600 
tion, encourages worms, blackens the teeth, and 
causes fetid breath.” 
Symptoms.—The stools are hard, usually in 
large round balls, and defecation is accomplished 
with great difficulty, the animal often having to 
try several times before he succeeds in effecting 
the act, and this only after the most acute suffer- 
ing. The faeces are generally covered with white 
mucus, showing the heat and semi-dry condition 
of the gut. The stool is sometimes so dry as to 
fail to pieces like so much oatmeal. 
There is generally also a deficiency of bile in 
the motions, and, in addition to simple costive- 
ness, we have more or less loss of appetite, with 
a too pale tongue, dulness, and sleepiness, with 
slight redness of the conjunctiva. Sometimes con- 
stipation alternates with diarrhcea, the food being 
improperly commingled with the gastric and other 
juices, ferments, spoils, and becomes, instead of 
healthy blood-producing chyme, an irritant pur- 
gative. 
Treatment.—Hygienic treatment more than 
medicinal. Mild doses of castor-oil, compound 
rhubarb pill, or olive-oil, may at first be neces- 
sary. Sometimes an enema will be required if 
the medicine will not act. 
Plenty of exercise and a swim daily (with a 
good run after the swim), or instead of the swim 
a bucket bath—water thrown over the dog. 
The use of the morning bucket bath, first thing 
after the animal has been turned out, is much to 
be recommended, but care must be taken to dry 
well down afterwards. 
Give oatmeal, rather than flour or fine bread, as 
the staple of his diet, but a goodly allowance of 
meat is to be given as well, with cabbage or boiled 
liver, or even a portion of raw liver. Fresh air 
and exercise in the fields. You may give a bolus 
before dinner, such as the following : Compound 
rhubarb pill, 1 to 5 grains; quinine, % to 2 grains; 
extract of taraxacum, 7 to 10 grains. Mix. 
Claws.— The dew-claws give great trouble 
sometimes. They are really rudimentary claws, 
and are of little use nowadays, but much in the 
way. Whenever, therefore, they are not a show 
point, they should be got rid of when the puppy 
is young. In older dogs they may become too 
long, and be inflamed about the roots. They are 
easily cut with sharp scissors, then the root should’ 
be dressed with zinc ointment and bandaged, to 
prevent the dog’s interference. 
Cracks and Chaps.—Commonest on the feet. 
Perfect cleanliness is absolutely necessary. 
Condy’s fluid, or water reddened with perman- 
ganate of potash. The same treatment will do 
when on the bitch’s teats. Boracic lotion to all 
kinds of cracks. The animal needs cooling medi- 
cine or alteratives, such as are found in Spratts’ 
medicine chest. 
Cystitis. — This is the name given to inflamma- 
tion of the bladder. May be caused by irritant 
medicines given internally, or from cold. In bad 
cases a vet. should be called, as it may be stone 
or the passage of gravel into the urethra. 
THE NEW BOOK OF THE DOG. 
Symptoms.—The dog is anxious and excited. 
He pants, whines, and makes frequent efforts to 
pass his urine, which comes only in drops and 
driblets, while he cries out with the pain the 
effort gives him. His appetite fails him, he is 
feverish, and, if examined, the lower part of the 
belly will be found swollen and tender to the 
touch. Just after the dog has made a little water 
there is ease for a short time, but as soon as the 
urine collects the pain comes on again. Usually 
the bowels are affected, but they may simply 
be bound up, or there may be straining, and slight 
diarrhoea of a mucous character, sometimes stained 
with blood. 
Treatment.—If a small dog, a hot bath will be 
found to give great relief. In order to relieve 
pain and calm excitement, opium must be given 
in repeated small doses, and the bowels must on 
no account be neglected, but the rule is not to 
give any irritant purgative like aloes or black 
draught. However useful such aperients may be 
in some disorders and inflammations, they simply 
mean death in this. Small doses of castoc-oil 
may be given if they seem to be needed. 
N.B.—Diuretics are to be avoided, but a little 
cooling mixture of mindererus spirit, 1 drachm 
to 4 in camphor water, may be given every four 
hours. If the water cannot be passed and the 
belly is swollen, with moaning and evident dis- 
tress, a qualified veterinary surgeon should be 
called in, wh6é will no doubt pass the elastic 
catheter. The use of the catheter should be fol- 
lowed up with nice hot poppy fomentations, and a 
large linseed-meal poultice to the region of the 
abdomen, and an opium pill may now work 
wonders, or the morphia suppository of the Phar- 
macopeeia may be placed in the rectum. 
Food and Drink.--Food must be light, tasty, 
and easily digested, but rather low, especially at 
first. Drink: Milk demulcent, linseed-tea, bar- 
ley-water, etc. 
Dandruff.—A scaly or scurfy condition of the 
skin, with more or less of irritation. It is really 
a shedding of the scaly epidermis brought on by 
injudicious feeding or want of exercise as a 
primary cause. The dog, in cases of this kind, 
needs cooling medicines, such as small doses of 
the nitrate and chlorates of potash, perhaps less 
food. Bowels to be seen to by giving plenty of 
green food, with a morsel of sheep’s melt or raw 
liver occasionally. Wash about once in three 
weeks, a very little borax in the last water, say 
a drachm to a gallon. Use mild soap. If bald 
spots, treat for these. Vzde SKIN COMPLAINTS. 
Never use a very hard brush or sharp comb. Tar 
soap (Wright’s) may be tried. 
Deafness.— Sometimes congenital. In such 
cases it is incurable. Caused also by accumula- 
tion of wax in the ear; pour a few drops of warm 
oil in and move the ear gently about. In an 
hour’s time syringe out with warm water red- 
dened by the permanganate of potash. Deafness 
of old age cannot be cured. Beware of harsh 
treatment or advertised quack remedies. Attend 
