HYDATIDS PREVENTION

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXII, 26 January 1939, Page 12

HYDATIDS PREVENTION

MORE ADVICE ABOUT DOSING DOGS DOCTOR TELLS HOW TO GIVE A Rl-’COLINE 1 I’ urther adv ice on the vexed question i of how to dose dogs with the areeoiine | preparation being issued to all dog-own-ers on registration ol their pets is given l by Dr. E. \V. Bennett. Dunedin. As Dr. j Bennett is an officer of the Department of Hydatid Prevention in the University ' of Otago Medical School, and is taking a j leading part in the campaign to eradicate ! this disease, his advice can be regarded j as authoritative. I “It is impossible to quarrel with your ! cartoonist's ideas about dosing dogs," lie | writes in a letter to the editor of “The Dominion.*’ “But another recent article, also partly in whimsical vein, contains some remarks which should hardly be taken seriously, and a picture in the same t.-fue is very misleading. It is to be hoped fliat readers have depended, not on a photograph of a dog being dosed out of a spoon, but on the photograph with the instructions, showing a vastly better way. ! DON’T OPEN THE DOO'S MOUTH “It is not necessary to open the dog's mouth or to give him a solid pill or offer him one to cut. Ihe method described i i tlie instructions is the one used by veterinary practitioners, both for fluid medicines and for force-feeding a sick dog that refuses to eat. The method is to put two fingers into tin? cheek, without attempting to foiee the teeth open, pull the cheek out into a pouch, and pour the dissolved medicine in. , “As your article states, many dogs try to get rid of any medicine, including arecoline, even though it is tasteless, and it i» necessary to keep a firm grip of the pouch and have a look inside to verify that it has all gone before letting go. H he is slow in swallowing, wetting his nose may make him lick, in which cuse h'J has to swallow, but a more reliable method is to grip the windpipe just above the adam’s apple. Dogs do not mind these pleasantries, if they are treated quietly and firmly without bullying or a display of l'ear—the latter puts ideas into a dog's head at once. Anyone who is not sure of the way can practice with doses of water, which is good training for the dog, too, I A HIT-OR-MISS METHOD ' “The method described by your correspondent from (Jreytown, forcing the teeth open and giving the pill iu solid form, is not nearly as good. There is no need to open the. jaw at all, and in any case it is a hit-or-miss method to throw tlie pill into the back of the mouth. Anyone who may favour this method should continue by holding the dog’s mouth shut, and squeezing the windpipe to make him swallow repeatedly ; but it is an inferior method, and the action of the areeoiine is not as good as if given in a small amount of water. “It is rather surprising that there should have been comment about the alleged difficulty of dosing; it is so simple that on the showgrounds, when giving demonstrations, I have been accused of having had trained dogs. I have dosed hundreds of town and specially country dogs, and have nevei been bitten, and only once was there any difficulty—a man-eating collie that had been bullied and driven nearly frantic with fear. He was muzzled and dosed in the usual way through the cheek. “I think, sir, you will probably agree that anyone who cauilot dose his own dog should not own a dog. Fully nine dogs out ol 10, if not regularly dosed, have masses of parasites that would astonish and disgust their owners, and seeing that these parasites are liable to be those that cause hydatids in man and animals, the ownership of a dog is a responsibility. Part of that responsibility is to know how to dose the dog. ACTION OF A U ECO LINE article states that areeoiine is somewhat drastic, and thut dogs will object to a second dose even after a lapse of three months. 1 have not found it drastic, and, in fact, it has been necessary, before bringing in the scheme, to try the effects of very large doses to see whether there might be risks through overdosing; and the conclusions are those implied in the whole scheme—go ahead and follow instructions. I think the reason for stating that it is drastic must have been that some freak method of dosing was attempted, but if the right method is used dogs can he dosed every week 01 as often as is necessary. Part of the reason for advocating the method of putting the dose in tlie cheek is that it is scarcely noticed by the dog, and certainly not something that he will remember with resentment. It stands to reason that it is less drastic than areca nut. an old-time favourite that is now ouf of date, because areca nut contains areeoiine and three other useless drugs: hence the difference between using arecoline in tlie purified form and using areca nu- is tlie difference between sugar ami sugarcane. “Headers who attend tlie Levin show this week will have an opportunity of see ing dogs dosed, and also seeing the by datid exhibit and cinefilm which are being circulated throughout the Dominion.’’