usually unnecessary anyway. A capsule is picked up between the 
index and middle fingers and these two fingers are pushed along the 
top of the mouth and well down the throat, the thumb being outside 
of the mouth on one side and the ring finger and little finger outside 
of the other side of the mouth. As soon as the capsule is well down 
the throat, the middle finger is slipped behind the capsule and the 
capsule pushed as far as it will go, a procedure which ensures that 
the capsule will be swallowed. If additional capsules are to be given, 
the hand is wiped on a towel to rid it of saliva which would make a 
capsule slippery and give an insecure grip on it. The entire procedure 
is governed by the sense of touch and can be carried out with the 
eyes shut as well as with the eyes open—perhaps better. In the case 
of those dogs which have a short stop, such as Boston bull terriers, the 
soft palate will often present an obstacle, the tips of the fingers catch¬ 
ing in it, and it is necessary to carefully slip the fingers under this. 
BITING DOGS DIFFER FROM FOXES 
The outstanding objection to this method of treatment is that the 
dog may bite. In this connection certain things appear to be true. 
For one thing, a dog, contrary to what is said to be true of a fox, 
will almost never bite a hand that is inserted in his mouth. It is 
necessary to use a balling gun in giving capsules to foxes after they 
are .6 weeks old, as an older fox will seize and hold a hand if it is 
placed in the fox s mouth. A dog wants to do his own biting, mak¬ 
ing the preliminary attack by seizing the hand. If a hand is pushed 
in his mouth, a dog’s first instinct is to get rid of it. Even with 
vicious dogs, if the hand is slipped around the side of the head and 
shoved boldly into the mouth, the dog does not bite it, but attempts 
to get away from it or get it out. 
SCRATCHES FROM SHARP TEETH A DANGER 
Injury to the hand is usually confined to scratches from small 
dogs having fine, needle-like teeth. There is also the danger from 
rabies. This is a real danger. If the veterinarian regards it as present 
in any or all cases it is sufficient reason for using the balling gun. 
However, there are always risks in veterinary practice and we come to 
take some of them as a matter of course. 
There should be no danger of getting capsules in the trachea when 
100 
