III. - The Remedies

The medicines prescribed in this work, and used in my practice, are internal and external.

The internal are in three forms: -

1. Pilules, which are non-medicinal vehicles, saturated with a certain dilution of any given medicine. They are specially suitable for small dogs, when it is necessary to give medicine either from the dog refusing, or being unable, to take it.

2. Tinctures, or alcoholic solutions of the remedy, varying in the dilution, and given mixed with a little milk or water, which most dogs will readily take.

3. Triturations, in which the crude drug is minutely subdivided, by being rubbed up with a non-medicinal substance in certain fixed proportions. These are not much used.

A table giving the scientific and common names of the remedies, and the dilution of each most useful in the ordinary run of cases, will be found in the Appendix.

A list of the external remedies will also be furnished in the same place, giving directions how they are prepared, and in what diseases they are useful or indispensable.

IV. - What Dose To Give

The following directions on this point apply to all the medicines mentioned in this work, and should be followed out, except when the dose is specially stated under the "treatment." The plan here adopted is preferred to that of giving each dose after each medicine, to save space for practical matter.

The dose varies with the size and age of the patient. The average quantity required in most diseases is as follows: -

Pilules, .... One pilule for small dogs. Tinctures,. . . From one to three drops. Triturations, . From half a grain to one grain.

When tinctures are given, it is best to mix say six drops in six teaspoonfuls of pure cold water, and give a teaspoonful of this mixture for a dose; or, in the case of a larger dog, eighteen drops in the same quantity of water. Each teaspoonful of the mixtures will, of course, contain one drop and three drops of the tinctures respectively.

All vessels used to hold the medicines should be scrupulously clean.

No two medicines must be mixed together; each one must be given by itself to do its own special work.

V. - How Often To Give The Dose

In acute cases, such as inflammation of the lungs, or in such as are attended with pain, or are evidently attended with great danger unless speedily checked, the medicine, or medicines, should be given frequently, - every hour, or every two hours, according to the violence of the symptoms. When the disease is within the remedial power of medicine, and when the remedy is adapted to the disease, improvement will set in, in many cases, even after the first dose. Then it follows that the medicine, or medicines, must be given less frequently than before. When two medicines are required to meet all the symptoms, each dose of them is to be given alternately; for instance, if Aconite and Bryonia be both indicated, and if the severity of the disease necessitate their administration every hour, A. is to be given, say at the even hours, 2, 4, 6, and B. at the odd hours, 3, 5, 7, etc. And so with all the others.

In old standing cases, or in chronic diseases, the medicine may be given two, three, or four times a-day, according to circumstances.

VI. - How To Give The Medicines

As the internal remedies are devoid of taste or smell, and are of little bulk, there is much less difficulty in getting dogs to take them than is the case in the old practice. It is not necessary to force them down the throat of an unwilling and nauseated animal; nor, after they have got into the stomach, "to put the couples on, and fasten them up to a hook at such a height that the dog cannot lower his head, maintaining this position for two or three hours," * for the purpose of preventing their return journey by vomiting. The stomach is intolerant of nasty or of bulky physic, and often expels what would prove injurious if retained.

Pilules, if not taken voluntarily, may be administered by gently separating the jaws, and getting another person to let them fall into the back part of the mouth, whilst the head is slightly raised. In some cases a single person can give a pilule without the slightest fuss.

Tinctures, each dose mixed with about a table-spoonful of water, are readily taken in most cases; but should the dog refuse, or be unable to take this mixture, it must be administered by gently raising the head, and pouring the fluid with a teaspoon between the cheek and the teeth; it will then make its way gradually into the throat and be swallowed, without resorting to the least force.

Triturations may be given in two ways; either by mixing up the powder with a little milk, or other food that the dog is fond of, or by placing it dry on the back part of the surface of the tongue.

* Stonhenge on the Dog, page 320.