OBESITY. 263 



2. Albumin is a factor in the formation of fat in the animal, 

 while carbonaceous substances are very easily digested, and pre- 

 vent a disintegration of reabsorbed fat which comes directly out 

 of the food and favors its accumulation. 



3. Hydrate of carbon and fat may act as substitutes, so that an 

 animal eating albumin and fat, or albumin and carbon hydrate, 

 may become fat. 



4. A purely fat or hydrate of carbon diet cannot sustain the 

 body for any length of time. In the first case it gains fat but loses 

 flesh; in the latter it loses flesh and also fat. A pure lime-diet is 

 also insufficient, although it has been demonstrated that lime may 

 replace to a certain extent albuminous substances in the food. 



5. A dog can be iiept in this abnormal fat condition when fed 

 on lean meat or when he is given large quantities of fat (one- 

 twentieth to one-twenty-fifth of his own weight daily) ; but if a fat 

 dog receives less meat than the quantity mentioned above, he will 

 lose flesh. 



From the above indications it will be seen that, besides medical 

 treatment, we have two ways of reducing obesity: 



1. By reducing the quantity of fat. 2. By feeding with lean 

 meat. The choice of the method employed is left to the practi- 

 tioner. The author's experience has been that both are practica- 

 ble, and must be applied according to circumstances. As a rule, 

 the first method should be tried, as it generally corresponds with 

 the owner's ideas. The animal should be weighed from time to 

 time, as this is the only way in which we may ascertain whether 

 the treatment is producing the desired effect. 



The animal must also be exercised regularly, as muscular exer- 

 cise increases the destruction and use of fat in the body. It 

 also increases the heart-action, the heart-muscles thus becoming 

 strengthened and the circulation improved. 



A method employed by a number of practitioners is similar to 

 that followed in man, viz., suppressing- as much as possible the 

 use of all fluids. This, however, is hardly practicable in dogs, 

 as the only fluid they drink, as a rule, is water, and, if this treat- 

 ment is carried to any extent, it is actual cruelty. The pilocar- 

 pine treatment might be useful. According to experiments made 

 by various authors, subcutaneous injections of pilocarpine were 

 found to produce good effects (0.006 of pilocarpine daily); but 



