106 General Management of the Dog. 
the puppy will take it readily enough, and no drenching 
is required ; but care should be taken that the quality is 
good, and that the oil is not the rank stuff sometimes 
used in kennels of sporting dogs. The compound rhu- 
barb pill may be given by opening the mouth with the 
left hand, and then dropping in the pill. It must be 
boldly pushed well down the throat as far as the finger 
will reach, no danger being risked in effecting this simple 
process. If the liver is not acting (which may be known 
by the absence of the natural gingerbread colour of the 
evacutions), from half a grain to a grain of blue pill may 
be added to either dose, and repeated if necessary every 
day or every other day till the desired effect is produced. 
Very young puppies should not be washed even in the 
summer season, as they are very liable to chill. After 
they are three months old, however, a bath of warm 
water, with or without soap, will do good rather than 
harm, provided that care be taken to dry them well 
afterwards. For white dogs, white soap is required to 
give full effect to this operation; and it may be either 
curd or white soft soap, whichever is preferred, the latter 
being most effective in cleaning the coat. Long-haired 
dogs, such as spaniels, the Maltese and Skye terriers, 
require combing and brushing until they are dry, which ~ 
should be done in the winter before a fire; and in the 
latter breeds the coat should be parted down the back 
with the comb in the most regular manner. If the hair 
has become matted, a long soaking will be necessary, the 
comb being used while the part of the dog submitted to 
its teeth is kept under water, which will greatly facilitate 
the unrolling of the tangled fibres. After the coat is dry, 
where great brilliancy is demanded, a very slight dressing 
of hair-oil may be allowed occasionally ; but the brush is 
the best polisher, and when “ elbow-grease ” is not spared, 
a better effect will be produced than by bear’s grease at 
half-a-crown a pot. 
With the exception of fleas, pet dogs ought never to be 
infested with any vermin. Sometimes, however, they 
catch from others either lice or the ticks which infest 
the canine race. The appearance of the first two parasites 
