66 THE DISEASES 01 THE DOG. 



also the dog moves about stiffly and with difficulty as 

 though somewhat paralysed before. Youatt speaks of 

 kennel-lameness as due to washing hounds, and, with 

 Nimrod, he " deprecates even their access to water in 

 the evening after hunting." He speaks of the disease 

 as an ill-understood affection, and seems to distinguish 

 between it and chest founder. The latter he mentions as 

 a " singular complaint, and often a pest in kennels which 

 are built in low situations, and where bad management 

 prevails ; where the huntsman or whippers-in are too 

 often in a hurry to get home, and turn their dogs into the 

 kennel panting and hot ; where the beds are not far 

 enough from the floor, or the building, if it should be in a 

 sufficiently elevated situation, has yet a northern aspect 

 and is unsheltered from the blast, chest founder prevails." 

 He considers it sprain and inflammation of the subscapu- 

 lar muscles from long-continued and considerable exer- 

 tion, leading occasionally to paralysis, as specially seen in 

 pointers. 



Treatment of rheumatism consists in opening the bowels, 

 and then giving salicylic acid, colchicum, or iodide of 

 potassium, together with alkaline carbonates. These sub- 

 stances may be tried in turn, or, since the disease is very 

 liable to recur, at the several attacks. Local treatment 

 should comprise warm water applications followed by 

 stimulating liniments to the affected parts. In chronic 

 cases the joints are liable to become affected and most 

 painful in cold weather ; setons or blisters may then prove 

 useful. The diet must in all cases of rheumatism be 

 moderate and carefully regulated, and the patient be kept 

 in a warm, dry place, under strict hygienic conditions. 

 With a view to prevention, excessive washing must be 

 avoided, and, especially, leaving the animal to dry when 

 he has been washed. In cases of incipient or partial para- 

 lysis the effects of acupuncture or electricity may be tried. 



Eickets is a disease of special interest to the canine 

 surgeon, for, of all domesticated animals, the dog is most 

 liable to it. MM. Voit have carefully studied the relations 

 of this disorder to the use of food devoid of calcareous 



