Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-09-14

| ers desiring proper carriage of the ears
| In certain direction, according to the
| breed of dog. Perhaps the cleverest meth
| cd adopted consists in incising the skin at
| the edge of the upper surface. almost at
| the base of the ear. A fine probe pointed
| bistoury, the blade of which is introduced
Iflatwise, is then inserted simultaneously
and has its sharp edge drawn across the
muscle which is pulling the ear in the OBJ
Jectionable direction.
When neatly done it Is often Impossible
to detect that any operation has been per-
formed. Even if a small scar is found 1t
| may readily be passed over as being due
| to bite or other injury of like nature
Dogs, like men, sometimes squint and
| 1t Is but natural that many owners of ami
mails so afflicted should be anxious to
remedy the defect in their favorite's beau
ty. Mr.. HOLIDAY came across one fat col
lie SO direly afflicted with convergent stra-
bismus that his pupils appeared to be
looking at his nose all the time Needless
to say, the appearance of the animals
face was of the most ludicrous The poor
bow-wow had only been troubled in this
way for about three months, but during
that comparatively brief period his lot had
been anything but an enviable one. for
when crossing a crowded thoroughfare he
had had more than one narrow escape
from being run over.
Professional advice soon restored him to
his pristine beauty, however, for a general
anaesthesia was administered, the head be-
ing kept perfectly still, while the internal
rectus was cut, and the squint from that
moment had ceased to be. If you want
the technical description of the operation,
here are Mr.. Holidays words:
"A speculum Is applied to the eyelids,
and the conJunctiva at the canthus care
fully lnclSed with pair of fine scissors, q
fine blunt hook is passed underneath the
rectus muscle the latter being raised and
cut through"
In dogs that have insufficient exercise it
is common to find the nails too long caus-
hnf mi nd 10
The claws should be shortened by merely
cutting a portion off with instruments sim
liar in pattern to wire nippers. The instru-
ment should always be applied in a YER
teal direction; nor must the claws be cut
too short.
Dog dentistry is a science i'm ITSELF but
the general rules for extracting teeth can
be got into very brief compass. Care
should always be taken to get a firm grip,
as far up the fang as possible, pushing the
points of the forceps we'll under the gum.
The offending organ is then loosened in its
socket by few lateral movements. and
withdrawn by being pulled in direction
which is continuous with the fang or fangs
If pulled in direction out of the straight
line the crown is apt to be broken off.
In the future there should be field for
enterprise in the matter of false teeth for
dogs, for, Mr.. HOLIDAY, in conjunction with
Mr.. Edward Moseley, successfully accom-
modated an aged Schipperke with artificial
organs for mastication. The few remaining
teetn anu StufnpS were extracted, and i'm
pressions taken of the mouth; a false set
being made and fitted in with springs in
the same way as in human dentistry. 1t
is recorded in this connection that the ami
mai tore the meat Of Q mutton chop very
shortly after the operation, but, alas! one
fine morning eighteen months after this
interesting animal was stolen, nor has he
been heard of since,
In the course of his instructive pages
Mr.. HOLIDAY tells all about amputation
either of tails or legs, and some interesting
photographs of dogs with artificial limbs
are included in the book