12 THE DISEASES OF THE DOG. 



The details of nursing consist in strict attention to the 

 animal's comfort and well-being in such matters as food, 

 air, bedding, and administration or application of medica- 

 ments ; warmth is of much benefit to sick dogs, for it is 

 found that convulsions are apt to result from exposure of 

 them to cold ; extreme quietude and unobtrusiveness in 

 treatment, regular administration, as gently as possible, of 

 remedies in exact accordance with instructions ; strict 

 cleanliness of the patient and his surroundings, comfortable 

 arrangement of his bed, and free supply of pure air are 

 details to be attended to in nursing. The diet must be 

 tempting and thoroughly clean, but little weaknesses of 

 the patient, as for pork or horse-flesh, should not be 

 yielded to, nor the animal allowed to eat to excess. Some 

 articles of diet are too stimulating to the skin and bowels 

 to be admissible as food for sick animals. Food, except 

 when used as a vehicle for medicines, should never be 

 forced on a patient. A suitable diet (generally of boiled 

 rice flavoured with a little soup, gravy, beef tea, or 

 chicken broth) should be placed before the animal fre- 

 quently, but if refused taken away and rejected, fresh 

 food being placed before him the next time. Some forms 

 of dog food may with advantage be used semi-medicinally, 

 thus greaves or boiled cabbage mixed with soup causes a 

 looseness of the bowels, and unboiled liver is valuable for 

 a similar purpose, and will be taken when the vegetable 

 matters are persistently refused. Boiled liver is of less 

 value, but useful. In dogs used for outdoor work horse- 

 flesh is valuable for conditioning, but except when much 

 work is done it produces irritation of the skin and foul smell 

 of the body, and is, therefore, described as " heating " ; 

 oatmeal has a similar effect. Certain articles of dog diet 

 are commonly spoken of as " causing worms " or " pro- 

 ducing mange," terms which require a little explanation ; 

 tapeworm is certainly more liable to result from a flesh 

 than from a vegetable diet, but will not be generated by 

 the former if care be taken to ensure the absence from 

 the meat of cystic larvae of taeniae, such as echinococci 

 in the liver, slender-necked hydatids appended to the 



