192 The Management and Diseases af the Dog, 



CANKER (Internal). 

 Internal canker is most generally seen in water dogs. 

 Youatt observes: "When the whole of the body, except 

 the head and ears, is surrounded by cold water, there will 

 be an unusual determination of blood to those parts, and 

 consequent distension of the vessels, and a predisposition 

 to inflammation." With this author I quite agree. 



Again, water being continually lodged in the ear, and 

 remaining there, is in itself a source of irritation, and cal- 

 culated to produce canker. Allowing dirty suds to remain 

 after washing, is an especially fruitful cause both of canker 

 and deafness. 



Internal canker, if neglected, is very much more disastrous 

 than the external form. The disease will extend to the 

 internal bones of the ear, and cause the most maddening 

 pain ; or it may, and often does, without these ravages, 

 .result in deafness, in which case treatment for the latter is 

 generally hopeless. 



Symptoms. — The membrane lining the passage, as far as 

 can be seen, is red and inilamed, and the root of the flap 

 hot and tender. There is the same disposition to shake the 

 head and scratch the ears as in the external canker. The 

 patient is depressed, often disinclined to feed, probably 

 owing to the increase of pain through the movement of the 

 jaws in mastication. As the disease proceeds, an offensive, 

 dark-coloured discharge issues from the passage of the ear, 

 the itching becomes intolerable, and the animal in his 

 misery rolls about, rubs his ears along the ground, frantically 

 scratches at them, and utters pitiful cries. Occasionally the 

 cervical glands are swollen, and the sides of the face 

 considerably tumefied. 



Treatment. — This is of the same character as that 

 prescribed for the fprmer, only differing in its mode of 

 application. The ear should be syringed (not too power- 

 fully) with warm water, and whatever lotions are used must 

 be poured into the ear, applied with a feather, or some 



