INSTRUCTIONS TO BE MADE CLEARER

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 152, 23 March 1939, Page 11

INSTRUCTIONS TO BE MADE CLEARER

Administering Drug To Dogs

The opinion that the drug arecoline hydrobromide, used for the prevention of hydatids in dogs, should be administered under the supervision of experts, was expressed by the Canterbury society in a letter received at the annual conference of the Federation of New Zealand Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Wellington yesterday. . , The Wellington society said that veterinarians had reported several eases of poisoning of dogs, some fatal, from the use of arecoline. The incidence of hyd'atids in city dogs had been .stated to be so small as to be negligible, but the compulsory administration of the drug seemed to cause much unnecessary suffering and the loss of valuable animals. Mr. H. F. Herbert (Canterbury) said hks society had written its letter before discussing the matter with Dr. E. W. Bennett, of the Department of Hydatid Research and. Prevention. Dr. Bennett had said that more explicit instructions would 1 in future be issued with the drug. A lot of trouble arose from people giving their dogs doses that were too large, as the instructions were not quite clear on the point. Sheep dogs and working dogs needed two tablets, ordinary non-working dogs one, and small dogs only half a tablet. The president, the Rev. Mr. Carr, M.P., said that no regulation for the suppression of hyd'atids could be too authoritative. The assurance from Dr. Bennett should do away with the difficulties mentioned.