given, having been drawn up into the syringe, and the needle adjusted, a
small fold of skin should be pinched up between the forefinger and thumb
of the left hand, and the needle for about half an inch should be quickly
thrust into the skin at one end of the fold, and then by pressure on the
piston the contents of the syringe should be evacuated. If the operation
is done quickly, the dog knows nothing about it.
It does not in the least matter where the injection is made, so long as
the place selected is where the skin is loose, as over the ribs.
It is most important that the syringe and needles be kept very clean;
and each time after being used it should be washed out with a five per
cent. solution of carbolic acid or spirit. A wire (slightly vaselined),
several of which are supplied with the syringe, should always be kept in
the needle.
=Hysteria=:
Young puppies, especially at the time when they are changing their teeth,
have sometimes a form of hysteria brought about by excitement, especially
in hot weather.
_Symptoms_: The puppy rushes about here and there, not knowing where it
is going or what it is doing, biting and snapping at everything within
reach, and screaming and howling as if it was being unmercifully beaten.
Saliva pours from the mouth, and many a one has been destroyed during
such an attack, it being supposed to have gone mad.
_Treatment_: Place the puppy in a basket, and put in a quiet, dark place.
It cannot be made to swallow anything during the attack, but medicine in
the form of an enema may be given, as from ten[1] to thirty drops each
of laudanum and sulphuric ether in from one[1] to four tablespoonfuls of
tepid water.
A course of bromide must be given afterwards for some time to prevent a
recurrence of the attack. Dose from three[1] to ten grains with milk, or
in a little water, three times a day. Keep on a light diet and give no
meat.
=Ichthyosis=:
_Symptoms_: Hard, dry, thick skin which wrinkles, and the formation of
large scales or scurf.
_Treatment_: Dress places daily with following:
_Recipe_:
Oil Cade, 2 ounces.
Green Soft Soap, 2 ”
Methylated Spirits, 2 ”
Well mixed together.
Give a course of arsenic, from one[1] to five drops of Fowler’s solution,
twice a day, in a little water after food. After a week, gradually
increase the dose from two[1] to ten drops.
Once a week give a warm bath, adding one tablespoonful of borax to every
gallon of tepid water, and use 3% mercurial soap (Cook’s).
=Impetigo=:
_Symptoms_: Skin is red, small pimples containing matter form, which
break, discharging a sticky, creamy coloured pus which dries and forms
a thick crust. The disease is supposed to be contagious, but I do not
consider it so.
_Treatment_: Wash dog with Cook’s 3% mercurial soap, dress sores daily
with compound Naphthol Beta ointment. Treat dog for worms, and give a
course of arsenic as recommended for Ichthyosis.
=Impotence=:
Or the inability of an animal to propagate its species. In the dog it
may be due to many causes. Of course dogs castrated are impotent, so
they are when the testicles do not descend into the scrotum, though
able to perform the act of coition satisfactorily. Deformities of the
penis, fracture of the bone of the penis, stricture of the orifice of the
prepuce, so that the penis cannot protrude, this can be remedied by a
simple operation of dilating the orifice. In some cases the seminal fluid
is at fault. These cases can seldom be remedied, though I have found a
raw meat diet beneficial in some instances.
In cases of fracture of the penial bone, this, as a rule, in the course
of a month mends satisfactorily without treatment, but the dog should not
be used for stud purposes for a couple of months. Many dogs, especially
young, and also those too much used at stud, suffer from temporary
impotence due to lack of sexual desire. In the case of a young dog, a
dose of cantharides, three to twenty minims[1] in water, two hours before
trying to use him, often has the desired effect; if not, the medicine may
be repeated in six hours. The same medicine may be given to shy bitches.
Sterility or impotence often occurs in bitches. Some cases are curable,
but there are many which cannot be cured, for the simple reason that one
cannot find out the cause, and all one can say is, the bitch is barren.
The curable cases are those that are due to stricture of the vagina, a
not uncommon occurrence, then tumours, as polypi or other growths in the
vagina; a description of the treatment of these diseases will be found
in another part of the book. In some cases a bitch may miss breeding
through the discharge in the vagina being of a too acid nature. This can
be remedied by syringing the passage well out with a warm solution of
bicarbonate of soda, about one hour before service. The injection should
be made by dissolving one teaspoonful of bicarbonate of soda in half a
pint of water.
Then there are congenital deformities of the pelvis and vagina,
occasionally met with in the bitch, which prevent successful coition, and
the parts may become deformed as the result of accident, as being run
over across the lower part of the back.
Again, an attack of metritis or inflammation of the womb, the result of
a chill during the period of heat or from other causes, generally causes
the bitch to be barren afterwards, and certain diseases of the ovaries
also cause sterility.
A bitch who is very fat or in any way out of condition, the result of
illness, or from insufficient and proper exercise, or too hard exercise,
will seldom breed. The proper treatment of these cases is indicated by
the cause.
=Incontinence of Urine=:
_Symptoms_: The involuntary passing of water. In puppies it is generally
the result of nervousness, and passes off in time. The condition is
generally present in most cases of paralysis, the bladder, after being
over-distended, simply overflows as it were. It is also a symptom of
stone in the bladder, especially in the bitch.
_Treatment_: If in cases of general paralysis the bladder is kept
empty either by pressure to both sides of the abdomen, just over the
seat of the bladder, or by the passing of a catheter, the condition of
incontinence is prevented. The former method is the best, as the frequent
passing of the catheter sets up great irritation in the dog, and often
does harm. The bladder should be relieved at least three times a day.
When the result of general paralysis of the hind parts, improvement is
not to be expected until strength returns in the legs; but when the
incontinence is caused by simply over-distention, as, for instance,
through keeping a dog very clean in its habits shut up a long time, then
after emptying the bladder a course of Nux vomica is often necessary to
assist the bladder to regain tone. Give from one[1] to five drops of
the tincture in water three times a day after food; also a free dose
of purgative medicine, oil being the best, and keep on a light diet,
avoiding meat and soups for a few days.
=Indigestion=:
_Symptoms_: In the acute form the dog vomits after everything eaten,
also after drinking water, and there is always great thirst in these
cases. The patient shows signs of discomfort after food, and occasionally
suffers from diarrhœa. The tongue loses its natural pink colour, and
becomes dry and of a rusty red. The breath is foul, and teeth become
coated with fur. The dog quickly loses condition.
In chronic indigestion the symptoms are similar, but not so marked.
_Treatment_: Should commence with a dose of castor oil, even though
the patient may be vomiting and suffering from diarrhœa. A few hours
afterwards commence the following mixture:—
_Recipe_:
Acid Hydrocyanic Dil., 24 minims.
Liq. Bismuth, 2 drachms.
Aqua ad., 3 ounces.
From half to two teaspoonfuls[1] every four hours.
When the acute symptoms have passed, give the following powders:—
_Recipe_:
Ingluvin, ½ to 2 scruples.[1]
Carbonate Bismuth, ½ to 2 drachms.
Powdered Nux Vomica, 1 to 3 grains.
Mix.
Divide into 12 powders, and put in cachets—one to be given three times a
day after food.
_Diet_: First simply give milk and Vichy water in equal parts to drink,
a small quantity at a time; also occasionally a little Brand’s beef
essence. If sickness is very persistent, give stomach twelve hours’
absolute rest, during which time give every four hours a peptonised beef
suppository, then try the former diet again. When solid food is again
given, it should at first consist of scraped lean raw meat, beef, mutton,
or veal; for a change, boiled tripe. Thin barley water is better than
plain water to drink.
[Illustration: CHOW CHOW, CHAMPION RED CRAZE.
Born June 8th, 1901. Winner of 61 Firsts and Specials and 14
Championships. The property of Mrs. Scaramanga, 8, Sussex Square, Hyde
Park, W.
_Thos. Fall, photo._] [_face p. 156._]
=Inflammation=:
_Symptoms_: Redness, swelling, and tenderness of the part affected; rise
of temperature; thirst; an abscess may form.
_Treatment: External Inflammation_: Apply following lotion with lint and
bandage, or dabbed on part often:—
_Recipe_:
Goulard’s Extract of Lead, 1 drachm.
Laudanum, 1 ”
Water to 6 ounces.
Mix.
If the temperature keeps up, say, to 3 or more degs. above normal, it
is pretty certain an abscess is forming, in which case hot linseed-meal
poultices should be applied. To keep the heat in the poultice, cover the
outside of it with a layer of oil silk.
_Internal Inflammation_: Keep patient quiet; give aperient medicine, as
from two to ten grains[1] of jalapin. If chest affected, put on flannel
coat lined with thermogen wool. When inflammation situated in abdomen,
apply heat to part, as hot flannels, hot-water bottles, or linseed-meal
poultices. When temperature very high, doses of aspirin, from two to ten
grains,[1] maybe given three or four times a day; and if there is much
pain, from two to fifteen[1] drops of laudanum may be given in water the
same time.
_Diet_: Light, as milk, with Benger’s food, stale bread or toast.
=Influenza=:
_Symptoms_: Dulness, loss of appetite, rise of temperature, pains in
the loins, quick pulse. There is generally a cough, and bronchitis or
pneumonia may develop. In some cases there is severe diarrhœa, and there
may be some discharge from nose.
_Treatment_: Place patient in a dry and comfortable room or kennel, the
temperature of which should be kept from 55 to 65 degs. F., according
to whether the dog has been accustomed to live in a house or kennel.
If there is constipation, give a small dose of castor oil; and if the
temperature is high, give from two[1] to ten grains of salicine three or
four times a day. When fever has passed, give salicylate of quinine, from
a quarter[1] to a grain, made into a pill, three times a day.
_Diet_: Light, whilst there is any fever; but when this has passed,
strengthening food is required, as under-done or raw meat with rice or
bread, also tripe and fish; and if appetite bad, offer some stewed rabbit
with rice or bread.
=Inguinal Hernia=:
_See_ HERNIA.
=Insect Bites=:
_Symptoms_: The parts may become much swollen and red, accompanied by a
good deal of irritation.
_Treatment_: Dab parts with ammoniated quinine; failing this, eau de
Cologne or methylated spirits. When place very tender, the lead and
laudanum lotion as recommended for external inflammation may be used.
=Invalid Foods=:
When nursing sick dogs the diet is important, as it is so much better to
get the dog to eat something for himself, rather than always pouring food
down its throat. Taking food voluntarily not only does the dog more good,
but it is less worrying to the patient, for when one has to feed with
the spoon or bottle it is necessary to give nourishment very frequently,
whereas when it is taken voluntarily, more, as a rule, is taken at a
time, and therefore it is not necessary to offer food so often. A good
meat tea is made with equal parts of veal, beef, and mutton—say half a
pound of each cut up very small, then slowly stewed for three hours in
a pint of water. This should be strained and given either cold or warm,
whichever the dog likes best.
A jelly made from rabbit is also very nourishing, and dogs, as a rule,
are very fond of it, and they will often take it when they refuse
everything else. It should be made as follows:
The whole rabbit should be cut up in small pieces, including the liver;
the leg bones should be cracked, the heads split open, and the whole
stewed in a pint of water for some hours; then strained off, and if there
is more than half a pint reduce it to that quantity, and set aside to
cool. This may be given either cold or hot; a small quantity at a time,
as it is, if made as directed, very strong.
Fish boiled in water, or boiled in milk; and a capital fish soup is made
by stewing white fish, such as whiting, in milk for some time, and then
straining off and giving the soup to drink. Also boiled fish stewed with
rice makes a good food, and the different kinds of fish alone boiled.
A food of this kind may be given to a dog even when he has a fever,
especially if he will take it himself.
Sheep’s brains boiled in milk make an excellent and tempting food.
Calves’ sweet-breads also boiled, or even grilled, dogs are very fond of.
Chickens’ livers grilled make an appetising dish for a dog; and when
a dog is convalescent, and the temperature is normal, he may be even
tempted to eat by offering grilled meat.
Milk of course is one of the best and most nourishing diets, and when
the dog is very weak the white of one egg to every cup of milk is very
strengthening food. For a change, milk, with plasmon added, should be
given, but too much of this latter food must not be given to dogs with a
high temperature.
Sanatogen is a most excellent, strengthening, and easily-digested food.
Dogs will often retain this when they are unable to take any other food.
Benger’s food with milk is also an easily-digested food, as it is
partially predigested. Cases often arise when a dog cannot possibly
retain anything in the stomach, then it is necessary to give nourishment
by the rectum, and it is astonishing what a long while a dog can be kept
alive and fairly strong in this way.
The best kinds of food for giving by rectum are peptonised milk, or
peptonised beef-tea, and peptonised beef suppositories. Burroughs
Wellcome’s are good nutritive suppositories. As to the quantity of milk
to be given per rectum, from one[1] to eight tablespoonfuls, just warmed,
every three or four hours alternatively with one of Burroughs Wellcome’s
meat suppositories.
In giving a nutritive enema, care must be taken to pass it very slowly
into the bowel so as not to excite action, or the enema will be
immediately rejected, and afterwards just raise the hind-quarters a
little bit so that the fluid runs well into the body, and hold the tail
down for a few minutes so that it cannot escape.
The milk can be peptonised with Fairchild’s peptonised powders, which can
be bought at any chemist’s shop.
Brand’s meat essences are excellent foods in cases of stomach disorders.
Benger’s peptonised beef jelly is a very easily digested preparation, and
very useful in cases of severe vomiting.
Raw meat beef-tea, made by soaking for a couple of hours half a pound of
scraped lean raw beef in half a pint of cold water, then stood in front
of a fire to get warm, then straining and squeezing through a coarse
tea-cloth. Or the juice may be pressed from raw meat with one of Dr.
Klein’s meat-squeezing machines. This is very nourishing and easily
digested, and dogs are fond of it, and often will take it voluntarily
when refusing other foods.
An excellent combined food for dogs very ill, especially with distemper,
when the patient is very weak, or during convalescence, is made as
follows:—
To a breakfast cup of milk, thickened with Benger’s food, add the white
of an egg, a full teaspoonful of invalid bovril, and a dessertspoonful of
brandy; of this give from one[1] to six tablespoonfuls every two or three
hours alternately, with some beef-tea or meat extract.
Messrs. Spratts’ Patent have recently introduced a new food for invalids.
It is a granulated meal, and they call it Invalid Food. It is a most
excellent preparation, and every dog I have offered it to has eaten it
with avidity. I have found it a very useful diet for distemper patients
mixed with milk; and I have given it to puppies just weaned, and they
have thriven well on it. Though this new food is called Invalid Food,
it is an excellent preparation either mixed with milk or soup for small
dogs; if meat is required it can easily be added, as it contains none,
but I am told that it contains a special meal, and that little or no meat
is necessary.
The same preparation is put up in the form of biscuits which are crisp
without being hard, and small dogs eat them with pleasure. No doubt
all dogs are better for having something hard to gnaw once a day. It
preserves the teeth, hardens the gums, and assists digestion.
Animal Kreochyle is an excellent extract of meat for use in cases of
great weakness, the result of distemper or from any other disease. It is
also an excellent remedy in stomach disorders accompanied by sickness.
Dogs, as a rule, take Kreochyle very readily, and it is easily digested
and assimilated.
=Irritation of Skin=:
_Symptoms_: Constantly scratching, biting, and licking the skin, which
when examined, there is often nothing to be seen. The condition occurs in
hot weather, especially during the shedding of the old coat.
_Treatment_: Give a sulphur bath made by dissolving one ounce sulphurated
potash in a pail of tepid water; repeat every two or three days. If
this does not give relief, bathe the dog in a warm solution of borax,
one tablespoonful to a gallon of water. Give saline aperient medicine,
as Dinneford’s fluid magnesia, to small dogs, and Epsom salts to large
ones. A meat diet is often beneficial in these cases, but sometimes it
increases the irritation; then, of course, it must be avoided, and other
food with green vegetables substituted.
=Itch=:
_See_ MANGE.
=Jaundice=:
_Symptoms_: Generally the result of congestion of the liver, caused by
chill; may be due to impaction of the duct with a bile stone, or worms;
or the opening of the duct into the bowel may be stopped by thickening
of the bowel membrane. The attack generally commences with sickness,
dullness, loss of appetite; and the membranes of the mouth and eyes turn
yellow, and so does the skin. There is generally obstinate constipation,
and what is passed from bowel is usually grey or slate colour. The urine
is scanty and high-coloured.
Jaundice is also a symptom of organic disease of the liver.
_Treatment_: When the result of congestion caused by a chill, I have
found, after many years’ experience, that the homœopathic preparations
of Nux Vomica 3 × and Merc. Sol. 3 × act well in these cases. Of the
trituration give from two[1] to ten grains of each every three or four
hours. If the bowels do not operate on the second day, give an enema of
from two tablespoonfuls to half a pint[1] of warm soapy water; repeat
daily if necessary. Hot linseed-meal poultices may be applied to abdomen.
_Diet_: Mutton broth (in which some green vegetables have been cooked),
with toast or stale bread; milk and Vichy water in equal parts to
drink; later boiled fish or tripe. When the condition is the result
of obliteration of the duct, there is nothing to be done; relief may
occur spontaneously, or an operation may be performed, but it is not
recommended. When jaundice is due to organic disease of the liver, it
cannot be cured, but the Nux Vomica and Merc. Sol. treatment will
sometimes give temporary relief. The application of iodine vasogen over
the enlarged liver in these latter cases is often useful in relieving
tension of the organ.
=Kennels, How to Disinfect=:
After dogs have been suffering from any contagious disease, like
distemper or mange, in a kennel, it is necessary to thoroughly disinfect
them, and it is best done in the following manner:—
In a strong tin dish from half to a pound of sulphur, according to
the size of the kennel, should be placed. A few drops of methylated
spirits should be poured on top of the sulphur, and a light applied, the
methylated spirits being added to make the sulphur ignite more easily.
The kennel should then be made as air-tight as possible by having strips
of paper pasted over all the crevices and around the window-frames, so
that the sulphur fumes cannot escape. The kennel should be kept sealed up
for forty-eight hours, after which the windows and doors may be thrown
open so as to thoroughly ventilate the place, and the following day the
whole of the inside kennel should be thoroughly washed with a strong
solution of Pearson’s fluid, 1 in 40. The walls and ceilings when dry
should be afterwards well lime-washed or sulphur-washed—that is, finely
powdered sulphur mixed with water and size, the same way as whitewash
is prepared. A day or two later, when everything is thoroughly dry, the
kennel will be quite fit to receive dogs, or even puppies, without any
fear of infection.
=Kidneys (Inflammation of, Acute)=:
_Symptoms_: The attack generally comes on suddenly; may arise from severe
chill, but generally the result of stone in the kidneys. There is great
pain over the loins; the dog walks with difficulty and arched back; the
temperature rises 3 or 4 degs. above normal; the pulse is quick and full;
the urine is high-coloured and scanty—sometimes it is the colour of
blood, and mixed with mucus and pus; the limbs may swell from dropsy, and
the dog is very thirsty and often frequently sick.
_Treatment_: Give saline purgative medicine, as Epsom salts, from twenty
grains to one ounce[1] in warm milk; repeat the next or following day.
Also give every four hours from five to thirty grains[1] of hyposulphite
of soda in a little water. As to food, it should consist principally of
milk mixed with equal parts of Vichy water, and a little boiled fish.
If sickness very severe, give from half to two drops[1] of diluted
hydrocyanic acid in a teaspoonful of water every two, three, or four
hours, and ice to lick. After the acute stages have passed, give tonics,
as the ammoniated citrate of iron, from one to five grains,[1] three
times a day, in from one teaspoonful[1] to a tablespoonful of water.
=Kidneys (Inflammation of, Chronic)=:
_Symptoms_: May be the sequel of an acute attack or a less severe chill,
and sometimes it is caused by gravel. There is tenderness over the
loins; the urine may be tinged with blood, or after passing water, which
may look quite clear and normal, the dog continues to strain, and a few
drops of blood escape and some mucus.
_Treatment_: A milk diet is important in these cases; it may be given
with rice, tapioca, Force, or bread. Red meat must be avoided, but tripe
and fish may be allowed. Vichy water mixed with equal parts of plain
water should be given to drink; and a course of hyposulphite of soda, as
recommended in acute inflammation, should be given, but only two or three
times a day. If gravel or a stone is suspected, a course of boro-citrate
of magnesia with bicarbonate of potash is advised. The dose of the former
is five[1] to thirty grains, and of the latter from two[1] to fifteen
grains mixed with the food twice a day, and be continued for some time.
=Lactation (Defective)=:
_Symptoms_: A small supply or total suppression of the mammary secretion.
_Treatment_: Give a raw meat diet, and stimulate the glands by massage;
also encourage the bitch to drink plenty of fine oatmeal gruel.
=Lactation (Excessive)=:
_Symptoms_: Excessive secretion of milk. The glands are swollen, hard,
and painful, and the milk often dribbles away. It may occur before the
puppies are born, or just after; and it often happens to a maiden bitch
to have a large secretion of milk, which shows itself about seven or
eight weeks after heat, and which lasts five or six weeks. A maiden
bitch in this condition is very restless and wretched. She appears to
be always looking for puppies. She will walk about with her tail down,
crying, and occasionally scratches and rakes at her bed, and twists round
and round as if making a nest.