COMMON AILMENTS IN DOGS.

Northern Advocate, 1 May 1914, Page 8

COMMON AILMENTS IN DOGS.

{ECZEMA. ,

Let Hercules himself do what he may The cat will mew and dog will have his day.

—Shakespeare,

I now propose going over some of the most common ailments of the dog, and.give a few hints of how to treat dogs when suffering from these varied ailments. I will start with one of the most common and troublesome ones, though by no means the most serious, viz., ecze*nia. Sometimes eczema is spoken.of as "acute" or "cbronic." In the. former, the malady is characterised by the sharpness of attack, frequently a wide-spread eruption and intense irritation. Chronic eczema, on the other hand, is apparently slower in its progress, often lasting throughout life, and is unquestionably hereditary in its nature, f would never think of —or. of advising anyone.else—breeding from animals thus affected, and, rightly, such ought to be condemned as unsound. There is . nothing more disheartening or disagreeable than constantly treating animals for this complaint, though do not infer for a minute that eczema is incurable, but the difficulty of distinguishing between a "cure" and. "apparent" cure must always be borne in mind. It often hap-, pens that the' dog has only been patched up for the time being, the truth of which reveals itself sooner or later. Eczema may arise from several different causes, such as acute indigestion, worms, bad condition of the blood, continuous feeding on biscuits only, or the opposite extreme Of too much cooked flesh food. It is often very difficult to tell the difference between mange and eczema. Eczema, however, comes from within, while mange comes from without. The only sure way of proving the disease to be mange or eczema really is to have a microscopic examination, and if it is mange the parasite will be discovered. Building up the constitution through the use of good food and arsenical and iron compounds seems the most salutary treatment. It must be borne in mind that the mere fact of -a dog being fatsometimes very fat—is no criterion as regards the healthy working of its internal mechanism. Congestion of the liver is a. frequent cause of eczema

under these circumstances. But as long as the dog is infested with worms he will never be cured. He must be treated i'or them, or all the eczema cures in the world will fail to have any effect upon him. The chief symptoms of eczema are irritation and redness of the' skin, followed by the development of vesicles arranged in an irregular manner over the inflamed area, it is the ruptured vesicles and their contents which scab on the surface, which makes the skin scaly unless the dog by constantly licking himself makes the parts sore and raw. The parts that are principally attacked are round the eyes, the lips, outside and inside the ears, along the top of the back, the root of the tail, under the thighs and the outer surface of the thighs; but any part may become affected. Neglected eczema soon denudes the dog of its hairy covering. The animal is' constantly scratching, and smells offensively. Between the toes is a common seat of eruption, 'so that the dog will be seen licking the part. Large, weeping, "inflamed sores are quite commonly seen, whilst at other times a scurfy and wrinkled condition is the chief feature presented to one's notice. In diffuse forms of eczema—certainly not in the moist stages—the use of baths is very benficial. Sulpheretted potash is invaluable ; it has an objectionable smell, but the dog should be bathed in it twice a week. After the dog is well dried, apply all over the following lotion: — %-pint of train oil, 4oz of black sulphur, 1 tablespoonful of oil of turpentine. Apply daily to the parts affected, and twice a keek, after bathing, .all over. Or else bathe the affected'pants often with the following lotion: Wright's solution coal tari loz; Goreland's: extract of lead, I.drachm; 1 glycerine boracis, loz; distilled, or rain water tomix, Boz. • * Or apply the following ointment twice a day:—Resorcin, 1 scruple; cicolin, 20 minimsfc almond oil, 1 drachm; lanoline, loz. Apply night and morning. When the skin is very raw and sore, dust the parts affected with the following powder:—Best powdered starch, 4 parts; boracic acid powder, 1 part. Mix. The internal remedies are, first: — Treat for worms and give the following powders:—Reduced iron, 6 grains ■to 36 grains; sulphate magnesia, „ drachm to (according to the size of tlie dog). Mix. Divide into twelve powders, one to be given twice a day with the food.

When the dog is in poor condition, or when the skin is very dry and scurfy, try the following pills, after the powders have been 'given for a time. The following, must also be given according to the size of the dog:—Arsenious acid, one-eighth grain to' % grain; reduced iron,\6 grains to 36 grains; extract of gentian, q.s. Mix. Make 12.pills;, one to be given twice a day. The internal treatment,, as far as, feeding is concerned, must be adjusted io the individual case. For instance, if the patient has been over-fed, place him on scanty diet such as well boiled rice, vegetables, milk,-etc., and give an occasional aperient pill so''as to cool the system. If, on the other hand, the blood "is poor and the patient debilitated, a more generous diet is-impera-tive, such as raw meat, sheep's paunch uncleaned —in fact, principally a flesh diet to "the almost total exclusion ( of farinaceous foods, • salt, etc ' The treatment in eczema ; should alwayß be continued, several weeks after ;the external signs have disappeared.—C.D.W. in "N.Z. Dairyman."