The Dew-claws.—The dew-claws, as they are termed, grow high upon the inner side of the leg, nearer to the foot than to the elbow. They are frequently removed while the dog is very young, being then merely cut off with a pair of scissors. This, however, is a very primitive way of operating; and it is best done with a knife, first reflecting back sufficient skin to cover the wound which the removal will occasion. The excision, moreover, is only justifiable when the dew-claw hangs from the leg attached to it merely by integument; when it is regularly formed, united to the leg by means of continuous bone, it may be allowed to remain; for in that case there is little more danger of its being torn off as the dog grows up and hunts game, than any other of the claws appended to the extremity of the foot.

The Claws.—These frequently, especially in petted dogs that pass their days parading about on Turkey carpets, become of extraordinary length; in some cases, turning round and forming a complete circle, so as to penetrate the little pad at the base of the last joint of the toe. In this case they cause swelling, inflammation, and suppuration, accompanied by such intense pain, that in extreme cases it may be necessary to take away the toe of the foot itself, although in general it is sufficient to clip the offending claw. However, to do this nicely, with expedition, and without giving great pain to the patient, is to be desired. Blaine recommends a small saw, such as is employed to cut off cocks' spurs with; but the dog must have excessive patience and extraordinary powers of endurance, who could allow this to be moved quickly backwards and forwards on a claw, one end of which rests on an inflamed and highly sensitive surface. Besides, it is not one claw we are generally required to remove, but sixteen; and long before the first had been fairly taken off by the method advised by Blaine, the cries of the poor animal would say, "Hold, enough!" Moreover, favorites of the class I have mentioned are generally brought by their mistresses, who cannot endure their pets to suffer, and rightly refuse to leave them to the mercy of a veterinary surgeon. This last circumstance requires a speedier instrument than the one proposed by Blaine, to be discovered. The rowelling bistoury, employed for the horses, answers better than the saw; but even it occasions so much pain as to cause serious annoyance and obstruction. I have found nothing answer so well as a pair of wire nippers; which, provided they be in good condition, will take off the whole of a dog's claws, although for the operation the animal never quits its mistress's arms. They are quick and effective, cutting through the strongest claw on the instant; giving no pain; often removing the nail without the knowledge of the patient, who provokes laughter rather than commiseration by frequently shamming the agony he does not feel—venting heart-rending cries, but invariably in the wrong place. For the performance of the operation there is but one caution necessary, and that is, to leave the root of the claw long enough, or not to attempt cutting it too short; because the unnatural life the animal lives causes small arteries to extend even into the growth of horn, and a little blood is a terrible loss in a lady's eyes. However, beyond causing the mistress distress, the practitioner need be in no fear about dividing one of these abnormal vessels, for the eccentric growth of which the most experienced practitioner cannot at all times be prepared.

Falling off of the Claw.—There is another injury to which the claws of the dog are exposed, and the cause of which in no instance have I been able to trace. The toe becomes hot, swollen, and inflamed; the animal walks lame, or upon three legs. Whenever the particular claw in fault is touched, the cries of the dog sufficiently testify that the seat of the disease has been found. A simple treatment, such as bathing the claw and placing the foot frequently in warm water, will occasion the horny covering to be cast off in a few days; after which all that is required will be to wrap the part up in soft lint for a short period, and to deprive the animal of its accustomed exercise for a day or two.

Sinuses up the Claw.—These are of frequent existence, and are commonly found where their presence was not suspected. The dog walks lame, and its master's sagacity cannot discover the cause. The animal is accordingly submitted to our inspection. To pinch the claw in this case is of no use; it can only mislead the judgment. The better plan, after having ascertained none of the claws are loose, is to make the dog stand upon the lame foot on a piece of blotting paper. If the slightest moisture be left thereon, throw the animal on his back, and minutely examine the lower surface of each claw. On one will be seen a small hole, not larger than the point of a pin, from which exudes a thin watery discharge.

Soak the foot in warm water; then with a sharp knife pare off the superficial horn; then soak and pare again; and so on till the entire claw is removed; when slit up, making a free wound of any sinuous opening that may exist in the ball of the toe. Dress the interior of the sinus with a small portion of sulphate of copper; afterwards with the healing lotion previously recommended; and all will do well: but the claw once taken away, either by nature or art, is very seldom perfectly restored.

Foot-sore.—Men of robust habit, who shoot over an immense tract of country, and take a pleasure in lawfully finding the game they kill, often have to complain that their dogs become foot-sore. These animals have an elastic pad at the bottom of each foot, on which, conjointly with the nails of the toes, the creatures walk. The bottom of the dog's foot is covered with a thick cuticle, which is rapidly reproduced in ordinary cases, as soon as or before it has been worn down: but the game dog is often kept inactive during the summer, and then in autumn brought into sudden work. The consequences of this foolish practice are, that nature during the warm season supplies only a cuticle fitted to the wants of the animal, which being suddenly forced to endure excessive exercise, soon wears away, and the foot thus left devoid of covering, is raw, and consequently tender. For this state of the part, Blaine, who is therein followed by Youatt, recommends "pot liquor." I do not know what "pot liquor" means. Cooks apply the name to various refuse waters, in which different and opposite ingredients have been boiled. If so, the material with which it is made being dissimilar, the product cannot be the same. It appears to be a filth, generally cast into the hog-tub; and as such cannot be a proper medicine wherewith to cure a lame dog's foot. I throw it into the receptacle for which it is intended; and do so because I cannot understand it is possessed of any curative properties. The mode I pursue in these cases is simply this:—I get a basin of tepid water and a soft sponge; and I then well wash the injured foot. When every particle of grit or dirt is thoroughly removed, I apply to the dried sore surface a lotion composed of two grains of chloride of zinc to one ounce of water, with one or two drops of the essence of lemons. Having thoroughly washed the foot with the lotion, I soak some rags in it, which I wrap around the injured member, fixing over all a leather or gutta-percha boot; and when thus treated, and the animal is subsequently brought into work with caution, a few days I find generally settles the business.

Dog-Carts.—This appears to be the place to meet, or rather answer, the remarks which have appeared in Youatt's work on this subject. He argues, because the dog is a beast of draught in northern climes, it can be without violence, and indeed was intended by Providence to be used as such in temperate countries. Thus, if this argument be of any value, that which the dog can endure in a temperate climate, it can likewise without injury undergo in a torrid zone. The argument, if of worth, admits of this extension; for, if the subject of it is to be moved at all, it is not for the reasoner to arrogate the power of saying at what point it shall stop. However, granting him to possess this right, he will thereby gain nothing by it. In the northern climes, where the dog is employed as a beast of draught, it is so used only for the winter season; during which time the face of the landscape is covered by one sheet of snow. Is the poor dog in a cart, as seen in this country, only so employed? Is he not rather obliged to drag his heavy load, to which the master's weight is often appended, along dusty roads instead of snowy paths, and at the top of his speed, rather than at a pace which the poor creature can maintain for hours? Is it not worked in summer as well as winter? Does not mud cover the roadways in this country during the colder season for a far longer period than the snow? The summer's toil must be most oppressive to this over-tasked animal; for, though the dog is naturalized close to the northern pole, he becomes scarce for a long distance before the equator is reached. It is the creature of a cold climate; and what it can do in one country is by no means the measurement of that which it can perform in another; as those who have been at the trouble and expense of exporting hunting-dogs from England to India can testify.

The foot, moreover, may travel over a sheet of snow with impunity, which may be unsuited for journeying over artificial roads, deep in mud or water; or else hot, dry, and parched with a summer's sun. The sportsman's dog is often sore-footed; and do the approvers of dog-carts pretend that the wretched beast, forced by an inhuman master to undue labor, is of a different species? If the animals are the same, how can it be argued that the organ, which when moving over soft ploughed or grassy fields often fails, is all-sufficient for the longest and heaviest journey performed upon a hard artificially constructed road?

One grave senator in the House of Lords used as an argument against the Bill introduced to put down that abominable nuisance, dog-carts, in this country, the pleasure he had experienced, when a child, while being drawn in a carriage pulled by a dog along the lawn attached to his father's residence. There is no legislation required to meet such cases. No doubt the pleasure felt by the delighted child was shared by the beast, who wagged his tail, and scarcely felt the tax imposed upon its huge strength. Had the cart been removed from the lawn to the road, and been knocked up with rough wheels and without springs, like the carts used by vagrant poor are, the load of a child would not even then have made the cases similar. To make the instances the same, the cart must not only be of the rudest construction, but it must be filled with weight limited solely by the master's capacity to buy; while on the top of the burthen must be placed, not a happy child, but an idle full grown rascal. And the vehicle thus encumbered must be dragged, not along a soft lawn, at a pace necessary to please the son and heir, but along a hard road, at a rate which alone can satisfy an impatient and brutal master.

In whichever way we regard this question, reason proves against it, and the dog subject to the most dreadful disease that is communicable to man should on no account, in this densely populated country, be subjected to usage best calculated to bring on the malady.