52 The Management and Diseases of the Dog. 
pleasurable companionship of the dog as they are to man- 
kind. Unfortunately, however, in our canine friends these 
useful agents are liable to become decayed, and the once 
nursed pet is, by the foetor of his breath, rendered offensive 
and ordered to a distance. 
Decayed teeth are the cause of many diseases, especially 
of the mouth and digestive organs. Painful swellings, 
abscesses and sinuses of the cheek, structural changes in the 
jaw-bone—leading to tumour, laceration of the tongue, 
canker, constitutional irritation, indigestion, and intestinal 
disease. 
There can be no doubt that the dog at times is a martyr 
to toothache, the slobbering manner in which he partakes 
of his food, and often his refusal to do so, with the head 
held on one side, denote this to the observant eye. 
Decayed teeth are dependent, to a great extent, upon the 
system of feeding (see ‘‘ Feeding”). They should at all 
times be removed. Occasionally hemorrhage will follow 
extraction. In such a case a little cotton wool steeped in 
tincture of myrrh, iron, or solution of alum, and packed in 
the cavity, will have the desired effect of arresting it. 
TARTAR. 
The deposit of tartar on the teeth is likewise prejudicial 
to health, and is usually the result of injudicious feeding and 
gastric derangement. 
The accumulation, especially in aged dogs, is often very 
considerable. In consequence of the irritation produced on 
the gums, they become congested, swollen, and spongy, the 
teeth loosen and decay, the breath is disgustingly foetid, and 
constitutional disease follows such a condition if long main- 
tained. Teeth so affected should be “scaled,” and after- 
wards brushed with soap and water and a little charcoal, 
or a few drops of simple tincture of myrrh. . 
The reception of deposit may frequently be prevented, by 
allowing the animal occasionally large bones to gnaw. 
