388 The Management and Diseases of the Dog. 



around it should be cut off, so that it may not become 

 matted and form an obstruction to the discharge of pus ; 

 this will also facilitate the daily examination and treatment 

 of the wound. If the puncture be in the foot, and there is 

 reason to suppose a thorn or rusty nail has produced it, a 

 poultice is advisable, and the insertion occasionally of a 

 little caustic. It should never be allowed to heal unless- 

 the attendant is satisfied it is sound at the bottom ; other- 

 wise, as before observed, deep-seated abscess and sinuses 

 will result. 



When the opening is small, pus has accumulated, and the 

 swelling above extensive, it is better to enlarge the wound 

 with a scalpel, or lance, and inject it with warm water. 



Contused wounds are best, treated by poulticing and fo- 

 mentation ; if only slight, nature herself will effect a cure. 



Sloughing, more or less, may be expected if the wound 

 is more than superficial. When the injury extends to the 

 deeper-seated structures, and there is much extravasation 

 of blood, scarifying and repeated fomentations are indicated. 

 When the crushing has been so great that the textures un- 

 derneath the muscles and blood-vessels are ruptured, exten- 

 sive sloughing is sure to follow. Healing in such a case 

 takes place by granulation, and the reparation needed being 

 generally considerable, .caustic applications are more fre- 

 quently required, with daily cleansing, and the injection 

 from time to time of the stimulating liniment. 



Incised or torn cartilage is perhaps the most difficult 

 structure to unite, and its union, if accomphshed, is very 

 tardy. Thus ragged or slit- eared dogs are frequently seen. 

 An exceptional case of this description came under my 

 notice on the 24th of January, 1887: The subject, a 

 Dandle Dinmont terrier, the property of Cecil Kent, Esq.,. 

 St. Leonard's, had its ear seized on the evening of the date 

 named, by a bull terrier, and nearly detached in a cross- 

 wise direction from the head, the entire substance of the 

 flap being divided more than three-quarters of its breadth. 



