CHOBKA— ISFLAMMATIOM Or THE CLAWS. 41 



dog will sometimes suddenly drop one of the Umbs from the hip 

 joint, apparently from sudden loss of power or command over the 

 guiding muscles. The weakness is strongly shown when the dog 

 attempts to jump on to a chair or the lap, which he faUs to do, and 

 generally falls helplessly on his side, "aU of a heap." few, if any 

 dogs severely afflicted with chorea get completely cured. 



When the attack is but slight, the dog may Uve for years, and 

 prove a useful animal, as, except in severe oases, it does not seem 

 greatly to impair the general health. The constant twitching is, 

 however, so annoying to most people, that few would care to keep a 

 dog thus afflicted. 



Although dogs carefully and properly treated in distemper are less 

 likely to suffer from this disease, yet it occurs in the best managed 

 kennels, and so I must proceed to consider its treatment. The first 

 thing to be done is to attend to the general health, and especially to 

 see that the bowels are properly acting; and it is better, if their 

 action require correction, to endeavour to accomplish that object 

 by a careful regulation of diet, than to resort to physic. Indeed, 

 all through chorea the food must be of a nature easily digested, and 

 given with regularity, if any course of medicinal treatment is to be 

 successful. The remedies recommended in chorea are arsenic, and 

 nux vomica and its preparations, though the former I do not 

 recommend. 



The following piUs I have found very successful. As the In- 

 gredients require very great accuracy in weighing, and very careful 

 mixing, the making of them must be left to a properly qualified 

 dispensing chemist, and the box containing the piUs should be kept 

 strictly in the master's possession, for fear of accidents : 



PiUs for Chorea. — Take strychnine, Igr. ; quinine, 18gr. ; extract 

 of belladonna, 6gr. ; extract of gentian, Idr. ; powder for compound 

 rhubarb piU, Idr. ; mix very carefully, and divide into forty-eight 

 pills. Dose for a dog 201b. weight — one piU twice a day with his 

 food. 



It is necessary in chorea to continue the use of these remedies for 

 a considerable time — at least a month in most cases — to produce any 

 satisfactory result, or even to give them a fair trial ; and, as before 

 said, the dog must be carefully fed, well lodged, and properly 

 exercised when he has sufficient power to use his Umbs. In the 

 case of dogs reared in towns, a change to the country for some 

 weeks would be beneficial. The electric battery has proved of greai 

 benefit in many cases, and I advise a trial of it. 



CLAWS, INFLAMMATION AT THE BOOTS OF.- 



Dogs used to the chase, or hunting in scrubby heather, or running 



