Your Dog and Your Cat 



packs or poultices will hasten the development of 

 the abscess. 



Dislocations. — In the dog the shoulder and elbow 

 joints of the front leg and the stifle and hip joints 

 of the hind leg are most subject to dislocation. This 

 is brought about by a fall, jumping, slipping, or 

 from a blow. Unless the dislocation is reduced 

 within a comparatively short time, the tissues be- 

 come so swollen and the ligaments so tense that it 

 is practically impossible to reset the leg without 

 causing injury to the tissues. To prevent swell- 

 ing before the doctor arrives, the parts should 

 be covered with swabs on which cold water is fre- 

 quently poured. 



Fractures. — ^Although fractures may occur in any 

 bone in the body, they are most frequently seen in 

 the leg. Broken bones result from falls, blows, and 

 automobile accidents. Strange as it may seem, they 

 result more frequently from short falls, such as 

 from a chair, than from a second or third story 

 window. The bones of the pelvis are frequently 

 crushed when the dog is run down by an automobile. 

 With such an accident there is always danger of 

 a rupture of a blood vessel with an internal hem- 

 orrhage. Fractures are recognized by the great 

 pain resulting from movement of the parts, limp- 

 ness, and inability to stand. Sometimes a noise can 

 be heard or felt, due to the scraping of the broken 

 ends of the bone. A temporary bandage is first 

 loosely applied to remain until the swelling sub- 



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