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Treatment is generally successful. If it takes place before the hematoma becomes too extensive, healing will be complete and damage to the ear will be negligible. A common aftermath, which often cannot be helped, is that a normally upstanding ear may sometimes permanently lose its erectness and fall over to one side. If treatment takes place after the hematoma has wrought considerable damage, the ear may develop a more or less crinkled appearance. In untreated animals, the ear will almost always develop an exaggerated crinkled appearance not very different from that of the cauliflower ear of a wellbattered prizefighter.
Most puppies like to chew things. What these things are does not appear to make a great deal of difference. During the fourth or fifth month, when the animal starts to lose its baby teeth and acquire its permanent ones, the gums are usually slightly inflamed and chewing is especially comforting to the animal.
Before making an explicit statement of the practical feeding routine, it would be well to mention a few words about the eating of grass. The ancestral dog probably ate grass when he was nauseous, toxic, constipated, or otherwise indisposed. The grass would exercise a beneficial laxative effect, causing the animal to vomit and to move its bowels, accompanied by relief of the indispositions. This seems to have been a wholly instinctive activity; the modern dog has retained this instinct. It still eats grass and apparently does so for the same reason as the ancestral dog. However, while the eating of grass does actually have salutary effects on many vigorous modern dogs, it also often produces harmful effects on a goodly percentage of animals maintained as household pets. It commonly causes an inflammation of the lining membranes of the stomach and intestine, with resulting vomiting and diarrhea that persist until the grass eating is stopped.
bernese mountain dog
If, at the end of the two hour waiting period, it is plain that the animal has acquired a certain amount of ease in its new surroundings, a small dish of milk or dog food may be offered. A short time after this feeding, the animal will probably get drowsy and want to sleep. The animal may be bedded down in a carton box of comfortable size, into which some newspaper has been shredded. Often an animal may whine or cry for a couple of nights, but this will stop after it gets over its lonesomeness. A good device, especially in the cooler seasons of the year, is to place a hotwater bag wrapped in a towel into the box with the
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An abscess is a localized collection of pus surrounded by an area of inflammation. It is caused by infection and may occur in any part of the body. In its most common and acute form, it results in a swelling of variable size and becomes increasingly larger as it develops. It is warm and painful to the touch, and becomes increasingly softer as it becomes larger—or, as is commonly said, as it comes to a head. Often abscesses break of their own accord, and in this case all that has to be done is to permit the pus to drain and to keep the area clean with an antiseptic, such as tincture of iodine. Most of the time, however, the veterinarian has to incise the abscess in order to get complete drainage. After this is done, healing is usually very rapid. Though the wellknown antibiotics, such as penicillin and aureomycin, have been used with success on many abscesses, the best routine is to have external abscesses incised.
bernese mountain dog
Another technique is to use a muzzle. The muzzle is put on whenever the dog barks or whines upon the owner’s leaving. This can be repeated until the proper degree of quiet is obtained. Some trainers consider this method cruel and therefore it is not routinely recommended except in the case of extremely stubborn dogs. In any case, the conscientious owner who uses the more humane method outlined above will ordinarily have no difficulty.
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