590 
fever of the system and cause greater ex- 
penditure of the much-needed nervous 
force. Yet men, and especially women, 
who have sick pet dogs will persist in 
cramming them with spoonfuls of beef-tea 
and doses of port wine. Such a silly prac- 
tice tends to lead to a fatal termination to 
the case. In all cases of severe illness let 
THE NEW BOOK OF THE DOG. 
a skilled veterinary surgeon be called, and 
if he be a skilled one, and not a mere rule- 
of-thumb man, he will give full directions 
about food and nursing, and tell the owner 
straight, as I do here, that these are more 
important than medicine, which, after all, 
is merely adjunctive, and never to be ad- 
ministered haphazard. 
CHAPTER II. 
RULES FOR PRESCRIBING—ADMINISTERING MEDICINES—PREVENTION OF 
DISEASE—POISONS AND THEIR ANTIDOTES. 
Tue medicines or drugs used in treating 
the ailments of dogs need be but very few 
and simple. Blind faith should never be 
placed in medicine alone for the cure of 
any ailment. If we can, first and foremost, 
arrive at a correct knowledge of the nature 
of the disease which we propose to allevi- 
ate, there need not be much difficulty in 
prescribing secundum artem; but medicine 
alone is only half the battle, if even so 
much; for good nursing and attention to 
the laws of hygiene, combined with a 
judiciously-chosen diet, will often do more 
to cure a sick dog than any medicine that 
can be given. The following rules are 
worth remembering :— 
1. In prescribing medicines we should 
rather err on the side of giving too little 
than too much. 
2. A strong medicine should never be 
prescribed if a milder one will suffice. 
3. The time at which medicines are given 
ought to be well considered, and the vet- 
erinary surgeon’s orders in this respect 
strictly obeyed; if a drug is ordered at bed- 
time, the dog should on no account be 
allowed his freedom that night after the 
administration of the dose. 
4. Age must be considered as well as 
weight, and a young dog and a very old 
dog require smaller doses. 
5. Mercury, strychnine in any form, 
arsenic, and some other medicines require 
extreme caution in their administration. 
They should never be used by an amateur. 
6. Quack medicines should be avoided, 
for many and obvious reasons. 
7. Never despair of a dog’s restoration 
to health; he may begin to come round 
when least expected. 
8. Cleanliness of all surroundings is 
most essential to sick dogs; so are gentle 
warmth, fresh air, and perfect quiet. 
9. Be very careful in dividing the doses, 
i.e. never guess at the quantity, but always 
measure it. 
10. One word as to the quality of the 
medicine prescribed. Expensive remedies, 
such as quinine, etc., are greatly adulter- 
ated. Get all articles, therefore, from a 
respectable chemist. The best are cheapest 
in the end. For example, never give to a 
dog—for how dainty and easily nauseated 
his stomach is we all know—the castor oil 
usually administered to horses, nor ordinary 
coarse cod liver oil, nor laudanum that has 
been made with methylated spirit, nor any 
medicine one would not take one’s self. 
Of late years there has been a scarcity 
of cod liver oil of a good quality almost 
amounting to a famine, and it has conse- 
quently been very much adulterated. At 
the best this oil is now almost out of date, 
and in a very large number of hospitals 
Virol has taken its place. This is prepared 
from the red marrow of the ox, and for 
puppies that are not thriving, also for 
leanness in dogs, and chronic chest com- 
plaints of all kinds, as well as the hacking 
cough of old dogs, I find it of very great 
value indeed. Plasmon is also excellent. 
11. Do not force a dog with medicine if 
he is going on well without it; recovery 
must be slow to be safe. 
