 or injury as if from blows. A stimulating lini- 

 ment of ammonia and turpentine will do good in 

 any case, but rest is the best cure. No violent 

 exercise must be encouraged, and a soft bed is to 

 be given at night. Massage if the case continues 

 a long time. 



Balanitis. Vide GENITAL ORGANS. 



Bald Spots. If caused by eczema, rub in very 

 sparingly a little green iodide of mercury. Wash 

 next day and dress daily with Zam-Buk, an ele- 

 gant preparation for the skin troubles of valuable 

 or valued pets. 



Biliousness. Vomiting in the morning, after 

 eating grass, of frothy yellow bile. Bad appetite, 

 hot nose and mouth. 



Treatment. Castor oil first, then keeping of 

 the bowels open by bile of liver. If loathing of 

 food, from eighth of a grain to one grain of 

 quinine in pill, mixed up with extract of taraxa 

 cum. Vide LIVER and JAUNDICE. 



Bites. See WOUNDS. 



Bladder, Irritability of. Frequent micturi- 

 tion, much straining if there be stone in the blad- 

 der, passing of a little blood in last portion of 

 urine voided. A case for the vet., as a careful 

 diagnosis is necessary to treatment. Patent barley 

 water to drink, with or without a little beef tea. 

 Milk and milk puddings. Liver as an aperient. 

 Steeped Spratt's Invalid biscuits, with a little 

 gravy or Bovril. Moderate exercise. 



Blain. See To.NGUE. 



Blotch or Surfeit. Vide MANGE or ECZEMA. 



Boils. A dog who has these is in bad form or 

 diseased. May be caused by general weakness, 

 by worms, or may come as a sequel to DISTEMPER, 

 which see. 



These are similar to the well-known boils of 

 the human being, and appear in the dog where the 

 skin is thinnest. They are very painful, and 

 make the dog cross. Common in distemper or 

 among young puppies. They indicate in older 

 dogs foulness or over-richness of the blood. Re- 

 form the diet scale. Give more green food, the 

 bath, and exercise. Foment with hot water to 

 bring to a head, or poultice. Early incision when 

 they are soft. Antiseptic dressing. 



Bones, Dislocation of. By dislocation is 

 meant the displacement from their normal posi- 

 tion of the joint ends of bones. The signs of dis- 

 location of a joint are : A change in the shape 

 of it, the end of the bone being felt in a new posi- 

 tion, and impaired motion and stiffness. This 

 immobility of the joint and the absence of any 

 grating sound, as of the ends of broken bones 

 rubbing against each other, guide us in our diag- 

 nosis between fracture and dislocation, though it 

 must not be forgotten that the two are sometimes 

 combined. 



Treatment. Try by means as skilful as you 

 possess to pull and work the joint 'back again 

 into its proper position, while an assistant holds 

 the socket of the joint firmly and steadily. It is 

 the best plan, however, to call in skilled assist- 

 ance. Do this at once, for the difficulty of effect- 

 ing reduction increases every hour. Only a care- 

 ful study of the anatomy of the dog enables one 

 successfully to reduce dislocations; the assistance 

 of a good veterinary surgeon should therefore be 

 always called in. 



After the bone has been returned to its place, let 

 the dog have plenty of rest, and use cold lotions 

 to the joint to avert the danger of inflammation. 



Bones, Fractures of. By a fracture surgeons 

 mean the solution of continuity between some 

 parts of a bone a broken bone, in other words. 



Fractures are called simple when the bone is 

 only broken in one place, and there is no wound; 

 compound or open when there is a wound as 

 well as the fracture and communicating there- 

 with ; and comminuted when the bone is smashed 

 into several fragments. 



The usual cause of a fracture is direct or in- 

 direct violence. 



The diagnosis is generally simple enough. We 

 have the disfigurement, the displacement, the pre- 



