348 CANINE AND FELINE SURGERY 



By Kennel Club Rules the tails of dogs of the following breeds may be 

 shortened without the animals being rendered liable to disqualification : 



' Spaniels (except Irish Water), Fox Terriers, Irish Terriers, Welsh 

 Terriers, Airedale Terriers, Old English Sheep-dogs, Poodles, Toy Spaniels, 

 Yorkshire Terriers, Schipperkes, Griffon Bruxellois, or such varieties of 

 foreign dogs as the Committee may from time to time determine.' 



Operation. — In puppies this is very simple, the tail merely 

 being snipped off with a pair of scissors when they are a few 

 days old. Special forceps or blunted nippers can also be got 

 which draw the tendons from under the coccygeal surface, 

 and so cause the animal to carry its tail higher. The 

 old-fashioned method of performing this was by biting the 

 tail off with the teeth. 



In full-grown dogs it is performed in a similar manner to 

 that described for amputation of a limb (see p. 341), the 

 flap method giving the most successful results. When per- 

 formed antiseptically at the root of the tail, healing usually 

 takes place by primary union ; but when performed near the 

 extremity, the healing process is apt to be very slow, and 

 much retarded by the action of the animal in licking or biting 

 the parts', or by banging the tail against the walls, floor, etc. 

 It is better to amputate at a joint rather than to go through 

 one of the coccygeal bones. 



After-treatment. — With adult dogs of the larger breeds, in 

 order to prevent undue irritation by the tail being banged 

 against the external surroundings, the patient should be tied 

 to the centre of a rope placed across the middle of a loose- 

 box or large room, sufficient length of rope being allowed 

 for the animal to lie down without its being able to reach 

 the hind quarters. Another plan adopted is to place a strap 

 round the loins or ribs, and another round the neck, a stick 

 being firmly fixed between the two in such a way that the 

 body cannot be bent, or the tail itself may be ensheathed in 

 a case of leather or tin. The Elizabethan collar (Fig. 27) 

 is also useful here. 



Very often, especially in large breeds, such as boarhounds 



