April, 1918 
FOREST AND STREAM 
255 
HOME TREATMENT FOR AILING DOGS 
By MEDICUS 
T HE majority ot the owners and lov¬ 
ers of dogs live in districts where it is 
very difficult to obtain the services of 
a veterinarian; in some cases,*it is im¬ 
possible, and a sick pet is allowed to suffer 
and die for lack of knowledge of how to 
help it. There is no reason why a dog 
lover should not be well informed about 
the symptoms and treatment of ordinary 
canine ailments. A knowledge of the care 
and treatment of sick dogs is quickly 
gained and easy to put in practice. 
Choking is a very frequent occurrence 
with dogs, as usually they are voracious 
feeders, careless of consequences, and the 
fact that they use their mouths much as 
wc do our hands in grasping and convey¬ 
ing various objects makes them particu- 
arly liable to swallow foreign substances, 
hat may become lodged in the gullet. The 
:ommonest objects on which dogs choke 
ire bones that they have been feeding upon, 
f the bone lodges in the back of the throat 
t may set up such a violent coughing and 
etching as to asphyxiate the subject. The 
>ack of the throat, however, is not the 
iisual lodging place, for as a rule the bone 
>r other object passes that point, where 
he gullet is comparatively large, and lodges 
iver the heart, where it is smaller. Locat- 
,ng at this point causes the greatest dis- 
ress. The dog keeps gulping as if trying 
o swallow, and from time to time is seized 
vith a period of retching. In a day or 
wo the extreme distress passes, and the 
atient drinks water and milk or other 
quids freely and can also swallow raw 
ggs, but if solid food is taken, directly 
reaches the obstruction it lodges. 
Young dogs and those which are playful 
ometimes swallow needles and pins. 
,'hese usually become imbedded in the back 
f the tongue, and can be removed from 
iat position, but sometimes they reach the 
ullet and pass through into the tissues, 
arming an abscess, their usual location 
fing just behind the angle of the jaw. 
emoving needles and pins from the back 
i the tongue is done most easily with a 
lir of forceps, although it sometimes can 
i done with the finger. The principal 
ing is to be careful not to break the ob- 
ct. The symptoms in these cases are 
dually very severe, so that prompt action 
necessary. 
In those cases where a bone has passed 
r down the gullet and lodged over the 
■art it is sometimes sufficient to feed the 
>g a few pieces of meat, which will force 
e obstruction on. If this is not success- 
1 a probang must be used to force the ob- 
ruction down into the stomach, but this 
ould be attempted only by a skillful vet- 
unarian or a physician, as it may be neces- 
ry to use considerable force, and there is 
1 nger of rupturing the gullet, which is 
tal. If the obstruction cannot be re¬ 
eved by the probang, then the only thing 
maining is to feed the patient on liquid 
od until such time as the sharp joints of 
bone become dissolved and rounded off, 
that it will be easily pushed along. 
There are a number of common diseases 
< dogs which will yield to comparatively 
; nple remedies if taken in time, but if 
•glected frequently run into very danger¬ 
ous disorders. The importance, then, of 
recognizing and treating them promptly is 
obvious. One is ephemeral fever, a simple 
fever so-called because it is supposed to 
last only one day, whereas it frequently 
runs for four or five. The first symptom 
observed will be a loss of appetite; food 
will be refused or eaten only sparingly, and 
the general appearance will be dull and out 
of sorts. The eyes may be clear and the 
nose cool, but a close observer will notice 
that the skin under the thighs and on the 
top of the head is warmer than usual, and 
find it faster than normal and the fever 
thermometer will reveal two or three de¬ 
grees of temperature. The treatment in 
these cases is as follows: Give a rhubarb 
pill of from one to five grains, the latter 
amount the dose for a St. Bernard, the 
former for a toy. Follow in the morning 
with a dose of castor oil and olive oil in 
equal parts, the dose being from one tea¬ 
spoonful to one ounce. Give from ten 
grains to one dram of Flowers of Sulphur 
every night for ten days. 
Imperfect action of the bowels is the 
cause of much ill health. Regular exercise 
in connection with a selected diet is the 
most reliable cure. Raw liver is a good 
aperient, so is cornmeal cake, graham bread 
or boiled oatmeal; also vegetables, especi¬ 
ally onions and greens. To open the bow¬ 
els there is nothing better than syrup of 
buckthorn, combined with sweet oil, in 
equal parts. The dose is from a half tea¬ 
spoonful to a tablespoonful. To unload 
the bowels there is nothing better than 
calcined magnesia. The dose is from ten 
grains to a teaspoonful. In some cases, 
when the lower bowel is torpid and will not 
expel its contents which may be poison¬ 
ing the system, it is necessary to resort to 
injections. Soapsuds and water are the 
established mixture, but a small quantity of 
glycerine, from a teaspoonful to a table¬ 
spoonful according to the size of the pa¬ 
tient, is easier to handle and will answer 
the purpose better. Sweet oil acts well, but 
has to be used in larger quantities. 
Headache is generally overlooked in the 
treatment of dogs. They suffer with it, 
however, oftener than is expected. The 
top of the head is unusually warm; in¬ 
jected eyes, dullness and uneasiness are the 
common symptoms. The treatment is to 
bathe the top of the head with cold water 
for fifteen to twenty minutes. In the morn¬ 
ing, before feeding, give a dose of cal¬ 
cined magnesia and follow this with from 
fifteen grains to a teaspoonful of the Flow¬ 
ers of Sulphur every night for ten days. 
Reduce the diet and increase the amount of 
exercise. 
Dogs are particularly subject to skin af¬ 
fections and most of them will yield to a 
lotion composed of paraffin one part, two 
parts of cotton seed oil and sufficient pow¬ 
dered sulphur to form a cream. 
For' sprains or bruises there is nothing 
better than tincture of arnica onc-half 
ounce, brandy one ounce, in a tumblerful 
of water; it is very soothing. 
For sore eyes very good results follow 
the use of cold tea infusion, a saturated 
solution of boracic acid or two grains of 
powdered alum in one ounce of water. 
DENT'S CONDITION PILLS 
If your dog is sick, 
all run-down, thin and unthrifty, if his 
coat is harsh and staring, his eyes mat¬ 
terated, bowels disturbed, urine high 
colored and frequently passed—if you 
feel badly every time you look at him 
—eating grass won’t help him. 
DENT’S CONDITION PILLS 
will. They are a time-tried formula, 
that will pretty nearly make a dead 
dog eat. As a tonic for dogs that are 
all out of sorts and those that are 
recovering from distemper or are 
affected with mange, eczema, or some 
debilitating disease, there is nothing 
to equal them. PRICE, PER BOX, 
50 CENTS. 
If your dog is sick.and you do not 
know how to treat him, write to us 
and you will be given an expert’s 
opinion without charge. Pedigree 
blanks are free for postage—4 cents a 
dozen. Dent’s Doggy Hints, a 32- 
page booklet, will be mailed for a two- 
cent stamp. The Amateur Dog Book, 
a practical treatise on the treatment, 
care and training of dogs, 160 pages 
fully illustrated, will be mailed for 10 
cents. 
THE DENT MEDICINE CO. 
NEWBURGH, N. Y.; TORONTO, CAN. 
Pointers 
and 
Setters 
GEO. W. LOVELL 
MIDDLEBORO, MASS 
Telephone, 29-M 
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