Foot-sore consists of contusion, followed by inflammation and suppuration, of the elastic pad on which the dog walks. If properly attended to, the injury may not proceed beyond the stage of contusion. Long travelling on hard dry ground, or hunting over a rough country will bruise the feet.

* See Appendix.

Rest and the constant application of cloths saturated with Arnica lotion * will soon set matters right.

But the case is more severe and serious when inflammation comes on as the result of the repeated contusions inflicted by continued travelling on hard ground. The foot or feet become swollen, hard, hot, painful; the animal cannot stand; the appetite is gone and there is general febrile excitement. The result is either that the sole sloughs off, or that matter forms.

The feet should be put into linseed poultices containing five drops of Arnica tincture; the poultice should be changed once a-day; the dog should be muzzled, else he will tear off the poultice; and if the pain be very great, fomentation should be used twice a-day. Should suppuration take place - the swelling of the foot becoming soft and fluctuating - the lancet should be used, and a poultice, medicated with five drops of Calendula tincture, applied night and morning, until the matter is all evacuated. The same poultice treatment is applicable when the sole threatens to slough. For the remaining sore, Calendula lotion,* constantly kept to the part, is the best remedy. The dog should afterwards wear boots until the pad becomes firm and able to bear pressure.

* See Appendix.