very bad form of “wind or gas in the stomach”, which is a very serious
illness, often terminating fatally in a few hours, due to rupture of
the stomach, the result of over-distension. The gas is formed by a germ
generally present in all dogs’ stomachs and bowels, and called “Bacillus
Communis Colli”, and sometimes without any apparent reason or cause they
take on an active form with the result as above mentioned. The attack
usually comes on shortly after eating. The dog becomes restless and
breathes quickly, the abdomen is full and tense, the dog has an anxious
look, the eyes are congested, and the pulse very quick and small. The
distension continues to increase, the abdomen often assuming an enormous
size and hard as a drum, and the pain is acute. Unless relief is quickly
obtained the dog suddenly collapses, the stomach having ruptured and the
contents escaped into the abdominal cavity. Acute peritonitis sets in,
and the dog dies in a few hours as much from shock as the disease.
_Treatment_: It is generally unsatisfactory, as the symptoms are so
acute that there is little time to do anything before the dog becomes
collapsed; however, now and then benefit is derived by giving a strong
dose of antiseptic medicine, as cyllin, from two to six[1] minims, which
can be obtained in gelatine capsules; the dose may be repeated in a
couple of hours. If cyllin cannot be obtained give from two to fifteen[1]
grains of Naphthol Beta in a cachet; this also may be repeated in a
couple of hours. Failing this medicine, then give from five to forty[1]
drops of Pearson’s Antiseptic Fluid in a gelatine capsule or cachet, and
this too may be repeated in a couple of hours if necessary.
Sometimes benefit is derived by washing the stomach out with a solution
of the fluid just mentioned diluted two hundred times with tepid water,
using from one ounce to half a pint of the solution.[1] This must be
done with a stomach pump. When everything else fails, it is advisable to
submit the dog to an operation, which consists of opening the abdomen,
and then puncturing the stomach to allow the gas to escape, but care
must be taken not to let any of the contents of the stomach escape into
the abdominal cavity. The wound made in the stomach must be afterwards
carefully closed by Lembert’s sutures.
=Womb (Inflammation of)=:
_See_ UTERUS (INFLAMMATION OF).
=Worms in the Heart= (_Filaria Immitis_):
_Symptoms_: A common disease in China and not uncommon in Japan, but I
believe there has never been a case in England when the dog has been born
here, though some few dogs that have been imported from the countries
named show symptoms of suffering from these parasites soon after arriving
in this country by frequently suffering from convulsions, weakness in the
back legs, and in some cases paralysis. A dog’s heart is often irregular
in action, but in these cases it is particularly so, and after some great
exertion the dog dies suddenly, the result of the worm interfering with
the action of the heart.
In making _post-mortem_ examinations of dogs having died from the effect
of these parasites, I have found as many as sixty worms in the heart,
many of them measuring seven inches long.
_Treatment_: There is no known treatment that is likely to be of any
service.
=Worms in the Stomach and Bowels=:
_Symptoms_: Round worms are more frequently found in young puppies than
tapeworm, but occasionally the latter are found in puppies six or seven
weeks old, whilst the round kind, called Ascaris Marginata, are present
in puppies ten days old, when they look like pieces of cotton about an
inch to an inch and a half long, and pointed at both ends. When present
in such very young puppies they generally cause enteritis and death. A
puppy suffering badly from worms does not thrive and grow, he generally
eats voraciously. The stomach is distended sometimes to a very great
extent, causing difficulty in breathing, the muscles waste, the legs and
neck becoming quite thin. The action of the bowels is irregular, but as a
rule, there is diarrhœa to a more or less extent, and sometimes vomiting,
when the worms have passed into the stomach, and, if the worms are not
got rid of, rickets is often the result.
With tapeworms the symptoms vary considerably. Some dogs may be infested
with worms and yet not lose flesh, but as the result suffer from eczema,
which disappears when the worms have been expelled; but as a rule, a dog
eats well but does not put on flesh, and has a tucked-up appearance.
The bowels are often irregular, the breath offensive, the coat dull and
staring, and the dog is listless. The most positive symptoms of worms is
when segments looking like small pieces of dried rice are found about the
underneath parts of the tail and on the dog’s bed.
Worms occasionally cause paralysis of the hind legs. People often
wonder how dogs get worms, especially pet dogs, who seldom leave their
mistresses’ side, but it is easily accounted for, first, when it is
taken into consideration how susceptible they are to these parasites; a
dog, for instance, fed on raw meat or uncooked milk, or if he eats grass
where there are sheep or rabbits, or if he drinks out of a pool which
drains from land on which sheep are grazing, he is almost certain to get
tapeworm, for sheep and rabbits are the intermediate host of some of the
most common kind. Lice, again, act as the intermediate host of other
sorts. I may here mention that tapeworms do not breed in a dog, but the
eggs or larvæ must pass out of him and be swallowed by some other living
creature, who is called the intermediate host. Here they develop into
cysts or bladder-worms, and if these in their turn are swallowed by a dog
they develop into a tapeworm, and so the cycle is completed.
_Treatment_: It is most important that house dogs should be kept free of
worms, for if by chance or accident a person swallows an egg or larva
from a tapeworm there is the danger of a cyst or bladder-worm forming in
one’s liver, which is a most serious and often fatal disease. As to the
treatment of worms in young puppies, unless the case is serious it is not
advisable to commence dosing before the puppy is five weeks old, and then
a dose of the following medicine may be given three times a week, half an
hour before food:—
_Recipe_: _Worm Mixture_:
Santonine, 1 scruple.
Liquor Senna Dulc., 1 ounce.
Glycerine, ½ ounce.
Syrup Aniseed, 3½ ounces.
Well mix.
_Doses_: For small puppies like griffons, etc., when five or six weeks
old, a quarter of a teaspoonful; fox-terrier puppies, same age, half
a teaspoonful; retriever puppies, etc., same age, three-quarters of a
teaspoonful; St. Bernard puppies, one teaspoonful—to be given half an
hour before the first morning meal. Repeat twice a week. The doses may
be gradually increased, according to age and size of puppies. The bottle
must be well shaken before pouring out the dose.
If the mixture is not retained, from an eighth[1] to half a grain of
santonine, with from half[1] to two grains of jalapin, may be given,
made into a pill, twice a week half an hour before food. When six weeks
old, fox-terriers and other breeds of similar size and strength, and
also, of course, bigger ones, may be dosed with powdered areca nut and
santonine. Give one grain of the former to every pound the dog weighs,
and to the dose of this medicine add from the eighth[1] to half a grain
of santonine. This may be given in a cachet, and about half an hour
afterwards give the puppy a drink of warm milk. Should the bowel not
operate freely in the course of an hour, from half[1] to two teaspoonfuls
of castor oil is recommended. Repeat the vermifuge in the course of a few
days. “Ruby” is also an excellent remedy for worms in young dogs.
It is a good plan to dose puppies regularly from time to time, say once a
month, for worms.
With regard to the treatment of tapeworms in adult dogs, there is nothing
better than the old-fashioned remedy, freshly powdered areca nut. The
dose is one grain to every pound the dog weighs, but more than two
drachms should never be given at a time to the biggest dog. Unfortunately
this medicine often induces vomiting, but if it is given in cachets it
is less likely to do so. About half an hour after the medicine has been
administered some warm milk or clean soup may be given the dog to drink,
and a couple of hours after the dose from a dessertspoonful[1] to two
tablespoonfuls of castor oil should be given.
Another good remedy for tapeworm is the oil of male fern, and the doses
are the same as for areca nut. This medicine may be bought in gelatine
capsules, but castor oil must be given afterwards, as recommended after
the previously mentioned remedy.
It is advisable to dose all adult dogs for worms, whether they exhibit
any symptoms of having these parasites or not, about three or four times
a year.
=Worm (Maw)=:
_Symptoms_: A dog is said to have maw worms when pieces or segment of
tapeworm are found adhering to the back parts. These are not distinct
worms, but segments of tapeworm, which come away naturally when a worm is
breaking up in the bowels, due to natural causes and changes.
_Treatment_: The same as for tapeworms.
=Wounds=:
_Symptoms_: There are five kinds. An incised wound is a clean cut with a
sharp instrument; a lacerated wound is when the skin and other parts are
torn; contused when the skin, etc., is torn and the edges are bruised,
as when caused by a blow by some blunt instrument or a fall. A punctured
wound is one made by some sharp-pointed instrument. A wound of this kind
is also often caused by the bite of a dog, one of the tusks penetrating
the skin and underneath tissues. Then there is another kind of wound
called a fistulous wound, which generally externally is small, but runs
deep into the tissues as in fistula of the anus; but the most common
seat of a fistulous wound in the dog is in the face, just under the eye,
caused generally by some external injury which may not break the skin,
but injure the ridge of bone called the zygomatic ridge, resulting in the
formation of an abscess which will not heal until the large molar tooth
(which is situated underneath the fistula) is removed, and then it heals
of itself quickly even though it may have been running for months.
Fistulous wounds may form anywhere when an accident has happened to a
part and a bone has been injured, and as the result of the inflammation
the bone dies, and the wound will not heal until the dead bone comes away
either naturally or by operation.
Another example of a fistulous wound is found when a dog has swallowed
something sharp, such as a pin, needle, bone, or a corn sheck, which may
pierce that part of the gullet situated in the neck; as the result, a
large abscess often forms, and until the foreign body has come away the
wound, the result of the bursting or lancing of the abscess, will not
heal. These cases are often very troublesome, as the foreign body causing
the mischief may be buried very deeply in the tissues, and when small is
difficult to find even with the assistance of the X-rays.
_Treatment_: The first and principal thing to do in the treatment of all
wounds is to clean them; but sometimes if the bleeding is very severe it
may not be possible to do it thoroughly at once, for the dog may bleed to
death, so when there is severe hæmorrhage this must be stopped as soon
as possible. As a rule, a thick pad of medicated wool or antiseptic
gauze, or failing either of these, a clean sponge wrung out in some
hot water and bandaged firmly over the wound, will generally answer.
This is cleaner and better than applying a stringent, as the tincture
of iron or Friar’s Balsam, though in some cases it may be necessary,
and the pressure afterwards applied. Four or five hours afterwards the
temporary dressing may be removed, and after cutting off the hair from
the edges of the wound it should be thoroughly cleaned with a solution
of Pearson’s Disinfectant Fluid, 1 in 120 of warm water, or with a
teaspoonful of boracic acid in half a pint of warm water. All dirt,
clots of blood, hairs, etc., must be removed, and if it is an incised
wound the edges should be brought together with stitches of strong silk,
catgut, or silver wire; failing any of these, pin sutures may be used in
the following way: A pin should be run through the skin on either side
of the wound about a quarter of an inch from the edge, and the severed
edges brought close together and kept there by winding a piece of cotton,
figure-eight fashion, round the pin. Each pin should be placed about the
third or half an inch apart, and after applying the cotton the point and
head should be cut off. Afterwards cover the wound over with a few layers
of dry antiseptic gauze, and bandage. Two days afterwards the gauze may
be changed, but the wound need not be interfered with so long as it is
dry and there is no swelling. If there is much swelling, one suture
should be removed and the fluid gently squeezed out, afterwards apply the
dry dressing as before. When there is much discharge the dressing must be
repeated once or twice daily, the surface of the wound being cleaned with
a solution of Pearson’s Fluid or boracic acid. On the sixth or seventh
day the sutures may be removed, but the dressing should be continued for
another day or two or until the parts are quite sound.
_Lacerated and Contused Wounds_ require practically the same treatment;
they must be thoroughly cleansed with a warm solution of some
disinfectant, all shreds or loose and hanging bits of skin removed with
scissors, then dust over the wound a powder made with powdered iodoform
one part, powdered boracic acid eight parts, mixed together, a few layers
of antiseptic gauze applied and the parts bandaged. When there is much
discharge the dressing should be repeated twice a day, otherwise once a
day is sufficient. Do not continue the compound iodoform powder for more
than three or four days. After a week or so, if the wound is healing very
slowly, apply instead of the gauze some boracic ointment on lint, which
may be occasionally changed for the following lotion:—
_Recipe_:
Sulphate of Zinc, 1 scruple.
Tincture Calendula, 2 drachms.
Water to 8 ounces.
This should be applied on a piece of lint doubled once and just big
enough to cover the wound, which should be covered over with oil-silk
and then bandaged. Repeat the dressing twice a day. When proud-flesh, or
excessive granulations—that is, the newly-formed tissue to fill up the
wound—forms and grows above the surface of the surrounding skin, nitrate
of silver in the form of a stitch should be applied by just wiping it
once across the surface of the parts. These wounds often take a long time
to heal.
In treating punctured wounds the principal thing to do is not to let the
skin heal before the parts underneath have, otherwise an abscess is sure
to form, and there is a danger of blood-poisoning. A puncture wound may
be cleaned by being syringed out with a solution of some disinfectant,
then a small strip of disinfectant gauze should be placed in the wound
to prevent its healing. This is to be covered over with a few layers of
gauze and a bandage applied. Repeat the dressing twice a day, and so long
as there is any discharge the wound on the skin must not be allowed to
heal.
_Fistulous Wounds_ are sometimes very difficult to heal, and often
require operating upon before they will do so—especially in cases of a
fistulous wound in the anus which may extend to and open into the bowel.
However, before submitting the patient to an operation try the following
lotion:—
_Recipe_:
Chloride of Zinc, 6 grains.
Tincture Calendula, 1 drachm.
Water to 1 ounce.
A little to be gently syringed into the wound once every other day.
In cases of fistulous wounds the result of diseased bone, time must be
given for the dead bone to come away. The application of hot linseed-meal
poultices dusted over with powdered charcoal do good, but it is often a
matter of weeks, sometimes months, before the dead bone separates from
the healthy bone. When the case is very obstinate the services of a
veterinary surgeon should be obtained.
_Wounds_ the result of the bite of a dog suffering from rabies should be
immediately and freely cauterised with fuming nitric acid or a saturated
solution of chromic acid, but unless the dog is a very valuable one, he
should be destroyed, as it is running a great risk to keep a dog that has
been bitten by one suffering from this disease. Besides cauterising the
wound, the bitten dog should be very securely isolated for three months
so that he cannot possibly come in contact with either man or other
animal.
APPENDIX
=Back, Injuries to=:
May be the result of a blow, or due to a sprain when jumping. It often
occurs as the result of a dog being run over across the back.
_Symptoms_: Pain on pressure to the part; in bad cases the dog walks with
difficulty, and with back arched and tail down. In slight cases, though
there may be pain on pressure, the dog walks, when first starting out,
fairly well, and seems bright; but after going a short distance he soon
lags behind, loses his spirits, and droops his tail. In other instances
of a slight nature, the dog is able to walk easily but is unable to jump,
and, if he attempts to, he cries out.
_Treatment_: It consists principally in giving the dog rest. Sometimes
several weeks’ quiet are necessary, as well as rubbing the back with some
anodyne liniment, as the following:—
_Recipe: The Liniment_:
Chloroform (meth.), ½ ounce.
Tincture Hyoscyamus, ½ ounce.
Spirits of Camphor, 1 ounce.
Soap Liniment, 1 ounce.
Mix.
Apply with gentle friction once or twice a day to the painful parts. A
dose of aperient medicine does good, and whilst the dog is at rest a
light diet should be given.
=Feeding=:
Dogs require concentrated food, and to keep a dog in the best condition,
meat should form half his diet.
Taking first the toy breeds. When puppies are weaned, it must be
remembered that the mother’s milk is far stronger than cows’ milk, and
when possible, goats’ milk should be given; cows’ milk thickened with
Plasmon is a good substitute. The mother should be allowed to feed her
puppies during the night in the initial stages of weaning.
At five weeks old, puppies should be given a little scraped raw meat—very
small quantities, a small eggspoonful once a day—and they should be
treated for worms. As they get stronger, and are entirely weaned (at six
to seven weeks), Benger’s food, a little rusk and broth, rusk and milk,
and scraped raw meat, can be given alternately four times a day in small
quantities. Directly the teeth begin to come through, one of Spratt’s
invalid biscuits should be given them to amuse themselves with. At four
months old, the meals should be reduced to three in number, say, stale
brown bread and milk in the morning, raw meat, or cooked meat, and stale
bread in the middle of the day, and some puppy biscuit at night. At six
months old, two meals a day will be sufficient, consisting of dry biscuit
in the middle of the day, and at night a raw meat meal, twice a week; on
other days, fine Rodnim or stale bread with broth, sheeps’-hearts or
skirts, and other cooked meats, chopped up finely, mixed with it.
Non-splintering bones are very good for puppies to have once or twice a
week, as it helps them during teething, and with dry biscuits, acts as
the dog’s tooth-brush. Bones of game and poultry should on no account be
given.
Both in the matter of biscuits and meat foods, the greatest possible
variety obtainable should be given. Sheeps’-heads and hearts, tripe,
skirts, New Zealand mutton, bullocks’-heads and hearts, and fish, all
help to vary the dog’s diet.
The same remarks apply to the terriers and dogs of that size, but fine
Rodnim, a little meat and broth, and less expensive foods will obtain the
same results, as the dogs have stronger constitutions than the toys.
In the large breeds where size and bulk are required, two meat meals
should be given the puppies from four to six months old, and those who
have a plentiful supply of eggs will find that raw eggs, although costly,
help to increase growth. The same number of meals should be given as
directed for the toys. When the puppy is full-grown, unless he is taking
a great deal of exercise, hard biscuit and Rodnim, with a small quantity
of meat added, and broth poured over it, should be sufficient. Onions
boiled with all these foods, and mashed up in the broth, will be found
excellent. Other fresh vegetables should not be given, although lentils
and rice are both good.
=Sunstroke=:
_Symptoms_: Dog is usually taken suddenly ill, and generally falls to
the ground in an unconscious condition. The breathing is heavy, slow,
and laboured, the pulse full and quick, the tongue and membrane of the
mouth are of a bluish colour, and the eyes are very congested. The dog
may vomit and have diarrhœa. The attack may quickly terminate fatally, or
paralysis follow. I have seen lock-jaw result from sunstroke.
_Treatment_: Give a hot bath and apply ice to forehead. As soon as the
dog is able to swallow give a good purge, as from half[1] to three
drops of croton oil in from one[1] teaspoonful to two tablespoonfuls
castor oil. If there are convulsions, give medicine as for epilepsy and
convulsions.
FOOTNOTES
[1] According to the size of the dog. See p. 86.
INDEX
Abrasions, 1
Abscesses, 1
Acidy, or Gastric Catarrh, 1
Acne, 2
Adrenalin, 9
Albuminaria, 3
Alopecia, 3
Amaurosis, 4, 25
Anæmia, 4
Anæsthetics, 5
Anal Glands, Congestion and Irritation of, 10
Aneurism, 10
Angina Pectoris, 11
Anthrax, 11
Anus, fistula of, 119;
inflammation of skin about, 234;
licking of, 10;
prolapsus of, 11
Apoplexy, 13
Appendicitis, 13
Appetite, want of, 14;
morbid, 14
Arsenic poison, 216
Artery, dilation of an, 10
Arthritis, 15
Artificial respiration, 16, 269
Asphyxia, 16
Asthma, 16
Back, broken, 130;
injuries to, 341
Bad breath, 17
Balanitis, 19
Baldness, 3
Bark, loss of, 324
Bed-sores, 19
Biliousness, 20
Bite, snake, 279
Bites, 21
Bladder, calculi in, 34;
irritable, 22;
paralysis of, 23
Blade-bone, fracture of, 124
Bleeding gums, 143
Bleeding from nose, 193;
from stomach, 24
Blindness, 25
Blisters, 25
Blisters, to apply, 26
Blood-poisoning, 26
Boils, 27
Bone, diseased, 190;
inflammation of the membrane covering, 210;
ulceration of, 36
Bowel, lower, protrusion of, 11
Bowels, inflammation of the, 27, 106;
intussusception of, 28;
worms in, 331
Brain, inflammation of the membrane of, 179;
water on the, 149
Breast, inflammation of, 29, 179
Breath, bad, 17
Breathing, difficulty of, in Bulldogs, 29
Breeding, 238
Bronchitis, 30, 31
Bruises, 32
Bugs, harvest, 144
Bulldog, difficulty of breathing in, 29;
how to muzzle, 185
Burns, 32;
blisters after, 25
Calculi, 33;
in bladder, 34
Cancer, 36
Carbolic acid poison, 220
Caries, 36
Cataract, 37
Catarrh, nasal, 38, 188
Catheter, how to pass, 38
Cerebral congestion, 40
Cervical vertebræ, fracture of, 130
Chalky Stones, 40
Chest, acute pain in, 11
Chloroform, 5
Choking, 41
Chorea, 42
Chronic gastritis, 137
Claws, dew-, 58, 186
Cocaine, 7
Coins, swallowing of, 43
Cold in the head, 38
Colic, 27, 45
Collapse, 46
Coma, 47
Compound fracture, 128
Conception, false, 116
Condylomata, 326
Congenital deformities, 55
Congestion, cerebral, 40
Conjunctivitis, 48
Consciousness, loss of, 46
Constipation, 48
Consumption, 50
Convulsions, 13;
in puppies, 50
Corns, 51
Coughs, 52
Cracked feet, 117
Crack in teats, 288
Cuts, 52
Cutting the teeth, 299
Cystitis, 22
Cysts, 53
Dandruff, 53
Deafness, 54
Debility, 55
Defective lactation, 167
Deformities, Congenital, 55
Delirium, 59
Destroy dogs, how to, 59
Dew-claws, 58, 186
Diabetes Insipidus, 60;
mellitis, 61
Diarrhœa, 61;
in puppies, 63
Discharge from ear, 64;
from vagina, 317
Disinfect kennels, how to, 165
Dislocations, 65
Distemper, 70
Docking, 85
Doses, 86
Dosing, 86
Dropsy, 87
Drowning, 16
Dysentery, 90
Dyspepsia, 91
Dysuria, 92
Ear, cyst in the flap of, 95;
growths in, 96;
polypus in, 97;
scurfiness of, 97
Ear-ache, 92
Ear-canker, 64, 92
Ear-flap, cysts in, 53, 95
Eclampsia, parturient, 206
Ecthyma, 98
Eczema, 99
Elbow, Capped, 101;
dislocation of, 66
Emaciation, 101
Emetics, 102
Emissions, 102
Emphysema, 102
Enema, 104
Enlargement of prostate gland, 233;
of testicles, 303
Enteritis, 106
Epilepsy, 108
Epistaxis, 109
Erysipelas, 109
Erythema, 110
Eucaine, 9
Excessive lactation, 167
Excitement, sexual, 278
Exertion, result of great exhaustion, 111
Exhaustion, 111
Eye, disease of (glaucoma), 141;
dislocation of, 111;
formation of an opaque spot in the lens or pupil of, 37;
growth on haw of, 113
Eyelashes, ingrowing, 56
Eyelids, inverted, 56;
sore, 113
Eyes, blind, 25;
diseased, 4;
sore and weak, 48;
unnaturally small, 56;
weak (ophthalmia), 2
Fainting, 114
False conception, 116
Fatness, 199
Favus, 116
Feeding, 342