This is an unnatural accumulation, of water in different parts of the body, as in water on the brain, dropsy of the chest, dropsy of the skin, and dropsy of the belly; and it is the last-named to which the dog is most liable. Dropsy is generally, if not always, the result of some other debilitating disease, and especially of inflammatory disorders; but it may be brought on by unsuitable diet, or by the abuse of drastic purgatives. With the development of shows a new danger has sprung up, as dogs are too often kept on their benches to the suppression of the discharge of the excretions, which is a recognized caused of inducing dropsy. Dropsy of the belly need not in the bitch be mistaken for pregnacy, for in the latter the teats enlarge with the belly, which is altogether firmer, and does not droop until just before whelping, while the puppies can be felt through the abdominal walls. In dropsy the belly is more pendulous and baggy, the back is arched, and the water moves readily under pressure; the dropsical animal, too, is generally poor in flesh and harsh in coat. The medicines principally employed in dropsy are iodine, iron and other mineral tonics, with digitalis and diuretics; 5 to 15 drops of benzoate of ammonium, or 1 to 3 drops of oil of juniper, with 5 to 20 drops of tincture of nux vomica, in water, three times a day, are also useful in treating the disease which, however, is always best left to a veterinary surgeon.