The Extremities 321 



Bad cases sometimes require weeks of persistent treatment. 

 Some authors advise amputation as a last resort, the site of opera- 

 tion being selected well away from the inflammatory area, but such 

 radical treatment is rarely called for. 



NEOPLASMS. 



Besides fibroma, which is of occasional occurrence on the tail, 

 malignant carcinoma is not uncommonly met with about the root 

 of the appendage. It exhibits all the characteristics of the typical 

 cancerous growth, developing rapidly, and having a hard con- 

 sistence with uneven, ulcerating surface, and tending to infiltrate 

 neighboring lymphatics. The method of treatment differs in no 

 wise from that applied to tumors of the skin in other regions, the 

 sole object being to cause total ablation. 



AMPUTATION. 



"Docking" of the tail is universally practiced as a fashionable 

 measure on certain breeds, among which may be mentioned : Fox, 

 Irish, Airedale, Welsh and Yorkshire Terriers ; Field, Cocker, Sus- 

 sex and English Water Spaniels ; Griffons, Schipperkes ; and French 

 Poodles. The puppies of the Bob-tailed Sheep dog sometimes re- 

 quire a slight reduction of their appendages to make them conform 

 to the standard. The length of stump allowed to remain in the 

 different breeds varies. The Yorkshire Terrier is allowed 

 a stump of medium length, about three inches (adult measure- 

 ment), French Poodles one of three to five inches, Airedale Terriers 

 of four to six inches, Sussex Spaniels of five to seven inches, and 

 English Water Spaniels of seven to ten inches. The Bob-tailed 

 Sheep dog is allowed only a maximum of two inches, and the re- 

 moval is effected three or four days after birth. In the other an- 

 imals, the operation is best performed a few days after birth, when 

 the undesired extremity of the appendage may be snipped off with 

 a pair of scissors, or removed with the tail gullotine, the skin being 

 pulled towards the root of the tail while the action is being made. 

 The bleeding rarely amounts to anything, and it can be easily con- 

 trolled by temporary application of an elastic ligature or strip of 

 tape. 



In adult animals, when the operation is necessitated as a gen- 



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