CASTRATION OF THE BITCH. 
529 
A PRACTICAL PAPER ON THE CASTRATION OF THE BITCH 
By T. B. Rogers, D.Y. S. 
Nothing so enhances the reputation of the veterinarian 
as does skill in operative procedures, nothing damns him so 
quickly as ill success in his operations. The writer believes 
that comparatively few veterinarians spay bitches unless they 
are driven to it, and begs to offer the result of ten years’ ex¬ 
perience in the operation to the younger members of his pro 
fession. The proper age is any time after the sixth month ; 
before this time even the educated finger fails to recognize 
the uterus; and the operator who cannot by sense of touch 
find what he wants has still something to learn. 
What is the best position to secure the animal in for the 
operation ? My method is to tie the mouth and fore-legs, to 
have two assistants (or, if the dog is large, three), and to oper¬ 
ate with the animal lying on the back. The assistant holding 
the hind legs stretches them gently backward and well apart, 
so as to render the abdominal muscles tense. If the dog is 
large, a third assistant makes pressure on the thorax, while 
the one in front holds the head and front legs. Mr. Cole, of 
Millville, N. J., who spays a good many bitches, hangs them 
up by the hind-legs, the legs being stretched apart by a small 
“gambrel,” like a slaughtered pig hung up to cool. The ad¬ 
vantages of this method are several: the intestines gravitate 
downward out of the way, the danger of death from cerebral 
anaemia is lessened, and if the dog is small the operation can 
be performed without assistance by passing a strap through 
the tied front legs and putting the operator’s foot in it. The 
disadvantages are the difficulty in separating the divided 
recti muscles, owing to the animal’s weight stretching them, 
and the liability to injury of back or legs through excessive 
stretching during the operation. I have tried it, and don’t 
like it. Other operators have a trough in which the animal 
is strapped; this method is open to the objection that it can¬ 
not be carried round in a scattered country practice. 
The instruments needed are a convex bistoury, or prefer- 
