And a general look of unthriftiness
In cases of anæmia, as shown by skin trouble, bareness round the eyes, poor or capricious appetite, languor, unpleasant breath, thinness, and a general look of unthriftiness, a liberal meat diet is the first essential, and plenty of fresh air not necessarily hard exercise, for which the patient is generally unfit the next. A tonic is always desirable, and iron the most suitable. There are several forms of this useful drug. Reduced iron can be given in very small dosage; sulphate of iron is cheap and useful in pill form: both of these have a tendency to constipate. The saccharated carbonate of iron is a beautiful preparation that does not constipate is, indeed, a little laxative in action. It is a powder, tasteless except for sweetness, and will be taken readily enough if sprinkled on meat, or it can be made into pills with the addition of a tonic bitter, as in the form of the Kanofelin tonic pills. It is the most expensive of the forms of iron, but that is not saying much, as all are absurdly low in price. The dose for a toy is from two to four grains twice a day, in, or immediately after, food. Cod liver oil is a useful medicine in bad cases of anæmia, especially where, by reason of having or having inherited, this habit of body, a long-haired toy is always poor in coat. Some dogs never grow coats, merely because they have not the strength to do so, and others inherit sparseness of hair. But if there is any hair in reserve, a course of cod liver oil will help it on, and better far than plain cod liver oil is its preparation with malt. Cheap cod liver oil, however, is horrid, and should never be given. It will only act as a purgative, and be worse than useless. Nor should a dog ever be forced to take this substance if he has a dislike to it. But if the anæmic, scantily-coated patient will take it readily, a teaspoonful of some good brand of cod liver oil and malt extract, besides three grains of saccharated carbonate of iron twice a day, with meat diet, will make a most marvellously different dog of him in six weeks' or two months' time.
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