Symptoms: In many cases, especially in white dogs, as bull terriers, it may be congenital. In ordinary cases it is often due to an accumulation of hard wax, or from growths in the canal of the ear. In old dogs it may be due to thickening of the drum of the ear.
Treatment: When congenital it is incurable. If result of growths in the ear, these must be removed by operation. When caused by accumulation of hard wax, a little warm almond oil should be poured into the ear, and the next day the ear should be thoroughly syringed with five ounces of tepid water in which has been dissolved a scruple of carbonate of soda. When the deafness is due to a thickening of the drum of the ear, which is often seen in old dogs, there is nothing to be done.
Debility:
Symptoms: May be due to constitutional causes, as is often seen in highly-bred puppies, or it may result from severe illness, particularly after distemper. The pulse is quick and weak, loss of appetite, and disinclination for exercise, poor condition, and membranes pale.
Treatment: For puppies, Sherley’s chemical tablets answer well. When result of illness, the following tonic may be given:—
Recipe:
| Ammoniated Citrate of Iron, | ½ drachm. |
| Tincture Nux Vomica, | 40 minims. |
| Tincture Gentian, | 3 drachms. |
| Water to | 3 ounces. |
From half a teaspoonful to a tablespoonful[1] three times a day one hour before food.
Deformities, Congenital:
These are numerous in the dog. Inverted eyelids: puppies are sometimes born without eyes, squinting small eyes, eyelashes growing in. Hare lip, cleft palate, pig jaw, deformities of the feet and limbs: particularly the stifle joint, the patella being out of its place, and the leg contracted or drawn up. Deformities of the chest: this condition is common in Japs, but seems to do no harm. Puppies are sometimes born without tails; though a good feature in schipperke and bob-tail sheep dogs, one does not like to see a pug or a dachshund without a tail, and when he is good in all other points, it is disappointing. A screw tail is objectionable in all breeds except the bulldog, and some people object to it in these dogs. Absence of one or both testicles.