This accident is not uncommon with greedy animals that bolt their food; a bone, a piece of gristly meat, or other hard substance, is bolted, and sticks fast in its passage to the stomach. I always adopt the plan of reserving bones until after the dogs have fed, for if given with the other food they are at once picked out, and the smaller ones are, when the dog is hungry, apt to be swallowed unmasticated and produce choking.

Treatment

Frequently by manipulating the throat outside with the fingers the obstruction can be worked down the gullet, or if it can be felt in the upper part of the throat, it may be removed by the throat forceps, which most veterinary surgeons keep by them. Hill recommends, when the substance is too low for extraction, and manipulating with the fingers externally fails, to endeavor gently to force it down with a piece of bent whalebone, having a piece of sponge tied to the end of it, and dipped in oil. In using this extra care must be taken that the sponge is so firmly attached to the whalebone that it cannot slip off, for if swallowed it might effectually block up one of the smaller intestines; therefore, cut nitches in the whalebone, into which-tie the piece of sponge. As soreness, if not actual laceration, is almost sure to be caused, the dog should for some days after be confined to soft food.

The following, on choking, I found. The subject is so ably treated, that I publish it also:

"This is of very frequent occurrence with dogs, as usually they are voracious feeders, careless of consequences, and the fact that they use their mouths much as we do our hands in grasping and conveying various objects makes them particularly liable to swallow foreign substances, that may become lodged in the gullet. The commonest objects on which dogs choke are bones that they have been feeding upon. If the bone lodges in the back of the throat it may set up such a violent coughing and retching as to asphyxiate the subject. The back of the throat, however, is not the usual lodging place, for as a rule the bone or other object passes that point, where the gullet is comparatively large, and lodges over the heart, where it is smaller. Locating at this point causes the greatest distress. The dog keeps gulping as if trying to swallow, and from time to time is seized with a period of retching. In a clay or two the extreme distress passes, and the patient drinks water and milk or other liquids freely and can also swallow raw eggs, but if solid food is taken, directly it reaches the obstruction it lodges. Young dogs and those which are playful sometimes swallow needles and pins. These usually become imbedded in the back of the tongue, and can be removed from that position, but sometimes they reach the gullet and pass through into the tissues, forming an abscess, their usual location being just behind the "angle of the jaw. Removing needles and pins from the back of the tongue is done most easily with a pair of forceps, although it sometimes can be. done with the finger. The principal thing is to be careful not to break the object. The symptoms in these cases are usually very severe, so that prompt action is necessary. In those cases where a bone has pased far down the gullet-and lodged over the heart it is sometimes sufficient to feed the dog a few pieces of meat, which will force the obstruction on. If this is not successful a probang must be uesd to force the obstruction down into the stomach, but this should be attempted only by a skillful veterinarian or a physician, as it may be necessary to use considerable force, and there is danger of rupturing the gullet,, which, is fatal. If the obstruction cannot be removed by the probang, then the only thing remaining is to feed the patient on liquid food until such time as the sharp points of the bone become dissolved and rounded off, so that it will be easily pushed along by the probang." _