DOGS. 113 



When medicine can be conveyed in food or drink, it is of course 

 the easiest plan of administering it. 



The dog should not see the prepared food, neither should the 

 first morsel contain it. The suspicious pet should taste the 

 appetising morsel and find it all right, and take the medicament 

 in a subsequent one. Dogs soon leam to count, and the 

 programme should be varied each time. 



Giving fluid medicines is the most difficult ; and having 

 decided on the drug to be given, the pharmaceutical chemist 

 should be consulted as to its most concentrated form. The 

 tabloid has taken the place of the nauseous tincture, infusion, 

 and decoction in human practice ; and the amateur does well to 

 avail himself of these aids. 



If a liquid is the only agent in which the medicament can 

 be conveyed the dog should be held up and his cheek pursed 

 out to make a funnel for the fluid to run into. The teeth 

 should not be forced open. The nose may be slightly pinched, 

 but it is only a question of firmness and a little time, before the 

 dog swallows it. 



Powders are the most convenient form in which to administer 

 medicines. Place the left hand over the patient's face, press 

 the finger and thumb on the lips and squeeze them against the 

 teeth. The dog opens his mouth when he feels this gentle 

 pressure, and the operator has only to throw the powder on the 

 tongue. 



Pills are difficult only to the timid person who does not push 

 his finger far enough up the animal's mouth, so as to get the 

 bolus beyond recall. There is no danger of being bitten, if the 

 upper lips are held over the edges of the top teeth. 



Giving a clyster or enema. If the patient is not alarmed by 

 rough and clumsy hands he will submit to this operation readily. 



The tail should be firmly grasped with the left hand, the 

 instrumxcnt (previously oiled) introduced slowly, not forcing the 

 sphincter muscles but tiring them until they yield. The india- 

 rubber ball syringe (Higginson's) is the best for the purpose, as 

 it leaves one hand free. 



