Cough, strictly speaking, is a symptom of disease, rather than a disease itself, but it is in very many cases to non-professional observation the most distinct sign that something is wrong; indeed, so markedly is this the case that we speak of a person having a bad cough as the ailment from which he suffers, rather than the symptom of that ailment, and hence we have innumerable specific remedies as cough mixtures, cough pills, etc. Our dog we treat in the same way, taking the sign for the substance, the smoke for the fire, and fortunately without much practical harm, for generally speaking, the medicine that will ease a cough is acting favorably on the disease of which the cough is an evidence. To decide what particular disease is indicated by the cough, the concomitant symptoms and circumstances, as described under the special disease, which are usually preceded or accompanied by cough, must be taken into account, and the special treatment called for in each case followed. Coughs vary as much in character as do the diseases of which they are in many cases the most pronounced indication. Thus, in common cold the cough slight and humid; in bronchitis, hard, dry and frequent; and in inflammation of the lungs and pleurisy, short and suppressed, doubtless from the great pain caused by the effort. When the throat is sore, the cough is hoarse and generally accompanied by more or less difficulty in swallowing; in asthma, the cough may be described as wheezy, and is often followed by vomiting. Cough in distemper has a peculiar husky, hollow sound. Cough may be produced by a bit of bone or other substance sticking in the throat and causing irritation, in which case the cough is the natural effort to get relief, and ceases with the removal of the irritating cause. As a cough is almost invariably connected with some derangement of the respiratory organs or air passages, its warning should never be neglected, and the early resort to the use of the following pills will be sure to relieve, will frequently cure, and can, under no circumstances, do any harm:

Cough Pill

Powdered ipecacuanha ........................ 6 grains.

Powdered opium ............................. 6 grains.

Compound squill pill .........................24 grains.

Powdered gum ammoniacum ...................2 4 grains.

Powdered licorice............................24 grains.

Powdered rhubarb ...........................12 grains.

Mix and make into twenty-four pills; dose for a 15-lb. to 40-lb. dog, one pill night and morning; under 15-lbs. half a pill, and for large breeds give 1 1/2 pills as a dose.

Another very good cough mixture for many kinds of coughs is:

Muriate of ammonia ......................... 2 drams.

Compond syrup morphia ...................... 2 ounces.

Aqua destil................................ . 2 ounces .

Dose: From half to a teaspoonful every two hours according to size of dog. For puppies 10 to 15 drops as a dose.

For A Bronchial Cough (Chronic)

The following is a very good one. A teaspoonful is the dose, as this cough is, of course, found in older dogs only, and will do for all breeds except very small toy dogs, when half a teapoonful will do:

Spirit chloroform ............................1/2 dram.

Wine of ipecac .............................. 3 drams.

Tincture of squills............................ 5 drams.

Simple syrup................................ 1 ounce.

Aqua to make .............................. 4 ounces.

There are a great many other good cough remedies, in fact anything good for the master's cough is good for the dog's, and I herewith give several prescriptions that I know to be good by having tried them.

A dog that is well and in good condition may have a dry cough, does not cough very much at a time, but quite often. I have cured such cases with the following:

Carbonate of amnioniacum..................... 3 drams.

Fluid extract of belladonna..................... 2 drams.

Gum camphor ............................... 5 drams.

Syrup of squills............................. 5 drams.

Simple syrup ................................ 4 ounces.

Fluid extract of licorice ....................... 4 ounces.

Dose for a medium-sized dog, a teaspoonful every four hours. This is a very good cough syrup. Large dogs could have 1 1/2 teaspoonsful.

A cough remedy advertised for humans, called "Pinex," I tried on dogs, and found it to be very good for many coughs.. You can get a fifty cent bottle of Pinex of your druggist, and from this, prepare at home, a pint of cough syrup that would cost a couple dollars, by mixing the contents of the bottle in a syrup you can easily make from less than a pound of granulated sugar. The dose would be from half to a teaspoonful, every two to four hours. Dogs larger than fifty pounds, could stand a little larger dose. I have used this for the cough a dog has in distemper, and it did the dog's cough good, not conflicting with the other medicines being used.

Very lately the following prescription was prescribed for me by a regular doctor for a chronic, bronchial, dry cough, that one of my old dogs has every fall and winter, which nothing I had ever used would stop - this one did it - and I consider it a most valuable one.

Syrup Oocillana, Compound (Parke Davis & Co.)

Dose would be a teaspoonful for dogs up to 50 pounds, and a little more for very large breeds, every two or three hours. A dose of any cough syrup should always be given the last thing at night.

Here is an "old fashioned cough syrup" for a "sore throat cough." Boil down some onions and brown sugar, and give teaspoonful every twd or three hours.

Another very sensible article on coughs, (which I found some place), commends itself:

"There are two kinds of coughs that a dog suffers from; one comes from the throat and the other from the stomach, and each requires different treatment. There is about as much use in trying to cure a stomach cough with a bronchial remedy as there would be for you to take a laxative for chilblains, and yet it is often done. The bronchial cold may be treated in the following manner: Put in a warm room and give either cod liver oil, syrup of white pine or some similar preparation. A good formula for coughs in dogs is syrup of squills, syrup of wild cherry, of each two parts; glycerine, one part. If the cough becomes so bad that there is a great deal of difficulty in breathing, an ordinary water kettle placed over a gas stove or some other hot fire, so that the escape of steam will be rapid, will be found to be a relief. Of course, a regular bronchitis kettle or one of the patent lamps that can be had for a small sum at any drug store, can also be used. In the stomachie cough it is always wise to give a purgative and to treat for worms, as internal parasites are in nine cases out of ten the primary cause of the trouble. Two or three days should then he allowed to elapse, and the treatment repeated. This may be done a third and even a fourth time, if the cough does not disappear. Do not physic every day or you will weaken the animal too much, but allow two or three days to pass."