Administration Application Remedies Dogs

The treatment of dogs or other domestic animal one great obstacle to successful medication is the difficulty often encountered in the administration of remedies.

ADMINISTRATION AND APPLICATION OF REMEDIES TO CANINE PATIENTS

"In the treatment of dogs or other domestic animal one great obstacle to successful medication is the difficulty often encountered in the administration of remedies.

Dogs frequently refuse to swallow liquids or offer such strenuous objections that a portion of the medicine is spilled and the quantity administered becomes merely speculative. Hence it is not advisable to use liquid medicines at all for dogs if it.' Can be avoided.

Hypodermic injections of alkaloidal solutions are the most prompt, efficient and reliable method of administration we have, but as it pre-supposes the possession of a hypodermic syringe the plan is not feasible in the majority of instances.

Other methods are to have the remedies incorporated in tablet or granule form or given in gelatin capsules. For ordinary purposes this is the most convenient method. The tablet or capsule can be placed toward the back of the tongue and readily forced back with the finger far enough so that to swallow is the only thing the patient can do.

Always treat him kindly and give an approbative pat on the head and when the time for the next dose arrives he will be ready for it.

At times liquid medicines are necessary, especially saline laxatives, and as they are decidedly of unpleasant taste and the dose necessarily large it is frequently quite a difficult matter to convince the patient that it is "not bad to take." Rochelle salts is the least nauseating of the saline laxatives and when given largely diluted with water its action is increased and the taste riot so disagreeable.

In giving liquids place the patient in a corner, but do not handle roughly. Have the medicine in a bottle or hard rubber syringe. Take hold of the fold at the angle of the mouth and pull out to form a pouch, then pour in a small quantity at a time, repeating as it is swallowed.

A dose of castor oil is sometimes required, especially to supplement the action of a vermicide. If this is given in about four parts of milk the taste will be largely disguised and the administration more pleasantly effected.

In applying lotions to the eye the lids can be separated by the thumb and finger and the solution dropped in from a medicine dropper.

When the nasal passages are occluded by adherent discharges, applications of warm water and steaming will be of benefit. For the latter, the patient can be held with the cose over a vessel containing hot water (medicated if the case demands) and enclosing head and vessel with a towel. Care must be taken though to allow sufficient air.

In applying remedies to the ear the most useful implement is a blunt, hard rubber syringe. If, however, it is necessary to apply dry powder a "blower" will be found of great service.

In treating wounds the watchword should be antisepsis, but in the use of such I-reparations one must always bear in mind the danger that may result from the patient licking the dressing. Of antiseptics iodoform should never be used for the dog except in minute quantities, owing to liability of absorption and poisoning. In applying remedies other than per orem it sometimes becomes necessary to restrain the patient from biting his would-be benefactor. This can be accomplished by tying a long piece of tape tightly around the jaws, having the knot on the under side. Then carry the ends back of the ears and tie again.

In the application of unguents to the skin of long-haired dogs time is really sometimes saved by clipping. The skin can be more thoroughly cleansed and dried and the remedy more evenly applied and consequently better results obtained.

In the writer's experience, no appreciable difference could ever be observed in the texture or color of the hair when it had grown out again. The clipping, however, should not be resorted to except in obstinate cases and during favorable weather.

Rectal injections are frequently indicated, especially in house dogs where from lack of exercise and irregular habits the faeces becomes impacted. In cases of collapse, extreme weakness and refusal of food it sometimes becomes necessary to introduce predigested foods and medicines per rectum. The ordinary bulb syringe or those of the hard rubber variety can be used for this purpose, but the nozzle must not be pointed enough to injure the mucus membrane as abrasions of the latter might prove troutoiesome.

Harry W. Lacy, in the American Stock-Keeper, has the following to say. And the article is valuable enough to insert in full, pertaining to this subject:

"The housemaid's idea about taking medicine, obtains in a good many kenneis if one spoonful is good two will be better. There is really a good deal of carelessness in administering medicine to dogs. The administration is often attended with no little difficulty and in the case of a fractious dog perhaps but half the dose is thought to have entered r.nd another spoonful for luck may be given. Though we are adjured to turow physic to the dogs, a little less rather than a little more is the safest rule. In giving medicine to a dog that is unruly don't hurry. Proceed calmly and quietly; get the dog in your lap, if a small one, with the body pressed between the knees, or if a large dog stand over his shoulders with the dog's stern backed into a corner; then if a liquid is to be given, while you hold the head with one hand, make a cup in the corner of the lips (flews) with the other, and have some-one pour the dose into it. Hold the cup-like formation you have made with the under lip, until the liquid has entered the throat, raising the head at the same time. We like better the capsule form of administering medicine to dogs. If the dog will not open its mouth willingly, hold him as directed above, but this time cover his top jaw with the hand and squeeze the top lips under his canine teeth, this action opens the mouth and prevents the dog biting, for he will not bite through his own lips. Then with the other hand hold the pill or capsule between the thumb and forefinger as far back on the dog's tongue as possible, and if you have the chance give it an extra push with the forefinger down the throat; hold the muzzle until the dog swallows. Our Dogs in some recent notes gave a useful scale of weights in which different breeds are included, and as most doses are regulated to the weight of dogs this information is handy.

"Beginning with small dogs up to ten or twelve pounds we have all the toy varieties. Those up to about twenty-five pounds include the terrier (except Airedale), also, dachshunds, beagles, whippets, cocker spaniels and the smaller bulldogs and bull terriers. The next grade, not exceeding about fifty pounds, covers col lies, basset-houndis, Airedales, spaniels. Then above fifty pounds we have most of the sporting dogs, greyhounds, foxhounds, dalmatians, pointers, deerhounds, retrievers, sheep dogs, etc.; and, finally, above 100 pounds in weight we get the big breeds, St. Bernards, Great Danes, Newfoundlands and Mastiffs.

It does not, however, follow that the best plan for apportioning doses can be formed according to this list of breeds; and it is best to regulate medicinal doses to a twenty-pound standard. This is most easy of calculation. We may just mention here that, as there are sixty drops in a liquid teaspoonful of medicine, it becomes very easy to figure out the necessary doses of any particular medicine for any particular dog, since, supposing a teaspoonful to be ordered to be given to a dog weighing twenty pounds, that simply means three drops for every pound the dog weighs. Now. Anyone provided with a small graduated measure glass, such as can be obtained marked from five drops up to two teaspoon fuls, can very easily, and with perfect safety, administer any medicines, which may be recommended.

---