THE DOG’S MEDICAL DICTIONARY
THE
DOG’S MEDICAL DICTIONARY
AN ENCYCLOPÆDIA OF THE DISEASES, THEIR
DIAGNOSIS & TREATMENT, AND THE PHYSICAL
DEVELOPMENT OF THE DOG
BY
A. J. SEWELL, M.R.C.V.S.
_Canine Surgeon to H.M. the King, also to H.M. the Queen, and
to the Kennel Club, the Dogs’ Home, the Dumb Friends’ League,
the Bulldog Club, etc., etc._
With numerous DIAGRAMS, ILLUSTRATIONS, and
PORTRAITS of Prize Dogs
SECOND EDITION, REVISED
[Illustration]
LONDON:
GEORGE ROUTLEDGE & SONS, LIMITED
NEW YORK: E. P. DUTTON & CO.
1907
FIRST EDITION, _May 1907_
SECOND EDITION, _August 1907_
[Illustration: CÆSAR, HIS MAJESTY’S FOX TERRIER.
_By gracious permission of His Majesty the King._
_J. Russell & Sons, photo._] [_Front._]
LIST OF FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS
FOX TERRIER ‘CÆSAR,’ the property of H.M. the King.
THE COPTHORNE BRUSSELS GRIFFONS, the property of Mrs. Handley
Spicer.
FRENCH BULLDOG ‘SANS PAREIL,’ the property of the Countess
Sponneck-Mayer.
POINTER ‘PITCHFORD RANGER,’ the property of Colonel Cotes.
POODLE CHAMPION ‘ORCHARD ADMIRAL,’ the property of Mrs. Crouch.
CHOW CHOW CHAMPION ‘RED CRAZE,’ the property of Mrs. Scaramanga.
BULLDOGS ‘BUCK STONE,’ ‘BRITISH STONE,’ ‘DICK STONE,’ ‘REX
STONE,’ the property of Mr. Walter Jefferies.
OLD ENGLISH SHEEP DOG CHAMPION ‘RAGGED MAN,’ the property of
Mr. Aubrey Hopwood.
SMOOTH FOX TERRIER CHAMPION ‘DONNA FORTUNA,’ the property of
Mr. Francis Redmond.
JAPANESE ‘CHIBI OF TODDINGTON,’ the property of Mrs. Hugh
Andrews.
TOY SPANIEL CHAMPION ‘WINDFALL,’ the property of the Hon. Mrs.
Lytton.
THE DOG’S MEDICAL DICTIONARY
=Abrasions=:
_Symptoms_: The outer skin or epidermis is rubbed off, leaving a raw
surface.
_Treatment_: Clean thoroughly with hot boracic lotion, made by dissolving
a teaspoonful of boracic acid in half a pint of hot water; carefully dry,
and apply boracic ointment; bandage the part, and prevent the dog from
licking.
=Abscesses=:
_Symptoms_: Swellings, the result of the formation of pus—commonly called
matter—accompanied by fever.
_Treatment_: Apply hot linseed meal poultices, over which should be
placed a piece of oil silk to keep in the heat. Repeat poultices often.
When swelling quite soft, it should be freely opened, all matter
carefully squeezed out, and the cavity washed out with warm boracic
lotion. The wound should afterwards be covered over with a few layers of
boracic or carbolic gauze, and a bandage applied. Keep wound open two or
three days.
=Acidy, or Gastric Catarrh=:
_Symptoms_: Great thirst, occasional sickness, loss of condition, and the
passing of a quantity of clear-coloured urine.
_Treatment_: For few days give following mixture:—
_Recipe_:
Bicarbonate Soda, 1 scruple to 2 drachms.
Tincture of Rhubarb, 1 drachm to 4 drachms.
Tincture Nux Vomica, 12 minims to 1 drachm.
Tincture of Gentian, ½ drachm to 3 drachms.
Liquor Bismuth, 2 drachms to 1 ounce.
Water to 1½ ounces to 6 ounces.
_Dose_: Half a teaspoonful to one tablespoonful[1] three or four times a
day one hour before food.
_Diet_: Underdone mutton or veal mixed with Spratt’s charcoal biscuits,
or stale bread or toast, broken up small, and mixed with a _little_ soup.
Avoid fatty or starchy food, and give no sugar.
=Acne=:
_Symptoms_: Small red spots about the body, head, and limbs. There is not
much irritation. More often noticed in the spring and autumn.
_Treatment_: Apply following lotion frequently:
_Recipe_:
Milk of Sulphur, 1 ounce.
Glycerium Boracis, 1 ”
Liquor Bismuth, 1 ”
Water to 8 ounces.
Give following powders twice a day with food:—
_Recipe_:
Reduced Iron, 6 grains to 2 scruples.[1]
Bicarbonate Potash, 1 scruple to 2 drachms.
Sulphate Magnesia, ½ drachm to 4 ”
Mix.
Divide into 12 powders—one to be given twice a day with food.
_Diet_: Some meat mixed with green food (boiled dandelion leaves), and
bread or biscuits.
=Albuminaria=:
_Symptoms_: Though the dog may be very hungry, and eats well, he loses
condition; is generally very thirsty; coat staring; passes water
frequently and often; and misbehaves in the house, especially at night.
If some of the urine is boiled, a thick white sediment forms, due to
coagulation of the albumen.
_Treatment_: Limit the quantity of water supplied to dog. Barley water or
skimmed milk is better than plain water. Give from one to six grains[1]
of ammoniated citrate of iron in water three times a day. In some cases,
when symptoms very acute, from the tenth to a grain[1] of powdered opium
three times a day is useful.
_Diet_: Underdone mutton or veal, with toast or ship biscuits; also
boiled fresh fish.
=Alopecia=:
_Symptoms_: Loss of hair; baldness, the skin being clear and free of
irritation.
_Treatment: The Lotion_:
Tr. Cantharides, 2 drachms.
Oil Rosemary, 2 ”
Glycerine, 4 ”
Water to 8 ounces.
Mix.
Apply twice a day. Avoid the parts near eyes. Or the application of
kerosene, just dabbed on, may be tried.
In obstinate cases a single painting over the bare parts with liquor
epipasticus is useful. This remedy should only be applied to a small part
of the skin at one time.
=Amaurosis=:
_Symptoms_: A disease of the eyes attended with a diminution or total
loss of sight—result, paralysis of nerves of the eye. The eyes are clear,
with pupils largely dilated, which do not contract when exposed to strong
light.
_Treatment_: Generally incurable. Following lotion may be tried:—
_Recipe_:
Sulphate Eserine, ½ grain.
Distilled Water to 1 ounce.
One or two drops to be placed in the eye three times a day.
Tincture nux vomica, from one[1] to five drops, should be given in water
three times a day after food.
A blister or seton may be tried at the back of the head (pole).
=Anæmia=:
_Symptoms_: Mouth and eyes pale, caused by deficiency in quantity
and quality of the blood. Loss of condition, often great thirst,
constipation. The dog is very languid.
_Treatment_: Good food—plenty of under-done or raw meat, also milk. The
arsenic and iron pills recommended for eczema. If there is constipation,
add from two to twelve grains of rhubarb to each dozen pills. When the
stomach is very irritable, from a half to three grains[1] of reduced iron
may be tried alone. The dose should be given three times a day with the
food.
=Anæsthetics=:
The best way to administer chloroform is by one of Krohne & Sesemann’s
inhalers. When this is used, it is almost impossible to have any bad
results, as the chloroform is given so slowly. Failing one of these
appliances, it may be given on a napkin folded so as to make a pouch
in which the nose should be put; but it is necessary to muzzle the dog
before commencing, otherwise he will be sure to bite the operator. In
giving chloroform it is necessary to commence with very small quantities;
about twenty[1] drops to half a drachm should be poured inside the pouch
formed in the napkin, and then placed over the dog’s nose. This should
be repeated every two or three minutes until the dog lies quietly, and
the eye is insensible to the touch. When a dog is under the influence
of chloroform it is most important to watch the breathing, and if it
becomes very slow, discontinue giving the chloroform immediately. If the
breathing stops, remove the muzzle, draw the tongue out as far as it will
come, and hold to the nose, on a piece of lint, a few drops of strong
ammonia, and resort to artificial respiration. Dogs always struggle very
much against taking chloroform, therefore one should always be prepared
with one or more assistants to hold the dog securely whilst it is being
administered.
If the patient is an old one, instead of giving pure chloroform, give
a mixture consisting of equal parts of chloroform, ether, and alcohol
mixed together, given in the same way as chloroform, or pure ether may be
given. In this case it is necessary to give this anæsthetic very freely,
the dog being muzzled. A dessertspoonful, or tablespoonful, should be
poured on a napkin, and held tightly over the dog’s nose. This quantity
should be repeated every few minutes until the dog is insensible.
[Illustration: A Simple Way of giving Chloroform
Cocoa, coffee, or other cans with holes punched round and tied over
muzzle. A—Hole in the upper part of can to pour anæsthetic.]
Another good way of giving chloroform, or the compound mixture mentioned,
when a proper apparatus is not at hand, is out of a round tin canister,
perforated round the sides to allow plenty of air to be mixed with the
chloroform. At the bottom of the canister a piece of sponge or lint
should be fixed, on which the chloroform should be poured. More of the
anæsthetic as required may be syringed through one of the lower holes.
The tin can be fastened on the nose by tapes, which should be passed
behind the ears and tied.
_Cocaine, a Substitute for Chloroform_: Cocaine is an alkaloid extracted
from the leaves of the Erythroxylon Coca, which grows as a kind of shrub
in Bolivia and Peru.
The hydrochlorate of cocaine is the preparation mostly used, as it is
more soluble in water.
Cocaine is equal in its effects to chloroform in many operations where
the parts to be removed are not very deep-seated; besides, its use is
much more economical, as not only is the drug itself of less expense,
but when operating it is not necessary to have a separate attendant to
administer it, as is the case when chloroform is given. Then it is much
more easily given (by a hypodermic syringe), and the dog does not resist
it at all; whereas, chloroform is resisted by the patient with all its
strength. In some cases three or four assistants are required to hold a
big dog whilst it is being administered, and I have known some dogs to
struggle so violently against taking chloroform that one has been obliged
to discontinue giving it, for to have persevered would have endangered
the dog’s life. This alone is sufficient reason to make cocaine a more
favourable anæsthetic than chloroform.
Then as to the danger, there is no comparison between the two. I
have only once had any bad results from the use of cocaine; but with
chloroform, sometimes, in spite of every care and precaution, the dog
will, when under its influence, suddenly collapse. Besides, when a dog,
in a case such as I have just described, struggles very much against
receiving the chloroform, it takes longer to get him under the influence
of the drug than one taking it quietly; and then, often as a consequence,
the dog at last becomes exhausted, and if the chloroform is persevered
with, it takes too strong effect—the heart’s action becomes weak, the
breathing heavy, and collapse may occur—the result is, one is obliged to
leave off the operation to administer restoratives to save the patient’s
life.
In many operations, as the excising of tumours (even large ones, weighing
six or seven pounds), removing thorns from the eye, sewing and dressing
painful wounds, cocaine is equal to chloroform in its effects, for it
completely deadens for a time the parts to which it is applied, though
the animal retains complete consciousness.
It is particularly valuable when removing mammary growths, so frequently
seen in bitches. On many occasions I have removed a growth of this kind
weighing, in some instances, seven to eight pounds, without subjecting
the dog to the least pain; and I may here remark that the application of
cocaine does not in any way retard the healing process.
Cocaine for most purposes is best used dissolved in water; the quantity
of the solution required depends upon the size of the growth that is
going to be removed. For small tumours, say the size of a large walnut,
a four per cent. solution is generally sufficient. Of this about twelve
minims should be injected under the skin, say three drops at each corner
of the growth, then in the course of about ten minutes the parts will be
completely insensible to pain and ready for operation. The same strength
of solution is also strong enough for eye operations, including the
removal of growths on the haw. In such cases the solution of cocaine
must be dropped into the eye. About five or six drops is all that is
required; one drop to be placed into the eye every minute until the
quantity required is given, then wait ten minutes for the cocaine to take
effect. In cases of operation for inverted eyelid, the use of cocaine is
invaluable.
When removing large growths, a five per cent. solution is necessary,
giving the same quantity—about twelve minims—injecting one minim just
under the skin all around the tumour, and where the skin is going to be
cut.
There are other local anæsthetics as eucaine, which is said to be safer
than cocaine; but in my opinion it is not nearly so good, at any rate
with dogs, and the latter is perfectly safe when used in proper doses.
Eucaine is also used in conjunction with adrenalin, which has a wonderful
power of preventing and stopping bleeding; but in my experience, when
injected under the skin previous to an operation, the wound does not heal
so readily, in consequence, I consider the bloodless condition of the
skin, which continues for some time after, due to the application of this
drug.
=Anal Glands, Congestion and Irritation of=:
_Symptoms_: Dragging themselves along the ground, which is often supposed
to be due to worms, frequently licking the anus, suddenly looking round
behind and tucking the tail in as if there was something pricking. In
these cases there is a small swelling on each side of the anus due to an
accumulation of the natural secretion of these glands. Occasionally a
painful abscess forms.
_Treatment_: In simple cases all that is required is to squeeze the
glands and evacuate the contents, and this, as a rule, gives immediate
relief. In some dogs these glands require attention every three or four
weeks. If an abscess forms, the swelling should be fomented with hot
water, and when soft freely opened, the contents evacuated, and the
cavity syringed out with a warm saturated solution of boracic acid. The
wound should be kept open for a few days. In troublesome cases it is best
to have the glands removed altogether by operation, and so save further
inconvenience to the dog.
=Aneurism=:
_Symptom_: Dilation of an artery. Difficult to detect in a dog.
_Treatment_ consists in ligaturing the artery.
=Angina Pectoris=:
_Symptoms_: Acute pain in chest, fainting, pallid tongue, difficult
breathing, limbs feel very cold.
_Treatment_: Hold to nose, on a piece of blotting-paper doubled in shape
of a funnel, from one[1] to five minims of nitrite amyl. Repeat in half
an hour if necessary.
_Diet_: For a day or so after attack feed on Brand’s beef or chicken
essence and Benger’s food with milk. After a day or two put patient on a
raw meat diet, which continue for some time.
=Anthrax=:
Uncommon disease in the dog.
_Symptoms_: A carbuncular swelling, commencing as a pimple accompanied by
high temperature. Disease runs a quick course and is generally fatal.
_Treatment_: Free opening and scraping of the affected part. Apply
hot linseed meal poultices, which should be freely dusted over with
powdered charcoal, and give stimulants, as brandy or whisky, freely. If
temperature over 105 degs. F., from one[1] to ten grains of phenacetin
may be given as well as the stimulants. Repeat medicine once in four
hours.
=Anus, Prolapsus of=:
A complaint often seen in young puppies, though it may occur in
full-grown dogs. It is generally the result of straining caused by
diarrhœa.
_Symptoms_: The lower bowel or rectum protrudes for an inch or more from
the body, which, if not relieved, becomes inflamed and swollen, and the
patient is constantly straining.
_Treatment_: Return the protruding part as quickly as possible. This
is best done by holding the dog up with the hind legs, and then after
vaselining the part, applying firm pressure with the fingers, and the
prolapsus will slip in. This is very simple and easy, but the difficulty
is to keep it in. There are several ways of trying to do this, but first
of all give a small enema, from one[1] to four teaspoonfuls of thick
boiled starch, with from five[1] to twenty drops of laudanum to stop the
straining. In a recent case this may have the desired effect, and the
prolapsus not return; if it does, then it must be put back as before,
and to keep the bowel in, a couple of strong sutures should be placed
through the anus, one from above downward, and the other crossways, or
what is called a purse-string suture may be inserted. Another way is by
inserting and fixing in the bowel by means of tapes the lower insertion
portion of an enema tube, the tapes should be passed across the outside
of the thighs, then crossed under the belly and tied over the back. But
often, in spite of every care and treatment, the dog will keep straining
and force the bowel out time after time. In such cases, the only thing
to do is to remove the prolapsus by operation. This operation requires
a considerable amount of care, or fatal hæmorrhage may occur, or the
peritoneal cavity may be opened and peritonitis set up.
=Apoplexy=:
_Symptoms_: Generally affects old dogs. Suddenly falling to the ground,
convulsions, loss of consciousness. Tongue generally turns dark in
colour, eyes prominent and congested. May be in an unconscious state
for some time. Paralysis to a more or less extent may follow. Sometimes
the head is only held on one side from muscles of neck being paralysed:
blindness may result.
_Treatment_: Free purge from one[1] teaspoonful to four tablespoonfuls
castor oil, mixed with half the quantity of syrup buckthorn. Put dog in
hot bath and apply ice to head. If convulsions are severe, give bromide
of potassium and hydrated chloral. From two grains to one scruple of the
former, and half the quantity of the latter, with water. Repeat every
three or four hours until convulsions cease. Do not attempt to force
anything down the dog’s throat whilst in convulsions or unconscious, and
if this continues some time, give double dose of the medicines by enema.
_Diet_: Liquid food, milk with bread or Sanatogen, and light soup with
bread or toast.
=Appendicitis=:
This disease, strictly speaking, does not occur in the dog as there is no
appendix to the cæcum—but they do occasionally suffer from inflammation
of this part.
_Symptoms_: Tenderness or pain over the seat of the cæcum, which is about
the centre of the abdomen; vomiting and diarrhœa, or even dysentery;
sometimes bowels constipated. Temperature often rises two or three
degrees. Loss of appetite. In some cases the cæcum may be easily felt,
and is generally hard and swollen when inflamed.
_Treatment_: Rest and free administration of laudanum, from two[1] to
fifteen drops, given in water every four or six hours.
In cases due to the impaction of some foreign body, as a stone, coin or
key, etc., in the cæcum, which may easily be detected by means of the
Röntgen rays, an operation is necessary.
The cæcum may be removed with a certain amount of safety.
=Appetite, Want of=:
_Treatment_: When not the result of actual disease, but to want of tone
of stomach, often seen in delicate dogs, try following mixture:—
_Recipe_:
Bicarbonate Soda, 12 grains to 1 drachm.[1]
Spirits of Nitre, 1 to 4 drachms.
Tincture Nux Vomica, 6 minims to ½ a drachm.
Water to 1½ to 6 ounces.
_Dose_: One teaspoonful to a tablespoonful[1] three times a day one hour
before food. Try a change of food, as raw meat. For little dogs, grilled
chicken’s liver or kidneys, with stale bread crumbs; also stewed rabbit
with rice.
=Appetite, Morbid=:
_Symptoms_: Picking up and eating all kinds of rubbish and filth,
stones, coal, and when out in the streets, horse dung, etc.
_Treatment_: Always give worm medicine in these cases. Dust over anything
you know the dog will pick up with some cayenne pepper. In many cases one
is obliged to resort to a muzzle, and make the dog wear one when out.
Very often when this is persisted in for some weeks, the dog gets out of
the habit.
=Arthritis, Inflammation of a Joint=:
_Symptoms_: The joint is swollen and very painful; dog is very lame, and
in some cases unable to put the foot to the ground.
_Treatment_: During acute inflammation rest is necessary, soothing
remedies should be applied, hot poppy-head tea fomentations, or the
following lotion:—
_Recipe_:
Laudanum, 2 drachms.
Goulard’s Extract of Lead, 1 drachm.
Water to 6 ounces.
A piece of lint, large enough to cover and go round the joint, should be
saturated with the lotion and applied. This should be covered entirely
over with a piece of oil silk, and a bandage applied to keep dressing in
place. Change the dressing three times a day.
A dose or two of aperient medicine should be given.
When acute inflammation has ceased, the joint should be massaged, and
later, if the joint remains stiff, the dog should be made to swim.
=Asphyxia=:
_Symptom_: Interruption to breathing, from drowning and other causes.
_Treatment_: Dash hot and cold water alternately over the head, and
inject stimulants, as ether or brandy, under skin—from ten[1] to twenty
drops of either.
_Artificial Respiration_: When the condition is due to partial drowning,
hold the dog up, with his head downwards for a minute that the water may
escape from the lungs, then place the dog on his back, draw the tongue
out, and with the hand placed on the lower part of the chest—that is just
where the chest and abdomen join—press downwards and forwards with some
little force, then suddenly raise the hand to allow the chest to expand.
This should be repeated every three or four seconds. Do not attempt to
make the dog swallow whilst in an unconscious state.
=Asthma=:
_Symptoms_: Heavy breathing, troublesome cough. If the ear is applied
to the chest a crackling noise will be heard with each inspiration. The
heart is weak and the pulse irregular.
_Treatment_: Aperient medicine should be given, and be repeated once or
twice a week, also the following mixture:
_Recipe_:
Liquor Morphia, ½ to 3 drachms.[1]
Hoffman’s Spirit, ½ to 3 drachms.
Paregoric, 1 to 4 drachms.
Syrup of Squills, 2 to 8 drachms.
Water to 1½ to 6 ounces.
_Doses_: One teaspoonful to a tablespoonful three or four times a day, or
from ten drops to a teaspoonful of glyco-heroin in a little water may be
given three or four times a day.[1]
When the condition is the result of heart disease, which is often the
case, give the following mixture:—
_Recipe_:
Tincture Digitalis, 20 drops to 1½ drachms.[1]
Tincture Nux Vomica, 12 drops to 1½ drachms.
Compound Sulphuric Ether, ½ to 3 drachms.
Syrup, 2 drachms to 1 ounce.
Water to 1½ to 6 ounces.
Mix.
_Doses_: From one[1] teaspoonful to one tablespoonful three times a day
after food. Aperient medicine should be frequently given.
_Diet_: Raw or very tender-cooked meat, given in small quantities, three
times a day. No other food.
=Back (injuries to)=:
_See_ APPENDIX.
=Bad Breath=:
_Symptoms_: General result of a diseased condition of teeth, the
accumulation of tartar on the teeth, and as the result, ulcers form
on the gums and cheeks. Bad breath may also arise from a disordered
condition of the stomach, or as a result of some disease of the lungs, or
the membrane lining nasal passages.
_Treatment_: Remove the cause. If it arises from the condition of the
teeth, remove the tartar by scaling, and clean mouth and teeth twice
daily, using a small soft tooth-brush and the following wash:—
_Recipe_:
Salol, 1 drachm.
Tr. Myrrh, 2 drachms.
Spirits of Wine, 10 drachms.
Formalin, 1 drachm.
Mix.
Half a teaspoonful to be added to half a tumblerful tepid water. If the
breath remains offensive after the mouth has been made healthy, give a
pill three times a day containing from a quarter[1] to two grains of
permanganate of potash, or twice a day give from two to ten grains of
salol.[1]
When the condition is the result of some disease affecting the lungs,
suitable remedies for this must be administered; or if the result
of an offensive discharge from the nose, a dessertspoonful to two
tablespoonfuls[1] of the following lotion should be syringed up each
nostril once or twice a day:—
_Recipe_:
Chinosol, 6 grains.
Water to 8 ounces.
Mix.
=Balanitis=:
_Symptoms_: Purulent discharges from prepuce.
_Treatment_: After thoroughly cleaning prepuce out with tepid water
pumped into sac with syringe, syringe twice a day into the passage from
one to four[1] tablespoonfuls following lotion:—
_Recipe_:
Chinosol, 6 grains.
Water to 8 ounces.
Mix.
Sometimes this complaint is very obstinate. In such cases the base of the
penis should be exposed and painted with a four per cent. solution of
nitrate silver. Repeat twice a week.
=Baldness=:
_See_ ALOPECIA.
=Bed-sores=:
_Symptoms_: Dogs, after severe illness, when they have become very thin,
often have large, unhealthy-looking, offensive-smelling wounds, or ulcers
form on the hips, points of the buttocks, shoulder, and other parts.
_Treatment_: Well foment and thoroughly clean parts with a warm saturated
solution of boracic acid or Pearson’s fluid diluted sixty times with
warm water two or three times daily. Gently dry and then freely dust
over with powdered boracic acid or amyloform powder. Take pressure off
wound by encircling it with a ring of thick felt fixed with some adhesive
material. In obstinate cases powdered iodoform may be used to dust
(sparingly) over wound instead of boracic.
_Baths_: A tepid bath should register about 90 deg. F., a warm bath
100 deg. F. A soothing bath for an irritable and red skin can be made
by adding to three gallons of tepid water, one ounce of borax, eight
tablespoonfuls of fine oatmeal, in which the dog should be immersed for
ten or fifteen minutes, and repeated two or three times a week. When the
dog is dirty he may be cleaned whilst in the bath by rubbing the yolks of
three or four eggs into the skin and coat, and then rinsing off with the
oatmeal water.
A suitable bath for the treatment of eczema and to destroy insects
on the skin, may be made by adding three tablespoonfuls of Pearson’s
disinfectant fluid to a gallon of tepid water.
_Sulphur Baths_: A valuable remedy for skin diseases. Are made by
dissolving one ounce of sulphurated potash in a pail of tepid water, in
which the dog may be immersed for ten minutes.
=Biliousness=:
_Symptoms_: Severe vomiting, great thirst, occasionally diarrhœa, refusal
of food. In bad cases the skin, eyes, and mouth turn yellowish.
_Treatment_: First give dose castor oil, say half teaspoonful to two
tablespoonfuls,[1] with from two[1] to ten drops of laudanum, or a pill
containing from a quarter to two grains of calomel, with the eighth to
one grain of powdered opium. Later, if sickness is persistent, give from
three to ten grains of carbonate of bismuth shaken dry on the tongue, or
the following mixture may be tried:—
_Recipe_:
Diluted Hydrocyanic Acid, 20 drops.
Liquor Bismuth, 1 ounce.
Water to 6 ounces.
From one[1] teaspoonful to a tablespoonful every three or four hours.
To keep strength up give occasionally every hour, from a quarter[1] to
a teaspoonful Brand’s beef essence, allow Vichy water and milk in equal
parts to drink—no plain water—but the patient may have some ice to lick.
When sickness is very persistent, the stomach should be given complete
rest for about twelve hours, and the dog’s strength kept up during this
time with peptonised meat suppositories (B and W), one being given
every three or four hours. When these cannot be obtained, an enema of
peptonised milk with from five[1] drops to one teaspoonful of brandy, may
be given every three hours. Hot linseed meal poultices to the stomach are
sometimes useful.
=Bites=:
A deep punctured wound caused by the bite of a dog, if allowed to scab
over, usually results in the formation of an abscess; so the wound should
be kept open for a few days by being fomented often with a warm solution
of boracic acid lotion. When not fomenting, the wound should be covered
over with a piece of lint (once doubled) soaked in a solution of boracic
lotion; this should be entirely covered with a piece of oil silk, and
a bandage applied. This treatment may be continued until the wound has
healed. When the wound consists of a tear of the skin, after thoroughly
cleansing the parts with some disinfectant—as a solution of Pearson’s
fluid—the wound may be sewn up, a few layers of carbolic gauze laid over
the wound, and a bandage applied. It is best to renew the dressing daily
in these cases, as there is always a danger of suppuration, and if such
occurs, two or three stitches should be removed at the lowest part to
allow the pus to escape. After an abscess has formed, the parts require
keeping very clean, and should be kept covered with carbolic or other
gauze. A dog should not be allowed to lick a wound.
=Bladder, Irritable=:
_Symptoms_: Constantly straining to pass water even when indoors; urine
high-coloured and often cloudy, strong smelling. Blood may be mixed with
the water, or come in drops after the passing of water. These symptoms
must not be confounded with those the result of a cystic calculus
(stone), for in these latter cases the dog strains continuously, and
if a small calculus happens to pass from the bladder into the passage
(urethra), it generally becomes fixed in the canal just behind the bone
in the penis, and the dog is unable to micturate at all, or only in
drops. When a dog is seen to be frequently straining, he requires careful
watching to see the kind of urine passed, or whether any is being passed
at all.
_Treatment_: If there is much pain, give every three or four hours from
two[1] to fifteen drops of tincture of hyoscyamus in water; if there is
not much pain, a course of hyposulphite of soda is all that is required,
and should be continued for some time.
_Dose_: From three grains to half a drachm[1] in water, and a careful
diet of milk, with bread or Spratt’s biscuits, or Force, milk puddings,
etc. Milk and barley water may be given to drink. When the irritation is
due to calculus urgent surgical assistance is required.
=Bladder, Paralysis of=:
_Symptoms_: The dog at first is unable to pass water, later it dribbles
from him. May be the result of general paralysis caused by injury to
spine, or brain, or to the abdomen; it may also be the result of stone in
the bladder.
It sometimes occurs in dogs of very clean habits as the result of being
shut up for a long time, and the bladder becomes over distended, and can
be felt in the back part of the abdomen as a large ball.
_Treatment_: Relieve the bladder. If there is no mechanical obstruction
as from a stone in the canal, the bladder can be emptied by pressure on
the walls of the abdomen over the seat of the bladder; if this fails, a
catheter must be passed.
Speaking of catheters, for very small dogs 0.0 size is required. For
terriers, No. 1 size in diameter, and about fourteen or sixteen inches
long. For dogs size of collies, etc., No. 2 size, and about eighteen or
twenty inches long, and for larger dogs one about four inches longer is
necessary. If there is a small stone or gravel in the passage, there is
sometimes difficulty in passing the catheter, but with care a passage may
generally be made with a fine grooved silver probe.
When there is an absence of mechanical obstruction and inflammation in
these cases, to improve the tone of the bladder give from one to seven[1]
minims of tincture nux vomica three times a day, in water and after food.
In chronic cases iron (ammoniated citrate) may be added to the medicine.
Nux vomica must not be given when there are any signs of convulsions.
=Bleeding, From Stomach=:
_Symptoms_: Vomiting of blood, sometimes of a bright red colour, at other
times dark red or venous blood; and when it has been retained in the
stomach some time, it comes up liquid of a coffee colour.
_Treatment_: Give the following mixture:—
_Recipe_:
Tincture Thalaspi, 24 drops.
Liquor Bismuth, ½ ounce.
Water to 3 ounces.
_Doses_: One teaspoonful to a tablespoonful[1] every three or four hours.
_Diet_: Milk, also Benger’s food with milk, kreochyle with Vichy water.
Brand’s essence and milk, either peptonised or plain, is the best food.
When sickness is very severe, stomach should be rested for twenty-four
hours, and the dog fed with nutritive enema, say from one[1] to six
tablespoonfuls peptonised milk every three hours alternately, with a beef
suppository (B and W). These may be purchased in different sizes.
=Blindness, Amaurosis=:
_Symptoms_: Eyes clear and bright, pupils large, with a greenish look.
Loss of colour to eye—as the iris is so dilated, cannot be seen or
scarcely seen. Sometimes follows distemper; a result of fits; great
excitement or exertion, as violent vomiting. Pupil will not contract when
exposed to light, except very strong sunlight.
_Treatment_: Disease seldom curable. Try following eye drops:—
_Recipe_:
Sulphate Eserine, ½ grain.
Water to 1 ounce.
One drop to be placed in the eye three or four times a day. Give one[1]
to seven drops tincture nux vomica three times a day in water after food.
Blisters or seton to back of neck can be tried; also galvanism.
=Blisters=:
Collection of blood, water, or serum under first skin; result of a burn
as a rule.
_Treatment_: Cut blister, squeeze out contents, apply boracic ointment on
lint, and bandage.
=Blisters, To Apply=:
It is somewhat difficult to raise a good blister on a dog—much more so
than on a horse, or even a person; but a fluid called liquor epipasticus
will do so if properly applied. The hair should at first be cut off
closely from the part where it is intended to apply the blister; the skin
should be then thoroughly washed with warm water and soap, and afterwards
well dried. Then the blister should be rubbed on with a piece of wool
tied around a stick for about five minutes. The person applying the
blister should be careful not to get any of it on his fingers, as it may
make them very sore. Over the blister put a piece of either grease-proof
paper or brown paper, and apply a bandage. This blister is very
poisonous, and the dog must not be allowed to lick it on any account.
The next day, if the skin is not well blistered, rub in for two or three
minutes a little red blister ointment. Forty-eight hours after the first
application of the blister it may be washed off, the parts carefully
dried with a soft cloth, and then anointed with boracic ointment.
=Blood Poisoning=:
_Symptoms_: Rise of temperature, 104 deg. F. and over; shivering,
vomiting, congested eye, thirst. If complaint goes on for some time,
ulcers form in mouth, and breath becomes very fœtid. Often caused by
retention of a dead puppy, or urine, diseased kidneys, also inflammation
of womb (metritis) from bitch taking cold when on heat. May follow severe
and deep bites.
_Treatment_: Remove the cause. If an abscess, open freely at once,
evacuate contents, and syringe cavity out with solution Condy’s Fluid,
one teaspoonful to half-pint water. Give large dose salicylate quinine
one[1] to ten grains; repeat in six hours; give brandy somewhat freely.
If patient cold, apply hot-water bottle to back and feet.
=Boils=:
Small red swellings, which suppurate and break. Situated, as a rule, on
inside of thighs, arms, and belly, but may appear all over dog. Sometimes
seen in cases of distemper; also seen in young puppies, especially on
inside of thighs and belly, when suffering from worms.
_Treatment_: If accompanied by distemper, no special treatment required;
if very painful and sore, anoint with Balsam Peru ointment. When
affecting young puppies, give worm medicine; afterwards small doses of
chemical food.
=Bowels, Inflammation of, Colic=:
_Symptoms_: Pain in abdomen; patient restless, and, if a puppy, whines
and cries; generally diarrhœa, and quantity mucus passed; may be
constipation; vomiting a frequent symptom. Seldom a rise of temperature
without case very acute, though the pulse is often much quickened. Often
caused by worms and indigestion, and may be result of chill.
_Treatment_: As a rule, a dose of castor oil, say half a teaspoonful[1]
to two or more tablespoonfuls, with from two[1] to fifteen drops of
laudanum, is the best treatment at first. After this has worked off, if
pain continues, give following mixture:—
_Recipe_:
Laudanum, 1 drachm.
Chloric Ether, 2 drachms.
Liquor Bismuth, 4 drachms.
Water to 3 ounces.
_Dose_: One[1] teaspoonful to a tablespoonful every two, three, or four
hours until pain relieved. Apply hot salt bags continuously to belly.
Later, worms should be removed by suitable remedies.
=Bowels, Intussusception of=:
_Symptoms_: This is a disease that more often attacks young puppies
than adult dogs. It may be caused by worms; it also results from eating
stones and other hard substances, and may be due to colic as a result
of indigestion. The pain is very acute, the dog constantly crying and
whining. During the early stages there may be vomiting; there is also
diarrhœa, and the passing of mucus tinged with blood. If the abdomen be
manipulated with the fingers, a long hard swelling will be felt, due to
one portion of the bowel telescoping into another.
_Treatment_: Give fairly large doses of laudanum, say for a fox terrier
puppy two or three months old, five drops every four hours with a
dessertspoonful of water. Give nothing but liquid food as milk or
Benger’s food, or beef tea. If no better in twenty-four hours, the puppy
should be relieved by operation. If the operation is postponed too long,
it is as a rule not successful, but when done during the early stages
there is every chance of effecting a cure, and giving the puppy immediate
relief. Besides, the operation, when done early, is much easier, for
then, as a rule, the intussusception can be reduced by pulling on the
bowel.
After such an operation no food should be given for twenty-four hours;
and then liquids only for a few days.
=Breast, Inflammation of=:
_Symptoms_: Gland is swollen hard, red and very painful. There is a rise
of temperature which shows pus is forming. After two or three days the
swelling becomes softer, points, and breaks and freely discharges.
_Treatment_: Hot poppy-head fomentations, and the application of hot
linseed meal poultices frequently changed. Lance abscess directly soft.
Give aperient medicine. Sometimes it is necessary to remove puppies, when
milk should be drawn off two or three times a day.
=Breathing, Difficulty in Bulldogs=:
Many bulldogs, especially those with a very short face, have a chronic
difficulty in breathing. Each inspiration is performed with an effort;
the sides heaving, and the dog is constantly bringing up quantities of
white frothy mucus, especially when first let out.
In some instances, especially of toy bulldogs, the inspirations are
so difficult that if a dog gets much excited it may fall over partly
asphyxiated. In these cases the heart is always weak.
_Treatment_: The principal thing to do in these cases is to give a diet
composed entirely of raw meat, cut up in small pieces, given three times
a day, so as not to overload the stomach at any time. Also after each
meal give from one[1] to seven drops of tincture nux vomica, according to
the size of the dog, in a little water, immediately after food, or for a
change, from three[1] to six grains of lacto-peptin.
In some cases I have attempted to relieve these distressing symptoms
by an operation, that is by removing the false palate, but it has not
been altogether a success, though I have sometimes thought it has given
some relief. Of course an operation of this kind must be done under the
influence of chloroform.
=Bronchitis=:
_Symptoms_: Severe and frequent coughing, difficult breathing, rattling
of phlegm in windpipe. In bad cases, dog unable to lie down.
_Treatment_: Place in fairly warm room, and keep a kettle going to
moisten air. When breathing very difficult and the throat seems full of
phlegm, give an emetic.
_Recipe_:
Hydrochlorate of Apomorphia, ½ grain.
Water to 1 ounce.
_Dose_: Half[1] to two teaspoonfuls; repeat in one hour if it has not
caused vomiting. When sickness stopped, commence following mixture:—
_Recipe_:
Liq. Morphia, 1 drachm.
Hoffmann’s Spirits, 2 drachms.
Paregoric, 1½ drachms.
Ipecacuanha Wine, 1 drachm.
Syrup of Squills, 1 ounce.
Water to 3 ounces.
_Dose_: One teaspoonful to a tablespoonful[1] every four or six hours.
Apply hot linseed meal poultices to throat and front of chest. Give
aperient medicine. The emetic, if the cough and breathing remain bad, may
be repeated in two days. When the active symptoms have passed and the
cough better, petroleum emulsion may be given. During early stages light
diet should be given; later meat.
[Illustration: THE COPTHORNE BRUSSELS GRIFFONS.
Including the well-known Champions: Copthorne Talk-of-the-Town, Copthorne
Lobster, Copthorne Wiseacre, Copthorne Treasure, and Copthorne Seiglinde,
the property of Mrs. Handley Spicer, The Glen, Kingsbury, N. W.
[_face p. 30._]
=Bronchitis (Chronic Husk)=:
_Symptoms_: Though the dog may appear very well, with good appetite,
there is a frequent dry, hard cough, which is generally worse at night
and early morning, but any exertion or excitement induces a fit of
coughing. After each attack, the dog retches as if he had something in
his throat, and was going to vomit.
_Treatment_: Give aperient medicine occasionally, and the following
mixture:—
_Recipe_:
Tinct. Nux Vomica, 24 drops.
Ipecacuanha Wine, 1 drachm.
Water to 3 ounces.
_Doses_: One teaspoonful to a tablespoonful[1] three times a day. When
cough is very troublesome give a dose of the mixture recommended for
acute bronchitis at night, or from fifteen[1] drops to one teaspoonful of
Smith’s glyco-heroin in a little water.
_Diet_: The diet in these cases is very important, and I find under-done
meat the best possible food, as it nourishes the dog well without
distending the stomach and causing pressure on the chest.
=Bruises=:
_Symptoms_: Discoloration of the skin from effusion of blood under result
of injury.
_Treatment_: Apply following lotion often:—
_Recipe_:
Goulard’s Extract Lead, 1 drachm.
Liquor Opium, 1 drachm.
Distilled Water to 8 ounces.
When in a suitable part, so that a bandage may be applied, the lotion is
more efficacious if applied on lint, which should be covered over with a
piece oil silk, and then a bandage.
Give aperient medicine, and keep dog at rest for a few days.
=Burns=:
_Symptoms_: The skin may be scorched and the coat frizzled, but the roots
not destroyed; or the skin may be destroyed and a large blister form,
which sooner or later suppurates. Burns, the result of boiling water,
are practically as severe as those of fire, for in either case the hair
never grows afterwards.
_Treatment_: When the skin only is scorched, apply lime water and linseed
oil. One part of the former, mixed with two parts of the latter, should
be dabbed on two or three times a day. In severe burns the part may be
smeared over with boracic ointment, and when the blister has broken the
same ointment should be applied on lint, which must be kept in its place
with a bandage or coat. Repeat dressing two or three times a day.
=Calculi (Stones in the Kidney)=:
_Symptoms_: Blood, and also in many cases pus, is passed with the urine.
The dog at times seems very ill, the temperature may go up to 103 or 104.
Pain on pressure over the loins, sickness, loss of condition, and great
wasting. In severe cases there is collapse, and death follows the result
of uræmia poisoning.
_Treatment_: Open the bowels freely. Apply hot fomentations or poultices
to the loins, and give following medicine:—
_Recipe_:
Bicarbonate of Potash, 1 drachm.
Boro-citrate of Magnesia, 1 ounce.
Mix.
Give from sufficient to cover a sixpence to a teaspoonful,[1] two or
three times a day, mixed with food or milk.
_Diet_: Give plenty of milk mixed with equal parts Vichy water. Also
Benger’s food with milk, tripe, and fresh boiled fish, with well-cooked
rice. Avoid red meat.
=Calculi in Bladder=:
_Symptoms_: In the dog the stones are generally small, varying in size
from a millet seed to a pea, though occasionally one does find a large
one. In bitches the stone is generally not discovered until it has become
a good size, and set up irritation of the bladder. In the dog, when the
stones are small they, as a rule, do not seem to do any harm or cause
inconvenience until one or more escape from the bladder, pass into the
urinary passage or urethra, and become lodged in the canal just behind
the bone in the penis where the passage is smallest. If the stone is
quite round—which, fortunately, is not always the case—it acts like a
cork in a bottle, and the dog is unable to pass any water. He stands or
stoops like a bitch, and keeps straining; but nothing comes away, except,
perhaps, a single drop occasionally of blood-stained urine. If the stone
happens to be not quite round, then he is able to pass a small quantity
of highly-coloured water by great effort. To ascertain for certain if
these symptoms are the result of gravel or stone, a small sound or
catheter should be passed; and if there is any blockage in the passage
it is easily ascertained, for in that case it will be impossible to pass
the instrument for more than a few inches instead of from 6 to 24 inches,
according to the size of the dog; and besides, the hard piece of gravel
or small stone will be felt. In some cases when the stone is not quite
round the instrument will pass to the side of it, and then one can easily
feel the grating of the stone against the instrument as it passes, more
especially as it is withdrawn.
_Treatment_: Medicines are of little use, though a sedative like
hyoscyamus will sometimes relieve the spasm of the parts, and enable
the patient to pass a little water when the passage is not completely
blocked; when it is, the stone may sometimes be pushed back to where the
passage is larger, and thus enable the dog to relieve himself; but in all
these cases arrangements should be immediately made for an operation,
which is the only cure.
In bitches the symptoms of a calculus in the bladder are somewhat similar
to those shown by the male: she is constantly straining to micturate,
even after the bladder is emptied of water; the urine is high-coloured
and smells strong, and often a few drops of blood are passed at the end
of micturition, or the water may be blood-stained.
_Treatment_: Operation. Dogs once suffering from calculi are always
liable to a recurrence. This may sometimes be prevented by giving
occasionally a course of the following:—
Bicarbonate of Potash, 2 drachms.
Boro-citrate of Magnesia, 2 ounces.
Mix.
_Doses_: From sufficient to cover a sixpence to one teaspoonful[1] twice
a day with food or given in water, and continued for a long time. Avoid
meat as much as possible with the food.
=Cancer=:
_Symptoms_: A tumour which usually sooner or later ulcerates, emitting an
offensive-smelling discharge mixed with blood. The animal loses condition
and becomes very weak. A cancer may form anywhere, but the most frequent
parts affected are: the mouth, inside of the throat, milk glands, the
rectum, and the organs in the abdomen.
_Treatment_: An early operation is the only chance of effecting a cure;
once suppuration has commenced, the case is practically hopeless.
=Caries=:
_Symptoms_: Ulceration of bone—generally result of some injury. Abscesses
form, resulting in unhealthily discharging wounds which are difficult to
heal. If the parts be probed, roughened exposed bone may generally be
felt, which after a time separates from the healthy structure and escapes
with the discharge.
_Treatment_: These cases must always be given time for the dead bone
to separate from the healthy bone. Hot linseed meal poultice, dusted
freely over with powdered charcoal, should be applied, and repeated two
or three times a day, and as soon as the dead structure is loose, the
wound, if not large enough, should be dilated with a knife and the dead
bone removed. If this is successfully done, the wound generally heals
quickly. In some cases when a limb is affected, and the inflammation has
been very extensive, amputation may be necessary. Dogs do very well with
three legs.