58 
SECTION 
CANINE MEDICINE 
) 
VIII. 
AND SURGERY. 
BY W. GORDON STABLES, M.D., C.M., R.N. 
CHAPEER L 
DIAGNOSIS AND SOME SIMPLE REMEDIES. 
Y aim and object in the following 
M pages is to describe, in plain and 
simple language, the various 
diseases to which the dog is subject, their 
causes, their signs and symptoms, the 
course these run, and the most rational 
method of conducting them to a successful 
termination. 
I have arranged the various diseases, 
accidents, and other maladies in alpha- 
betical order, so that the reader may have 
no difficulty in referring to any one of them 
at a moment’s notice. The work, there- 
fore, is a sort of A B C guide to the ail- 
ments of the dog. But I earnestly advise 
every owner of a dog or dogs to read care- 
fully and leisurely this preliminary chapter. 
By studying the probable causes of any 
given malady, we gain an insight into the 
laws that regulate the health of the animal, 
and good may thus be done, on the prin- 
ciple that prevention is better than cure. 
But I do not consider it expedient to bur- 
den the reader with a description of the 
anatomy of any particular organ, further 
than is necessary for a clear understanding 
of the nature of the malady or accident; 
nor with more of physiology and pathology 
than is barely requisite to the elucidation 
of the plan of treatment adopted. 
Very nearly, if not quite all the numer- 
ous ailments that canine flesh is heir to 
will be found described in brief. The 
diagnosis of the disease is given wherever 
necessary, that is, in all cases where there 
are two or more ailments which somewhat 
resemble each other, though the treatment 
required may be different. It is an easy 
matter for anyone who is in the habit of 
being among dogs to tell when one of them 
is ill, but often a difficult matter to tell what 
74+ 
is the matter with him. The state of health 
is the dog’s normal and natural condition, 
in which there is freedom from pain and 
sickness, and the proper performance of 
every vital function, without either dulness 
or irritability of temper. 
Diagnosis.—As the natural standard of 
health varies somewhat in every dog, the 
owner of one is often better able at first to 
know when something is wrong than even 
a veterinary surgeon. The bright, clear 
eye of a healthy dog, the wet, cold, black 
nose, the active movements, the glossy coat, 
the excellent appetite, and the gaze, half 
saucy, half independent, but wholly loving, 
combine to form a condition which only the 
owners of dogs know how to appreciate 
fully. But nearly all this is altered in ill- 
ness; and to treat a dog at haphazard, with- 
out first taking all possible care to discover 
what is really the matter, is cruel. 
The first thing we must try to find out 
is whether he is in any pain. For this pur- 
pose, if the case be difficult, he should 
be examined carefully all over, beginning 
with the mouth, gently opening the jaws, 
feeling along the neck, down the spine, 
and down each limb, inside and outside; 
then, having laid him on his back, we ought 
to examine the chest and abdomen well, 
especially the latter, which should be gently 
kneaded. Sometimes a hardness will be 
found in the intestines, which, coupled with 
existing constipation, may be enough to 
account for the animal’s illness, and the 
removal of this state of system is at least 
one step in the right direction. By such 
an examination any swelling or tumour, 
bruise or fracture, will be readily dis- 
covered. The dog ought now be made to 
walk about a little, talked to kindly, and 
