 Section 48 of the American Book of the Dog. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Read by Michelle Fry, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The American Book of the Dog by G.O. Shields, Editor. Section 48, Some Canine Diseases and Their Remedies. By Dr. J. Frank Perry. Ashmont. Mange and Eczema. There are two and but two kinds of mange, and although it is popularly considered common among dogs, such is not the case. It is comparatively rare, and what is generally mistaken for it is eczema. To the latter, man is also a frequent victim. Many people know it only by its old-fashioned name, salt room. It is important that dog owners be sufficiently familiar with the appearances presented in these three skin diseases, so often confounded, and to distinguish between them. For each there is a distinct line of treatment, which is successful only in that special disease. Both forms of mange are purely local parasitic diseases, whereas eczema, in many instances, has a constitutional origin, and from this fact it readily appears how absolutely useless it would often be to apply the treatment of one to the other. The most common form of mange is the sucruptic, the actual existing cause of which is a minute and almost microscopic insect. This parasite draws nourishment from the skin and causes intense itching, which in turn incites scratching and develops the disease known as eczema. The male insect remains on or near the surface of the skin, while the female digs into the deeper and softer layers and burrows until she dies, which is generally in three or four months. Along the tunnel which she makes, she deposits one egg after another, blocking up the passage with them. The young are hatched in about two weeks. The number of eggs one female lays is nearly fifty. As soon as the young are sufficiently developed and are released from the furrows, they run over the surface and the females among them soon begin to tunnel like their mothers before them. The itching occasioned by these parasites is intolerable. Among the furrows made by them, there forms first small pimples which soon change to vesicles and pustules that discharge a bloody matter which dries into thick crusts. These practically close up the furrows, but the itching causes the sufferer to scratch and the coverings are torn off by the nails and the young insects set free. Treatment is really the most effective means of diagnosis for the non-professional, unaccustomed to the use of the microscope by which alone can all doubts be dispelled. Fortunately, the one popular application for all skin diseases of dogs is sulfur and lard and this, when properly applied, will destroy the insect which causes sarcoptic mange. Without knowing just its action, almost every dog owner is familiar with this remedy and when his pet gets to scratching and the skin is torn in consequence, he uses the sulfur first of all remedies. He may not cure the dog of the eruption, but very often if the mange insect is present he destroys that and simply a case of eczema is left. Owing to the popularity of this treatment, there is much less sarcoptic mange than there otherwise would be and where it breaks out it is usually soon combated. Sulfur, when rightly used, is harmless. In making it into an ointment, the proportion should be about one teaspoon full of sulfur to a tablespoon full of lard. This can be best mixed with a case knife on a plate by a process of kneading. Before applying the ointment, it is always well to give the dog a warm bath. Accepting in the hottest weather, of course, he must remain in a warm room for several hours afterward. In fact, while under treatment, it would be well to keep the patient in warm quarters. If the skin is very raw, the rubbing in the bath and subsequently it must be very gentle, otherwise the skin will be much inflamed. A bath of ten or fifteen minutes will suffice to soften the skin, so it may be used to secure cleanliness. After the dog has been dried by the gentle use of towels, the ointment should be thoroughly rubbed into the skin, every part of the body, neck and even head where possible being treated. This should be done every night for ten days. If he is a house dog, he should be well washed every morning for obvious reasons, but the sulfur and lard should be applied again at night. If sarcoptic mange is present, the insects ought to all be destroyed by the fifth or sixth day to continue the application is, however, advisable to make sure. After this treatment has been administered, one may be reasonably certain that his dog has not the form of mange in question, and if any eruption remains, the chances are it is eczema or the other form of mange, which will next be described. Everyone who has seen a case of what is known as Barber's Itch can readily understand the appearances presented by the least common form of mange, the follicular. This affection runs the same course with identically the same phenomena as is observed in the parasitic psychosis of the human race. Again it is known that follicular mange in the dog and a kindred disease in the cat has been communicated to man and in him given rise to parasitic psychosis. Further proof of the analogy of these diseases has been presented by the microscope. Under it there has been found on the roots of the hairs drawn from a dog suffering from follicular mange the same form of parasite which causes parasitic psychosis in man. It is evident that with but one exception, writers on canine diseases have been satisfied to accept unquestioned an old theory that the form of mange under consideration was caused by an animal parasite called the acherous follicularum, which is identical with a parasite bearing the same scientific name in man. This harmless animal known as the pimple mite everyone is familiar with having pressed them from the face and nose enclosed in little cylinders of cheese like substance with blackheads the latter being accumulations of dust and dirt. Owing to their resemblance to maggots, these deposits, the natural contents of the sebaceous glands are considered worms by the ignorant who denominate them skin or face worms. Now instead of an animal parasite being the cause of follicular mange for the reason given there is every reason to believe that the form of the parasite present is a vegetable one, a mold fungus which attaches itself to the roots of the hair and does the mischievous work. The appearances presented in follicular mange are these. There is first an inflammation about the roots of a larger or smaller number of hairs usually but few show the affection in the beginning. The skin around the affected hairs feels hot to the touch is red and slightly swollen. Then pimples form in this region. The hairs soon fall out and pustules appear. These latter are flat and run together. They soon discharge their contents and scabs are formed. They in turn harden, crack open and bleed slightly. When once the disease appears it extends rapidly. The animal becomes repulsive not only in appearance but it gives off an exceedingly offensive odor. There is little if any itching. The pain from the eruption is considerable. Any portion of the body may be attacked but the affection usually appears first on the head. The general health as might be expected soon suffers and there is rapid loss of weight with progressive debility. Follicular mange can be cured but improvement even under the best treatment possible is slow and recovery is obstinately resisted. When once the disease has made much progress the chances are that it will take six or eight months to cure it. Besides the eruption the loss of hair causes great disfigurement. If a cure is accomplished the hair will grow again but a long time will elapse before it does so. If a dog not highly prized be attacked with this disease and it has made a considerable progress it would be the humane act to put him out of the way. The necessary treatment few would care to undertake unless the dog be a valuable one because frequent washings and applications must be made. Those who do not love their pets well enough to give them the best of care will sacrifice them at once if attacked with this loathsome form of mange. To the credit of dog owners be it said that even this misfortune would not be sufficient to induce many of them to take such a step. Therefore the treatment demanded for the disease will be advised. Here it will be well to say that for obvious reasons it is best for everyone to carefully examine his dog once a day and if he finds an eruption resembling at all follicular mange he should apply treatment without delay. If there are only two or three affected spots let him obtain from his druggist a mixture made up of Canada balsam and carbolic acid of each one or two drums. Into this dip a wooden toothpick and what remains deposited on it rub well into the affected spot. Treat each pustule in this way and afterward generously dust on dry sulfur. As a rule this application will kill the disease at the particular points as new pustules appear let them be treated in the same way. This disease is rarely discovered early more often it has made considerable headway before attention is attracted to it. When this is the case clip the hair closely around the eruption and wash the dog quickly with the strongest form of carbolic soap. Rinse with clear water. Before doing this however if crusts have formed linseed oil or lard should be freely used the night before to soften them. After washing apply the balsam and carbolic acid as described but it will not do to make the application over too great a surface at any one time for fear of poisonous absorption. On a large dog one might safely apply a thin coating of the remedy to a spot the size of a silver dollar. Having done so he should wait two or three hours and attack another spot then again wait and so on. In this way in a day or two the entire eruption even if extensive can be acted upon. After the pustule has been touched with the balsam and acid and been dusted as recommended no further treatment at this point is as a rule needed for rapid healing takes place. If the case is a severe one and there is need to wash the sufferer from time to time all badly inflamed spots which appear after the operation should be touched as advised. Lice, fleas, etc. and in fact everything which comes in contact with the skin and sets a dog to scratching are numbered among the local causes of eczema. It is also induced by heat and moisture hence long-haired dogs almost always suffer more or less from it in hot weather. Even water will provoke it if entered too often. Again there are a variety of medicines which when applied to the skin bring out an eczemaecious eruption. Nearly all stimulating liniments contain ammonia, turpentine, or arnica which will do this so also will kerosene oil. Hunting dogs which are much in their kennels and only taken out occasionally and then given hard runs during which they sweat excessively are quite likely to have eczema. Of constitutional causes which may give rise to eczema there are many but unfortunately they are not so well understood as the local ones already described. Probably to errors in feeding is the disease most often do. Since redeeming from his wild state the dog has been fed on a diet into which vegetables and starchy foods have entered largely. Perhaps if the proper portion of them and of meat could be determined a mixed diet would be found best suited to him but as a result of experience it is evident that his diet should contain an excess of meat. When such is not the case we find him as a rule showing in some way its need. When fed largely on starchy foods some dogs it is true seem to keep in good condition but many others on such a diet or show that they are below the standard of health. They are not only less strong and enduring but are generally the victims of some ailment and usually of the digestive system. Why those organs are most often affected is not difficult to understand. While starchy foods may furnish nearly all the elements necessary to supply tissue waste and keep active the vital processes many of them are not rich in such and with most of them two large quantities must be eaten to obtain all the essentials to support nutrition. To make clear the meaning of this statement we will instance one of man's popular foods and its nutritive value. Eggs contain all the elements needed to sustain him but if they were alone depended upon the large number necessary to supply one important nutritive principle would overload the system with other elements. Hence of course if one limited himself strictly to an egg diet he would die although he obtained therefrom all his system actually needed in the way of support. It will appear from the foregoing that if a dog is given too much starchy food he is quite certain sooner or later to have dyspepsia which trouble is one of the most common causes of eczema. Some have thought an excess of meat capable of exciting this skin affection evidently the theory is inferential that it has gone from the effect of such a diet on man. It certainly creates in him an eximacious tendency but there is no reason to believe that it has the same effect on the dog. Far from it, meat is so essential in the treatment of eczema it must be considered a remedial agent of the first importance. Not only is what is known as dyspepsia a cause of the disease in question but all disturbances of the stomach and intestines are capable of producing it. Dogs are singularly subject to worms which while not causing any special trouble in some instances yet in others give rise to quite serious symptoms and to them eczema is often due. Poverty of the blood is not uncommon in dogs and it is quite sure to exist in those which have for a considerable time been improperly fed. It shows itself in the mucous membranes and these instead of being of the rich red color are pale. Eczema naturally occurs in such cases as a complication. It also often appears in young puppies and their dams. It is liable to come on in the course of any disease which runs the dog low in flesh and strength. In fact, whenever the general health is impaired, whatever be the cause an eruption of eczema is likely to occur. That the disease is hereditary there is good reason to believe it does not necessarily follow that if a sire or dam has had eczema it must necessarily be carried on to the next generation. One would not expect this if the disease would do purely to local causes such as parasites but when constitutional in either parent then the chances are that the progeny will show a decided tendency to the affection. Whether the seeds of the disease or whether the conditions of the system which invited the occurrence or transmitted is not of course known. But this fact is settled, a puppy with an eczema sire or dam is likely to be marked with the same defect and if he is as the result of hereditary taint then he is comparatively worthless for in him the disease will always be intractable and if removed it will be especially liable to return. This fact should be given due weight in purchasing dogs. Both local and internal treatment are demanded in eczema. If it is due to parasites fleas, mange, etc then those troubles must be removed and when they are the eczema is very likely to disappear of itself. In many cases it is difficult to determine just what the internal cause is which excites it. If it can be made out treatment should of course be directed to its removal. When in doubt the following general line of treatment should be followed feed the dog largely on meat and at least once a day give him a little raw after he has taken his other food. If thin in flesh cod liver oil is recommended and the dose for one of the largest breeds of dogs is one tablespoon full three times daily mixed with his food if he will take it so if not it should be poured into him clear. Dogs which are too fat frequently have eczema and in such cases of course the quantity of food should be restricted and more exercise enforced. In the local treatment frequent washings have an important place the soaps used should not be irritating pure cast and carbolic soaps are the best if the skin is much inflamed the former should be selected. In washing one must be very gentle for hard rubbing is sure to make the disease worse after being carefully dried if the eruption covers large surface sulfur and lard a teaspoon full of the former to a tablespoon full of the latter should be gently applied. There are many other applications which would be more efficacious but none are as safe considering the fact that the animal is sure to lap off much of anything put on. This simple external treatment when combined with the internal already advised if faithfully persisted in will often affect a cure. Eczema is not contagious but in certain stages where there is much fluid thrown out by the eruption the disease can be communicated by actual contact. A sound dog sharing the kennel of one affected is very likely to contract it. This is one reason why eczema is so liable to be mistaken for mange. In brief how can one distinguish between sarcoptic mange eczema which is liable to be confounded and follicular mange. This is by no means easy. In the first two diseases mentioned there is intense itching while in the last it is slight or wholly absent. There is a decided difference in the appearance of the eruption but a non-professional is scarcely likely to note it so other distinctive symptoms must suffice. Follicular mange is a rapidly progressive disease. Loss of weight is quickly evident. Pustules as described are peculiar and again there is the offensive odor which is not a symptom in either of the other diseases noted. The sulfur treatment which is curative in the other forms of mange has little or no effect whatever in this. Distemper. The belief that every dog must have this disease is a popular one as is the delusion that every child is feted to suffer from scarlet fever measles, whooping cough and the like. As in all infectious diseases distemper is preventable and might be stamped out of existence but its nature the ways in which it is transmitted and the essential means of prevention are but little understood by the average dog owner. Considering these facts also that it is highly infectious it is not surprising that a large proportion of dogs sometime in their lives fall victims to this malady. Distemper never occurs in a dog unless he takes it directly or indirectly from another dog suffering from it. In other words for every case of the disease there must be a previous case as is true of small pox typhoid fever, scarlet fever measles and many other infectious diseases peculiar to the human race. It has long been held that distemper is a germ disease to Mr. Everett Malay in London is due the high honor of substantiating this theory. This painstaking investigator carried out a series of bacteriological observations and experiments and proved that the disease is due to the presence of one or more microorganisms. Many writers have likened distemper to typhoid fever of man and yet there is no close analogy between them. It far more closely resembles distemper which evidently belongs to the same class of diseases as distemper and the essential germs of each appear to be transmitted and propagated in much the same manner. Again the incubation period, the febrile stage, the duration the self-limitation and many characteristic symptoms are alike peculiar to both. If a dog has distemper he can communicate it to another dog which comes in contact with him. But there is good reason for believing that actual contact is not necessary for the transmission of the disease and that the specific germ or microbe attaches itself to various substances and in this way is transported. If the drinking or feeding basin, blanket bedding, collar or even chain in use by the sufferer from distemper be put into the kennel of a sound dog who has not had the disease or many that he will become infected. The germs cling tenaciously to woodwork and the portable benches used in dog shows are held to be peculiarly favorable to contagion, more especially because it is difficult to thoroughly disinfect them and where a large number of dogs meet at bench shows distemper germs are extremely likely to find entrance. They may be conveyed by a victim of the disease in its commencing stage or they may be introduced by an unaffected dog in his hair, blanket, crate or some other belonging from a kennel in which the disease is raging or has recently existed. Considering this fact bench shows are rightly held to be a menace to puppies. Age appears to lessen the susceptibility to the disease and mature dogs are much less liable to become infected than those in early life. The symptoms of distemper begin to present themselves in from four to fourteen days after exposure to contagion. Generally the first noted are dullness, a disinclination to exertion, partial loss of appetite and chilly sensations which are indicated by shiverings. Then rapidly follow the manifestations of a common cold sneezing, dry, husky cough and a discharge from the nose and eyes. The discharge is at first purulent, gluing the eyelids together and drying around the nostrils in crusts. There is also more or less fever which is noticeable when the back of the hand is placed between the thighs. If the attack is severe the animal grows duller and more indifferent, he does not rouse easily and when on his feet is listless and hangs his head. He may walk about a little but soon tires, lies down and dozes off into an quiet sleep. Every part of his system is involved by the disease. Vomiting is not uncommon. Diarrhea is a frequent symptom, the result of inflammation of the bowels to which there is a marked tendency in this affection. Inflammation of the air passages is also characteristic of it and is indicated by cough and quickened breath. Complications are liable to occur in this temper therefore its course will never be anticipated with certainty. If favorable the dog begins to show a little improvement in the course of a week and recovery is complete at the end of the third week. In cases running to a fatal termination death usually occurs before the fifteenth day. Other symptoms than these frequently appear but to describe them would be to invite confusion and we purposely confine ourselves to those which can be considered typical. The victim of this temper should be put into a room by himself. It should be dry and well ventilated. Pure air is of the greatest importance. In cold weather a fire will be needed in the room which should not however be kept too warm. The air within should be impregnated with some disinfectant. Chloride of lime is as good as any. It owes its merit to the free chlorine gas which it contains and gives off slowly into the air. To the germs of disease it is something of an enemy although not a powerful one. To have any decided effect in this temper it must be used freely and large pans or shallow boxes should be filled with it and placed about the room. The animal should be kept quiet and not encouraged to move around much. A constant supply of pure drinking water is essential. It is a matter of the greatest consequence that the patient be well nourished and this fact should be kept in view from the first. During the early stage of the disease the patient is likely to eat sparingly of milk or broths and what is taken voluntarily if in any considerable quantity will suffice. After two or three days the appetite will probably nearly if not entirely disappear. Generally the last food to be refused is raw beef which is allowable if scraped and given in quantities of one or two tablespoons every two hours. Total loss of appetite may sooner or later be expected in the majority of cases in which event nourishment must be administered by force, judgment of course being used in estimating the quantity necessary to support the strength. Milk and lime water and strong beef tea are mainly to be relied upon. About a cup full of either should be poured down the patient's throat at least four times a day and oftener if he is rapidly losing flesh and strength. Raw eggs are easy of digestion, one may be added to each cup full of beef tea or milk if these agents alone do not appear to be sufficiently supportive. Beef tea and meat liquids of a kindred nature can properly be considered restorative and stimulant but not nutritive. It is popularly supposed that taking them, the nourishing qualities of the meat are extracted by the water and that the dry hard remnant of meat fiber which remains undissolved is exhausted of its nutritive properties. This is almost always thrown away and thus the most valuable constituents are sacrificed and the liquid which is carefully preserved contains so little in the way of sustenance that it is almost worthless. The remnant actually contains nearly all the real virtue of the meat. If this be reduced to a paste by pounding in a mortar and is then added to the liquid in which it is cooked beef tea so prepared is not only highly nourishing but is also easy of digestion. The criticisms on beef tea as commonly made apply equally to extracts of meat and meat juices and to similar preparations for sale by drugists. They are all devoid of the so called constituents the nutritious elements. It should also be remembered that beef tea is slightly laxative therefore it should be withheld if a dog has diarrhea. As long as the patient appears to be doing well under this dietetic treatment it will of course be unmistakable evidence of its efficacy. If the case is a desperate one signs of failure will be plainly evident after the first week. If the owner is in doubt whether or not they are needed he should assume the affirmative and give them. Unless the case is urgent he should begin with one or two teaspoon fulls of sherry wine adding the same to each cup full of food. After a day or two the quantity of wine should be increased to a tablespoon full. If failure of strength and emaciation are progressive they must be substituted for the sherry wine and the doses gradually increased as before. In cases of simple distemper excessive stimulation will rarely indeed be indicated it is where other diseases occur during its course that it is most often needed. The discharge from the nose and eyes should never be allowed to accumulate but should be removed with a sponge wet with a solution of borax and water. This is an occasional symptom and is far less to be feared than diarrhea. To overcome the former an injection of soap suds is all that can be safely administered. Cathartics as a rule are dangerous if there is constipation it is best to give an injection every two or three days to obviate the tendency to brain trouble which exists in all severe cases. When beef tea and milk are vomited scraped raw beef should be fed upon. It should be rolled up in the hand and given in pill form. Even this is sometimes vomited. If so the nourishment for a time should be limited to the whites of raw eggs which practically require no digestion and are almost immediately absorbed by the stomach. A tablespoon full or more may be given every hour. If vomiting still persists 20 grains of the sub nitrate for four hours it can be mixed with the whites of eggs. No remedy has ever yet been discovered which will arrest distemper. The disease is self-limited and must run its course. Recovery may be expected if no accidents in the way of complications occur. In other words distemper in itself is not a very fatal disease and the greatest danger to be apprehended is from associate diseases developed during its course. In the way of treatment the first essential is good nursing and that is really about all that is needed to pull the majority of patients through. In fact where it solely depended upon infinitely fewer deaths would occur in distemper. Drugging however is the rule and undoubtedly a large portion of the dogs which die with this disease are actually killed by the indiscriminate use of medicines. It is absolutely impossible to define with anything like clearness a medicinal treatment for distemper. No remedy should be addressed to the disease itself but where one is used it should be to control unfavorable symptoms whichever risen. In other words it is the patient not the disease which should be treated and while in some instances drugs assist much they alone can never cure. Another thing non-professionals are on dangerous ground while using them. The best advice which we can give is confine your treatment to nursing. Unfortunately however there are many who have an overweening confidence in drugs and will insist upon using them so we shall briefly consider the medicinal treatment most often needed hoping by so doing to prevent dosing at random. If a dog when first attacked has high fever the following may be given. Tincture of akinite root, 30 drops chlorate of potassium one dram, sweet spirit of nighter one ounce water two ounces. Of this the dose for the dog of large size is one teaspoon full once in two hours while the fever is intense. As soon as it subsides the medicines should be discontinued. It would be better in every instance to stop it at the end of the second day if not earlier. Subnitrate of bismuth in 20 doses acts well in irritable stomach and may be given in persistent vomiting as already advised. In rare cases there is exhaustive diarrhea. If so a teaspoon full of paragoric may be administered once in from four to six hours. If there are no more than five or six discharges each day no treatment will be required in fact a slight loosening of the bowels is salutary. When the patient's appears to be failing and enforced feeding is necessary it will be well to give a one grain quinine pill four times a day. This is all the medicinal treatment which we can properly advise. Again we say to him who is unfortunate and has a distemper patient to care for depend upon nursing and use drugs only when their need is absolute. After convalescence commences the patient should still be kept quiet in giving him a more generous diet as he improves let it be done gradually for to bring on a relapse is always easy. About the time the disease ends and recovery commences an eruptive skin disease usually appears it is a favorable sign. Coria or twitching of certain muscles usually of the legs is a common after effect of distemper it is a very obstinate to affection and treatment it is rarely successful. There are no drugs which can be relied upon to overcome it therefore dosing is not justifiable. As the patient's general health improves the trouble in question may lessen. Whether it does so or not he should not be punished with medicines for as we have said they will do him no good. Worms Worms are a common enemy to dogs and no small percent of puppies die from this cause as to how they become infested there are many popular theories the generally accepted one being through the milk fed to them after having been weaned. Why cows milk should be accused of being the means of conveyance or what there is about it to create worms no one seems to know. It is one of those delusions without a grain of truth which have been handed down from generation to generation and like all others such is hard to dispel. Cows milk either fresh or boiled never causes worms in dogs and hence can always safely be given to them. The worm which occasions young dogs the most trouble is the lumbar coid a round worm resembling the common earth worm or what country boys call the angle worm. It varies in length being from 2 to 6 inches and is of a pale pink color perfectly round in shape and tapers toward each extremity. Probably the tape worm is the one which troubles old dogs the most although there are fully a score or more different forms of worms which infest the canine race at least three fourths of it are troubled with them. These two varieties are all that is necessary for us to consider for the treatment the point we shall dwell upon is much the same in all cases. Round worms sometimes come up into the stomach and are vomited but more often they are passed downward and are present in a small proportion of cases they do not give rise to any marked symptoms but as a rule they cause no little disturbance and that they do sometimes give rise to convulsions coria, paralysis and certain other serious affections of the nervous system is a well known fact. Frequently puppies and much less often old dogs partially lose the power of their hind legs and rapidly recover as soon as the discharge of the worms occurs. In a puppy usually the first symptoms of worms to attract attention is great abdominal distention or bloating no sooner does he begin to eat than this is noticed and it is all out of proportion to the amount of food taken. There is also usually some diarrhea and wormy discharges which are largely of mucus rusty in color as though mixed with powdered brick dust. Symptoms may be the only noticeable ones or there may be present others indicative of indigestion vomiting is not unusual and although the appetite is generally voracious the animal is almost always thin in flesh. In puppies over three or four months old if infested by worms the nose would very likely be hot and dry the breath offensive and there might be a cough as a direct consequence. A rough dry harsh coat is also a sign of worms and the sleep of an older puppy harboring them is usually dreamy and disturbed as evinced by nervous twitching and occasional moaning or barking. Worms in puppies but two or three weeks old excite colicky pains which cause the little ones to groan constantly and with almost every breath. When an attack comes on they are soon powerless to move the body and for hours lie numb and cold their piteous groaning never ceasing until just before they die. Occasionally by prompt treatment one is saved from this condition but such good luck is rare indeed. Besides the symptoms already described which are occasioned by worms in older puppies there are many others and so varied are they the average dog owner feels justified and rightly so in giving worm medicine in all instances where the pet is taken ill and he cannot make out the cause of the trouble. This speculative treatment is often successful and in no case is it likely to do harm if the proper medicine is used. There can be no doubt but nursing puppies become infested by worms in this way the dam has about her the eggs from which the worms are propagated in her hair etc. They are taken up by the puppies while nursing and enter the stomach with the milk. There they meet the conditions favorable for their development. Just what conditions are required for that are not known but there is reason to believe that mucus is especially essential. The inside of the intestines of young puppies is thickly coated with mucus and owing to the character of the food which they live on during the first five or six weeks of life this coating is but little affected and much of it remains or at least there is always what appears to be in excess. When the puppies begin to take solid food in its passage through the intestinal canal it carries mucus with it and less is left within. It is then that the puppies begin to free themselves of their pests. This fact is generally recognized and taken advantage of. Breeders as a measure against worms change the diet from liquid to solid as soon as the latter can be born. Those who have successfully treated puppies for worms have doubtless been surprised that the large number expelled. They multiply with marvelous rapidity. Eschwright estimates in the body of the female lumbar coid found in the intestines of man the number of eggs to be 64 million. These eggs after being discharged retain their vitality for many months and if they are so deposited that they can be taken up either in the food or drinking water worms are propagated from them in the intestinal canal to prevent the victim. Sour milk is believed to be a preventative for worms and many breeders feed it to their puppies at least once a day. Charcoal is considered to possess vermafuge properties and is also given. Probably both have a salutary action but it cannot be a powerful one. For puppies from but three to five weeks old the safest remedy for worms is the fluid extract of pink root and senna. They are given once a day for three or four days on an empty stomach. At the end of that time a teaspoon full of castor oil should be administered to clear out the intestinal canal. For worms in puppies three months old and upward and matured dogs the best remedy is a rick a nut or a beetle nut as it is called. In purchasing this choose the dark colored nuts and grate them on a nutmeg grater. Add a teaspoon full to a tablespoon full according to the size of the animal. If the patient is a puppy he should be fed milk only for supper the night before taking the medicine which should be given the next morning on an empty stomach and followed two hours afterward with a generous dose of castor oil. It is easier to administer the arica nut if it is mixed with just enough lard, butter or molasses to have it hold together with a hand, hand or foot it grasps the muzzle of the dog with the left hand the thumb and forefinger on either side pressing in the upper lip so as to cover the teeth and prevent biting. The mouth being opened and head up carry the pill back into the throat as far as possible and leaving it on the roots of the tongue close the jaws and keep them together until the dog swallows. If he does not do this at once pinch off the breath will be successful. Old dogs frequently have tapeworms of which there are several varieties probably dogs which are fed largely on raw meat are the most common victims in brief the way in which they become infested is this every tapeworm generates eggs which contain the germ from which other tapeworms are developed now these are thrown out of the body if they are ever taken up again and enter the stomach of a suitable animal their envelopes are softened and ruptured and the germs or embryos are set free in some way or other these leave the intestinal canal and make their way to different parts of the body meeting conditions favorable to their development if the flesh in which they are fixed is eaten by another animal they will when they reach his intestinal canal fasten themselves to the mucus membrane and develop into tapeworms this method of transition is rather intricate but can be made clearer by the following illustration the egg from a tapeworm of a dog is so deposited that in time it is taken up by a sheep in the body of this it finds the conditions necessary for its development and growth and becomes what is known as a conorus cerebralis a parasite found in the sheep's brain let this be eaten by a dog and in his intestines it will become a tapeworm if one dog in a canal has a tapeworm he may infect all his mates and he may even keep continually infecting himself in this way the eggs from him are deposited about and he takes them up on the hairs of his coat if he is unfortunate enough to have lice which are common among dogs these eggs are swallowed by them within the bodies of the lice the eggs meet with conditions which favor the rupture of their envelopes and the dog's escape and another transformation takes place inviting the parts irritated by them the lice are often swallowed by the dog and thus the germ enters and is developed into a perfect tapeworm in the intestinal canal which it left as a neg but a few weeks previous the same infested lice being shaken from his coat into the drinking water or the food may be introduced into other dogs kenneled with him and they in turn get infected a generously fed dog which seems strong active and healthy and yet keeps thin might well be suspected of having a tapeworm especially if he has a ravenous appetite whether he has worms or not ought to be easy to determine when the owner is in doubt he should give him worm medicine to settle the question the form which he is most likely to harbor is of a delicate character much of it being a thread like it is from 10 to 20 inches in length the largest tapeworm found in the dog may reach 10 feet in length and the germ from which it is propagated is derived from the sheep another form is furnished by the hair and rabbit this worm is from 3 to 2 feet in length a safe agent and one quite effectual in the treatment of tapeworm is the areca nut and a tablespoon full at least should be given to a dog of size he should fast one day before taking it on the night of that day he should be given a dose of castor oil to clear out the intestinal canal and leave the worm free to be acted upon by the medicine which should be administered the following morning two hours later another dose of castor oil should be given if it appears to be needed quite recently coconut as a remedy for tapeworm in man has been given some prominence in most of the cases in which it has been tried it has acted exceedingly well no reason appears why it should not prove as effective in the treatment of the same trouble in dogs the way of giving the nut which suggests itself as the best is to crush its meat in an iron mortar such as drugists have it can then be administered to the dog with a spoon and the milk be poured into him from a bottle another bitter enemy to the tapeworm is infusion of pomegranate root this like all other verma fuges should be given after fasting for 24 hours the dose for dogs of the largest breeds is three ounces six tablespoon fulls it is best to commence the treatment by giving castor oil two hours afterward the dose of the infusion stated should be given and repeated every two or three hours until four doses have been taken then the oil should be repeated these several measures have been described for the reason that sometimes a tapeworm proves obstinate and one remedy after another must be tried before its resistance can be overcome when an unsuccessful effort has been made to dislodge the parasite it will be well to repeat it in about two weeks a word further regarding the prevention of worms in young puppies at as early an age as possible they should be given solid food or food in a form approaching it toasted bread crushed up in broths or finely powdered dog biscuits in the same furnished means of clearing out the intestinal canal and of preventing in a great measure worms from attaching themselves to its walls the dietetic remedy is by far the most effectual and the safest vermin dogs are scarcely ever entirely free from fleas there are two kinds of these pests the common flea and the sand flea the former bites producing an eruption much like that caused on man by mosquitoes while the latter bores into the skin exciting quite extensive inflammation the sand fleas as the name implies are common in sandy districts and are very hard to kill some persons suffer from them almost as much as do the dogs they producing on them or to carry a disease commonly known as nettle rash and hives kennels infested with fleas if they are situated in the sand should be moved to a foundation of black earth or if this is impossible earth should be drawn and the floors and the surrounding ground be covered with it afterward the kennels and the dog should be treated to kill the pests if possible new remedies for fleas are constantly being recommended but without doubt is the Dalmatian insect powder certainly on the score of cleanliness and the ease with which it can be used there is nothing better for the purpose if blown into all the cracks and plenty flea thrown over the floor of the kennel for a time at least the nuisance will be abated to treat a dog for fleas lay him on several newspapers dust the powder over him freely and then work it with the hand well in among the hairs newspapers are an economical measure if this treatment is applied properly it means death to the troublesome insects the powder recommended when purchased in small quantities is quite expensive much can be saved by buying it by the pound quite assure means of ridding a dog of fleas is washing with strong carbolic soap suds this can if due caution is exercised be safely done in summer but in winter washing is rather hazardous of carbolic soaps there are at least two cons the strong and the mild the latter is for toilet purposes while the former is specially prepared for use on animals and is really the only one possessing any actual virtue as a destroyer of parasites in using carbolic acid in any form one must never forget its poisonous nature when washing a dog with soap containing it let it be done quickly and he be all rinsed off without a moment's unnecessary delay dogs often harbor lice and breeders find no little trouble in keeping them from puppies on the latter they give rise to a form of inflammation of the skin which leads to the accumulation of many small thin scales a dog may be washed with carbolic soap which will kill the lice but it would scarcely be safe to use that on very young puppies with sufficient freedom to accomplish the purpose it is best for two or three days to anoint them every day with sulfur and lard quite a generous quantity and then to wash them using the ordinary yellow soap of the kitchen the lard softens the scales so they are easily detached from the skin and with the sulfur heals the eruption sulfur is an enemy although not a bitter one to lice if this treatment does not prove effectual then the infested puppy must be washed every three or four days in strong carbolic soaps there will be but little danger in doing so if it is done quickly kerosene or crude petroleum will kill both lice and fleas but these remedies cannot take precedence over those already advised and besides they are exceedingly unpleasant to use the importance of cleanliness in a dog and his belongings is of infinite importance it is always well to occasionally burn sulfur in his kennel during winter when whitewashing is out of the question this will destroy all the vermin in it as an extra precaution against these pests it is always well to scatter about freely on the floor some disinfectant in a powdered form there are many such which are made up of carbolic acid and lime on the powder put sawdust and on that lay plenty of clean straw which should be changed once or twice a week the care and feeding of puppies dogs in their wild state were conivora or flesh eaters in domestication they have met with new conditions which have changed somewhat their natures while meat is still an absolute essential to their diet they do well if vegetable food is added in a limited quantity here it is well to say that there is a popular idea that by feeding dogs meat they are made savage the great majority of dog owners and breeders say that this is not true and yet there is a grain of truth in it a diet largely made up of meat tends to develop the animal in man and bring out his coarser qualities of mind it really makes him peevish and exacting if not morose so too with the dog it really does tend to make him savage not in the degree people generally suppose nor are its effects nearly as marked as on man if a dog is naturally ferocious his owner is quite sure to keep him much of the time chained up and as a direct consequence of that restraint he is made much worse fed largely on meat a dog which is humanely treated and allowed much liberty and such a diet will never injure his disposition even in the slightest degree a puppy should be fed four times a day until he is four months old from that period until the seventh month three meals a day will be sufficient then until a year old he need be given food only morning and night the last meal of the day should be the heaviest while very young milk should be his principal food here is a diet table for a puppy of the large breed eight weeks old seven a.m. milk warmed put into it one half a dog biscuit which has been grated fine on a nutmeg grater this should be scalded before it is added to the milk of which there should be about a cup full second meal eleven a.m. milk alone third meal four p.m. well cooked oatmeal and milk fourth and last meal of the day from nine to nine thirty p.m. beef and bread to prepare this put the meat cut fine into a tin can or vessel shaped like one after water in sufficient quantity about a pint to the pound has been added cover and put the can into a pan of water and set it away in a hot oven there to cook slowly cut two or three slices of stale white bread and keep them in the oven until brown when the time of feeding comes pour the beef onto the bread and mash it up well after doing this add the meat which has been crushed into a paste in a mortar one cup full and a half of this mixture would be a hearty meal for a puppy of the very largest breed when he is eight weeks old it is dangerous to over feed a puppy but it will be easy to estimate the proper quantity of food on the first sign of abdominal distention the feeding should stop commencing with this diet it should be slightly changed from time to time but all changes should be gradual variety is essential to a growing puppy instead of oatmeal Indian meal may be given occasionally and mashed potatoes and other easily digestible vegetables may be added to the diet after the third month scraped raw beef may be allowed each day the quantity at first should not be over a dessert spoonful to every puppy after the age stated or matured dog should be given meat either raw or cooked every day if this rule is not followed he is sure to suffer in health if fed largely on starchy foods oatmeal Indian meal puddings and the like he might for a time appear to remain in good condition and yet he would not be as strong and as healthy as if he were fed properly this ends section 48 some canine diseases and their remedies section 49 of the American book of the dog this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org read by Michelle Fry Battenridge, Louisiana the American book of the dog by G. O. Shields editor section 49 Spaniel training by F. H. F. Mercer parentheses D. Bolton-Harold author of the Spaniel and its training owing to the space at my command being limited the interesting subject of Spaniel training cannot be gone into here in an exhaustive manner however the following directions are amply sufficient to show an ordinarily intelligent man the course to pursue in training a Spaniel for work of field to thoroughly train a Spaniel for the field it is well to commence when the puppy is about three months old the first lesson to be taught should be that of obedience give your pupil to understand that you must and will be obeyed christen the puppy and always call him by the same name he must learn that when you call he has to come if he refuses go to him and take him by the nape of the neck drag him to where you stood when the order was given saying come here dog's name come here and on returning to your standing place unloose and make much of him repeating his name with each endearment taking a pair of old and soft yarn socks roll them into a ball and fasten so that they cannot come apart he push the ball into his face until he attempts to seize it and when his attention is centered on the new play thing throw it about a foot away saying go fetch dog's name motioning in the required direction at the same time with the hand if he takes it in his mouth call him to you and should he bring it say dead bird or dead opening his mouth at the same time and gently removing the ball should be taken not to pull the ball away thereby laying the seed of future trouble in the shape of dismembered perhaps eaten birds and game should he refuse to fetch but run away and gnaw at the ball go to him and keeping it in his mouth draw him after you to where you stood when the ball was thrown then say dead and proceed as before in the event of his refusing to pick up the ball take him behind the shoulders dragging him to where it lies place it in his mouth and proceed as before directed care should be taken to prevent his mauling and biting at the ball and on his attempting to do so order him sharply to stop that slapping him smartly at the same time these lessons should be persisted in until they are thoroughly understood by the puppy the ball should now be hidden without the pupils knowledge and he should then be ordered to seek at the same time being shown the direction in which to quest by a wave of the hand if he fails to find show him where it is hidden and try again never let him suffer disappointment in his search and always make him carry the ball to you and lay it at your feet he will by this time have learned to deliver without the command to do so hide the ball in more and more unlikely places as he progresses until he will at last find it no matter where it is hidden he should not on any account be permitted to carry sticks stones or other hard substances as such practices would inevitably make him hard in the mouth practice the retrieving sometimes in the dark as this will teach him to depend on scent rather than sight to teach a puppy to heal call sharply when he is walking with you heal dog's name and at the same time he will notice him behind you should he attempt to break away tap him smartly with a light stick or whip and again put him behind you repeating the command while doing so this lesson must be thoroughly inculcated as it is of the greatest importance that a dog should come well to heal and stay there until ordered to high on this ladder is the easiest by far of all the lessons to impart as the dog is always anxious to avail himself of the opportunity to indulge in a scamper when the puppy is running at heal say sharply high on or run along waving the right or left hand forward at the same time and run two or three steps to start him off on a warm day when the temperature of the water is high take your pupil to a river bank or pond where the beach shelves gradually under the water you will air this have sewn some thin shavings of cork into the sock ball fling this to the water's edge and order the puppy to fetch next throw it in so far as to oblige him to wet his feet in reaching it and so on farther and farther until he is at last obliged to swim never go away leaving the ball in the water but if he refuses to fetch get it for him and try again beginning the lesson anew whatever determination you may display in these early lessons confused in him we will now suppose that our pupil has thoroughly learned the tasks here and before enumerated and that the time has come when he may be taken afield on arriving at covert high him in and his instinct then tells him to quest for game at first let him range at will so that he will thoroughly enter into the fun but after a time should he go more than an easy gunshot away conceal yourself and oblige him to find you without any assistance this will frighten him and the chances are that he will range closer in the future after a few days of this work when he goes too far away call to him close dog's name close making him come nearer to you should he persist in ranging too far call him in and thrash him saying the while close dog's name close should he attempt to chase a flushed bird call where chase dog and thrash him soundly repeating the command while doing it if a hair is sprung and the puppy attempts to chase it shout where fur and chastise him he must be broken of this evil habit at all hazards time will accomplish the rest it will teach him to work in the direction indicated by a wave of the hand or a nod of the head to range never too far from the gun and when roding a bird to wait on his master a constant case of wide ranging can almost certainly be overcome by means of a choke collar and check cord some remarks in relation to the training of ladies pet dogs of whatever breed may not be out of place in this connection even though a lady may not be desirous of giving her pet a finished education there is so much satisfaction to be had out of the ownership of an obedient cleanly dog who will show off a few simple tricks before a group of boring friends that I fancy some directions on the subject will be acceptable a puppy should not be punished for misdemeanors until he is at least three months old before that he cannot understand what he has done that is wrong you would not punish a year old child why then a month old puppy it is a common remark the children can do anything with Jack and he never minds that is all very well done by the ears or tail punched, kicked and rolled over and it is only common humanity to check his tormentors and make their play less cruel when the puppy has made a mess he should be taken to the place and his nose rubbed in it he should be scolded the while and sharply slapped never punish him if sufficient time has elapsed since his indiscretion to admit of the possibility of his having forgotten his fault or and no good will be achieved if this practice is adhered to in every case he will soon learn to be cleanly always provided he is allowed to run outside every now and then a ladies pet is notoriously a disobedient dog this is because from the kindness of their hearts the mistresses scruple to use the rod spare the rod and spoil the dog is a good motto not mind you that I advocate incessant whippings punishment is needed a thorough chastisement should be given not a few paths and an oh you naughty fellow how could you I do not agree with the cynic who wrote a woman a spaniel a walnut tree the more you beat them the better they be but I know that there are times when the only proper remedy for a dog is a sound thrashing in dog training what one has to do is gain a footing in the animals mind by making him understand the dog is wanted and teach him the meaning of words and signs the rest is easy to teach a dog to jump through a hoop take a hoop of proper size call your pupil to you and holding the hoop over his head wrap his legs smartly with it on the knees and say jump sir jump hold him firmly and force him against the hoop saying all the time jump jump then force him through it praise and pet him as a reward try it again and if he will not go through force him again and proceed as before when once he will go through on being ordered all will be well and you can gradually hold the hoop higher and higher until he will spring several feet in the air an important thing to remember is never weary your pupil and only teach one thing at a time which he must have learned thoroughly ere you take up something new teach him to be dead force him to the ground where he has been standing saying dead sir dead and hold him there for a few moments then spring up yourself and cry alive again making him get up when you praise and pet him continue this until he will fall down on receiving the command and rise also at the word scold him if he moves a muscle while dead and never make him lie more than a few moments at the outset and be taught to say his prayers in precisely the same way except you make him assume a suitable posture with his nose on a chair and to spring up at the word amen about as good a way as any to teach a dog to stand on his hind legs is to put some stuff of which he is fond in a spoon and hold it at such a height that by standing on his hind legs he can lick it out while doing this say all the time stand and praise and pet him for so doing in this way he will become accustomed to standing on hind legs alone and in time will stand and walk when ordered to teach a dog to sit up it is best to place him in position in a corner and hold him there saying the while sit up sir sit up when he will do so without restraint reward him in a little while when he will sit in the corner bring him out and make him sit without support trust and paid for hold a dainty at his nose keeping his mouth shut at the same time saying trust sir trust then let loose his mouth say paid for and let him eat it three cheers if you hold a dainty out of the reach of a young dog he will generally bark at you therefore when he does this say three cheers one two three and at the third bark give him the coveted morsel speak distinctly and never give it to him until he has barked three times shaking hands is taught by making him sit before you and taking hold of his right paw lifting it and saying shake hands next say this again but instead of taking hold of the leg tap it smartly behind saying the while shake hands shake hands this ends section 49 spaniel training and this ends the American book of the dog by various authors read for you by Liebervox volunteers