256 THE DISEASES OF THE DOG. 



accumulation; it will be reproduced but imperfectly. 

 Thorn wounds of various Jcmds, and other such lesions 

 require no special notice here. Overgrown claws are directly 

 associated by Mayhew with a life on Turkey carpets and 

 silk dresses. Hence they are generally seen in small 

 animals which seldom have to run any distance. The 

 unworn toenail curls in the direction of a ram's horn, and 

 it may penetrate the balls of the foot and cause extreme 

 pain and suppuration. It must be removed by means of a 

 small triangular saw, or the rowelling scissors used for the 

 horse, or else a stout pair of wire nippers. The two latter 

 instruments are preferable to plain scissors, for the latter 

 is liable to split the horn, and to the saw because its 

 operation is long and sometimes painful. 



Amputation of the Toe* is performed by the flap method, 

 as described in detail by Mayhew. The one most 

 frequently removed is the inner of the hind foot, which is 

 quite rudimentary, its metatarsal having degenerated into 

 two diminutive articular extremities and a central fibrous 

 shaft. These " dew-claws " are sometimes simply clipped 

 off with scissors, in other cases they require more syste- 

 matic amputation. The reasons for their removal are 

 three : the liability of their claws to overgrow and do 

 mischief, their sometimes injuring the opposite leg when 

 the animal is running fast, and their being apt to catch in 

 tangled bushes and so on, in cover. Thus their removal 

 is useful and justifiable, in fact an absolute necessity in 

 the case of sporting dogs. 



Parasites between the Toes worry the animal extremely 

 by giving rise to constant irritation which sometimes causes 

 him to tear the skin of his feet savagely. 



Congenital Deformities of the limbs are not infrequent 

 in puppies. Perhaps that most often seen is due to 

 malformation of the lower end of the humerus which 

 presents two rounded condyles ; of these one rests on the 

 radius as usual, the other on the ulna. The effect of this 



* For an intetesting case of amputation of the toe for encephaloid of the 

 second and third phalanges of the forefoot of a retriever see 'Veterinary 

 Journal,' Oct., 1885. 



