In hunting and swimming the Airedale is but following the strongest instincts that he has. All one has to do is to curb and direct these instincts. Experience will do the rest, for the dog has brains and is very quick to learn, and the teacher is proverbially a good one. In driving cattle and sheep, however, the dog is going into a new trade, as it were, and not one to which he was born. He proves his versatility by the quickness with which he can learn to be an excellent drover. The easiest way is to take him out with a dog experienced in this work. If this cannot be done, one will have to train him himself, and this is not so difficult as it sounds, but it is best to make sure that the dog has carefully learned that minding trick above mentioned before undertaking this.
Almost any and all dogs are watch-dogs, but the Airedale, because of his size and intelligence, is a particularly good one. It is not the wisest policy to chain up a dog at night, for he will be much more apt to sound false alarms, and in any case of real need he is powerless to give active defense of himself or his friends. The watch-dog ought not to have his big, heavy meal at night, or he will go to sleep and snore peacefully till cock crow, while if fed but lightly, he will rest in a series of cat naps, if a dog can do that.
The Airedale is more practically useful than any other breed of dog. He can do more things better than any other variety. It is this eminent utility of his that has been one of the greatest factors in his success, but he would never have become so widely popular with men, women, and children of all classes had it not been that behind his usefulness there is sterling character and good disposition.
CHAPTER VII
COMMON AILMENTS
The terrier owner is a "lucky devil," for his dogs do not, as a rule, spend a great deal of time in the hospital. All members of the terrier family, from the giant of the race, the Airedale, way down to little Scottie, owe a big debt to nature for having blessed them with remarkably robust constitutions. They do not catch cold from every draft; they throw off the various contagious diseases; even when really sick, they make wonderfully rapid recoveries.
All dog flesh, however, is heir to certain diseases, and even the most healthy and strong are not exceptions to this rule. Many of the books on doggy subjects are so deep and technical that the poor novice who has waded through their sonorous and involved phrases is really more at sea about how to treat his sick dog than before he took them from the shelf. Other books on dogs, especially the popular ones, are so brief in their descriptions that no amount of study of them can teach much. It is my object to steer between these two extremes and to tell something of the common ailments, so all may understand their causes, symptoms, and treatments.
Two good rules for the amateur veterinarian to learn at the very outset are: In case of any doubt, or if the case is at all serious, time, money, and maybe the dog's life will be saved by calling at once upon a registered D.V.S.; and nine times out of ten a dog's ailments are the same, with the same symptoms and results, as among humans. A dog, therefore, can receive the same treatment as people, for the same medicines act upon him as upon yourself. In the case of the terriers, the dose is one-fourth of that for an adult human. To use more commonsense than medicine is another good rule to use, for nursing and a little attention to diet often effect a cure without any drugs at all.
Remembering that the same treatment that you would give yourself cures your dogs makes it unnecessary to go into such ailments as cuts, burns, colds, stomach disorders, and poisons. There are, however, some distinctively canine ailments. For convenience let us take these up alphabetically.
Canker of the ear is not by any means so common in terriers as in the long-eared breeds, but it sometimes affects dogs who go a great deal in the water, though it may be caused by any foreign substance getting into the ear. There are two forms—the external and the internal. The external shows itself by sores on the ear flaps, which are most painful and cause the dog to scratch and paw at his ear. The sores ought to be cleaned thoroughly with hot water and dressed with zinc ointment daily. In bad cases the head may be bandaged to prevent aggravation of the ulcers by scratching.
The internal form is harder to cure. Its symptoms are hot, inflamed ears, pain, pawing, and rubbing the head against the floor or walls. The interior of the ear should be douched out with warm water and boracic acid or witch hazel, and then syringed with a solution of one part of spirits of wine and twenty parts of water. Afterwards the ear should be carefully dried out with cotton on the end of a pencil—care must be taken not to injure the interior of the ear—and finally dusted with boracic acid.