Symptoms: Great lameness, the dog probably not being able to put the leg to the ground at all. The joint is much swollen, very painful, and red. It is generally the result of an injury.
Treatment: Give at once a dose of purgative medicine, and use the following lotion:—
Recipe:
| Goulard’s Extract of Lead, | 1 drachm. |
| Laudanum, | 2 drachms. |
| Distilled Water to | 6 ounces. |
Saturate a piece of lint sufficiently wide to cover the joint, and long enough to go round it; cover over entirely with oil-silk, and apply a bandage. The lotion should be repeated every four or five hours.
If, after the pain and inflammation has passed, the joint remains swollen, rub sparingly into the part once a day a liniment made with equal parts of colourless tincture of iodine and soap liniment. Should the joint become stiff and callous, it may be necessary to apply a mercurial blister.
Tail, Sores at the Tip of:
Symptoms: Big dogs with long tails, especially great Danes, and those confined in kennels, frequently suffer from a sore at the tip of the tail, which, in many cases, is most difficult to cure.
Treatment: Thoroughly cleanse the wound with a solution of chinosol lotion, ten grains to eight ounces of water, and when well dried, dust over with powdered iodoform and cover the sore with a few layers of gauze, and as it is impossible to keep a bandage on, several layers of Mead’s plaster should be placed over the end of the tail, which prevents further bruising. In some cases it is necessary to make the dog wear a leather bag over the tail. This should be fastened around the loins. The part covering the tip should be of double thickness.
When well, it is a good plan when a dog is always banging his tail about, to pad his kennel with sacks stuffed with straw, to prevent his injuring it again, for once a tail has been hurt, it remains tender, and is more liable to injury.