APPENDIX

Back, Injuries to:

May be the result of a blow, or due to a sprain when jumping. It often occurs as the result of a dog being run over across the back.

Symptoms: Pain on pressure to the part; in bad cases the dog walks with difficulty, and with back arched and tail down. In slight cases, though there may be pain on pressure, the dog walks, when first starting out, fairly well, and seems bright; but after going a short distance he soon lags behind, loses his spirits, and droops his tail. In other instances of a slight nature, the dog is able to walk easily but is unable to jump, and, if he attempts to, he cries out.

Treatment: It consists principally in giving the dog rest. Sometimes several weeks’ quiet are necessary, as well as rubbing the back with some anodyne liniment, as the following:—

Recipe: The Liniment:

Chloroform (meth.),½ ounce.
Tincture Hyoscyamus,½ ounce.
Spirits of Camphor,1 ounce.
Soap Liniment,1 ounce.
Mix.

Apply with gentle friction once or twice a day to the painful parts. A dose of aperient medicine does good, and whilst the dog is at rest a light diet should be given.

Feeding:

Dogs require concentrated food, and to keep a dog in the best condition, meat should form half his diet.

Taking first the toy breeds. When puppies are weaned, it must be remembered that the mother’s milk is far stronger than cows’ milk, and when possible, goats’ milk should be given; cows’ milk thickened with Plasmon is a good substitute. The mother should be allowed to feed her puppies during the night in the initial stages of weaning.

At five weeks old, puppies should be given a little scraped raw meat—very small quantities, a small eggspoonful once a day—and they should be treated for worms. As they get stronger, and are entirely weaned (at six to seven weeks), Benger’s food, a little rusk and broth, rusk and milk, and scraped raw meat, can be given alternately four times a day in small quantities. Directly the teeth begin to come through, one of Spratt’s invalid biscuits should be given them to amuse themselves with. At four months old, the meals should be reduced to three in number, say, stale brown bread and milk in the morning, raw meat, or cooked meat, and stale bread in the middle of the day, and some puppy biscuit at night. At six months old, two meals a day will be sufficient, consisting of dry biscuit in the middle of the day, and at night a raw meat meal, twice a week; on other days, fine Rodnim or stale bread with broth, sheeps’-hearts or skirts, and other cooked meats, chopped up finely, mixed with it.

Non-splintering bones are very good for puppies to have once or twice a week, as it helps them during teething, and with dry biscuits, acts as the dog’s tooth-brush. Bones of game and poultry should on no account be given.

Both in the matter of biscuits and meat foods, the greatest possible variety obtainable should be given. Sheeps’-heads and hearts, tripe, skirts, New Zealand mutton, bullocks’-heads and hearts, and fish, all help to vary the dog’s diet.

The same remarks apply to the terriers and dogs of that size, but fine Rodnim, a little meat and broth, and less expensive foods will obtain the same results, as the dogs have stronger constitutions than the toys.

In the large breeds where size and bulk are required, two meat meals should be given the puppies from four to six months old, and those who have a plentiful supply of eggs will find that raw eggs, although costly, help to increase growth. The same number of meals should be given as directed for the toys. When the puppy is full-grown, unless he is taking a great deal of exercise, hard biscuit and Rodnim, with a small quantity of meat added, and broth poured over it, should be sufficient. Onions boiled with all these foods, and mashed up in the broth, will be found excellent. Other fresh vegetables should not be given, although lentils and rice are both good.

Sunstroke:

Symptoms: Dog is usually taken suddenly ill, and generally falls to the ground in an unconscious condition. The breathing is heavy, slow, and laboured, the pulse full and quick, the tongue and membrane of the mouth are of a bluish colour, and the eyes are very congested. The dog may vomit and have diarrhœa. The attack may quickly terminate fatally, or paralysis follow. I have seen lock-jaw result from sunstroke.

Treatment: Give a hot bath and apply ice to forehead. As soon as the dog is able to swallow give a good purge, as from half[1] to three drops of croton oil in from one[1] teaspoonful to two tablespoonfuls castor oil. If there are convulsions, give medicine as for epilepsy and convulsions.

FOOTNOTES

[1] According to the size of the dog. [See p. 86.]