OVARIECTOMY IN THE BITCH 299 



necessitated preventive measures. Nevertheless, it being a 

 fact that veterinarians are occasionally called upon to per- 

 form this operation, its performance should not be permitted 

 to become a lost art. 



TECHNIQUE.— The sow is held on the left side by two 

 assistants, and the operator kneels at the back. An inci- 

 sion one and a half inches long is made in the flank in front 

 and a little below the external angle of the ilium. The skin 

 is incised and the fingers complete the perforation. The 

 index finger is passed backward over the fundus of the 

 bladder and hooks up the uterus, which is brought out 

 through the incision. The bifurcation is sought. and then 

 one of the cornue is pulled out hand over hand until it brings 

 out the ovary which is cut off. with a scissors. The cornue 

 is returned through the incision until the bifurcation is 

 reached again, and then the other one is brought out and 

 treated in the same manner. A single stitch completes the 

 operation. 



Ovariectomy in the Bitch. 



INDICATIONS. — The objects of averting pregnancy 

 arid oestrum in bitches is chiefly that of preventing them 

 from rniming about or engaging in obscene maneuvers dur- 

 ing the periods of oestrum, which seems to produce a greater 

 pschycological effect in bitches than other domestic females. 

 The spayed bitch is a much more desirable pet, a more faith- 

 ful watch dog and is much more reliable in the field than the 

 entire animal whose periodical concupiscence greatly dis- 

 tracts from her usefulness in the several capacities for which 

 the dog is utilized. To obtain the best general results the 

 operation should be performed before the bitch-pup has ar- 

 rived at puberty, because when the sexual impulses of bitches 

 have once developed strongly, it is by no means certain that 

 spaying will entirely destroy them. Although pregnancy is, 

 of course impossible, spayed bitches may quite frequently 

 consent to copulate at definite periods, precisely the same 

 as before ovariectomy had been performed, and this unex- 

 pected result can not always be traced to defective surgery, 

 since they have been observed by the author when all of the 

 ovaries and a part of each cornua had been removed. 



RESTRAINT. — The bitch to be spayed is tied by the 

 four legs in the dorsal recumbent position with the head de- 

 clining 15 to 20 degrees. A board or ladder supported 

 against a wall or fence at the proper incline has often been 

 utilized with good advantage in lieu of a properly appointed 



