AMPUTATION OF THE TAIL. I45 



administration of phosphate of lime in the form of Syr. Phos- 

 phat. Co. is beneficial. 



3. Gangrene, owing to severe injury to the principal vessels 

 or to the bandage having been put on too tightly or insuffici- 

 ently padded. A foetid, sickly smell from the bandaged leg 

 must always give rise to suspicion of this, and the bandage 

 should at once be removed. 



4. Septicaemia, especially in compound fractures. 

 Amputation of the Tail.— This is performed in full-grown 



dogs in a similar manner to that described for amputation of 

 a limb, the flap method giving the most successful results. 

 When performed at the root of the tail healing usually takes 

 place without much trouble, 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. In 

 amputating near the end, it is better to take the end of the 

 tail off at a joint rather than to go through one of the coccygeal 

 vertebrae. 



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; the tail itself may be ensheathed in a case of leather or 

 tin. The Elizabethan collar (Fig. 70) is also useful here. 



Very often, especially in large breeds, such as boarhounds 

 and St. Bernards, all methods adopted to preserve the tail are 

 unavailing, amputation at the root having to be resorted to 

 before healing can be effected. 



In puppies the operation is a very simple one, the tail merely 

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



days old. 



K 



