Chapter VIII: Preface (5)

Powdered capsicums and cantharides have also seemed to touch the disease; but no one medicine has to me appeared to have any specific influence over it. In these cases mere formulae could be extended almost indefinitely; but the reason must be exerted, and the prescription must be dictated by the symptoms. Thus, when there is much nervous excitability accompanied with gastric derangement, Prussic acid of Scheele's strength, in doses of half a drop to two drops, may be exhibited; and if the mouth be dry, and the disposition irritable, from five to twenty drops of the tincture of Indian tobacco may be administered. If the throat is very sore, the mouth may be held open, and ten grains of powdered alum mixed with four times its weight of fine sugar may be blown into it, or in severe instances, the fauces may be mopped out by means of a piece of soft sponge tied to the end of a probe, and saturated with a solution containing six grains of nitrate of silver dissolved in an ounce of water.

Ulceration of the interior of the larynx is to be dreaded if the symptoms do not yield. This will be denoted by the cough becoming weaker, less loud, more short, and also more frequent. Prior to it there are always intervals during which the animal enjoys repose; but after ulceration of the larynx is established every inhalation provokes the irritability of the organ. With it the constitutional symptoms become more serious, and little can then by medicine be accomplished; for the passage of the air which is necessary to life causes the affection we desire to cure to spread. Tracheotomy might be performed, though the dog is so very expert with its claws, and any tape around the neck would be probably so injurious, that hitherto I have not ventured to hazard the experiment. Humanity has, in such cases, forced me to recommend the destruction of the life which I entertained no hope of comforting.

Cough is much more frequently a symptom than a disease. It, in fat dogs, usually proceeds from disordered digestion; and then to remove it the cause must be attacked. It accompanies worms; and if these are expelled, it will subside. It may, however, exist by itself, for the larynx of the dog early becomes ossified or converted into bone; and being then less yielding, the violent vibrations it is subjected to during the act of barking have a natural tendency to injure the delicate lining membrane. Its irritability is excited, and cough is the consequence. The disposition of the creature to give tongue ought, therefore, to be as much as possible checked, and a mustard poultice applied to the throat, while the pills first recommended on page 205, are given; but if these fail, the others may be employed. The general measures would be pretty much the same, only the more severe need not be resorted to. Quiet, mild food, and a little care, will often, without medicine, remove the annoyance; but it is never well to trust too long to such dubious aids, when timely assistance will procure speedy relief, and delay may lead to further evil.

SNORING is often a heavy accusation brought against the dog. It may proceed from weakness; though, in ninety-nine cases out of every hundred, it results from that debility which accompanies accumulated fat and sloth. In the one case we apply the means advised to restore the strength,--in the other, we stint the food, enforce a vegetable diet, and see that sufficient exercise be taken.

SNORTING is another unpleasantness which the canine race display. The animals stand with their heads erect, and, drawing the air through the nostrils, produce a series of harsh loud sounds, which are sometimes continued till the dog falls from actual exhaustion. This is the result of irritability, in a low form, of the lining membrane of the nasal chambers. The sensation is probably that of itching, and the dog endeavors, by drawing the air quickly through the nostrils and energetically expelling it, to relieve the annoyance.

The treatment is not to be laid down; attention to the food, and medicines of an alterative nature calculated to affect or improve the secretions, are most likely to be of service. Worms may possibly be the provocative, and in that case of course they should be removed. The measures, therefore, are not to be arbitrarily pointed out. The judgment must be employed to discover in what particular the system is unsound, and the agents used must be selected with a view to the general health. Local applications have been tried without advantage, but there do not appear to be any specifics for the complaint. The snorting is to be regarded merely as an effect of some deep-seated derangement, and the remedies are to be such as the appearance of the animal suggests. I have generally been successful in these cases, but I remember no two of them which I have treated exactly in the same manner. Patience and perseverance are mostly required, but sometimes the affection will not yield to any remedy. When it appears to be obstinate, the use of medicine should not be pushed too far. The constitution of the dog is so easily injured, and with so much difficulty restored, that where a mere unpleasantness is apparently all that exists, it is better to permit that to continue than hazard the health of the animal by over-strenuous attempts to get rid of it.

COLD or CORIZA is not frequent in the dog, but it will occasionally be seen. It comes on gradually, and often passes off without any assistance being given. In pups it is apt to pass first into bronchitis, and then change into distemper, which in such instances, spite of our best endeavors, will often terminate in fits.

It springs from various causes, but neglect and improper lodging are generally those to which it may be traced. In adult animals it is not to be greatly feared, but in the young it requires immediate attention. The kennel must be looked to; the food and exercise be strictly watched. Tonics, into which cayenne pepper, cubebs, or balsam of pepper enter, are to be tried, and cod-liver oil also is worth an experiment. The iodide of potassium is also not to be rejected; but the condition of the patient must decide which is the most likely to be of service in the case. When undertaken early, the symptoms yield in the majority of instances. The discharge, which at the commencement is thin, becomes more copious, grows thicker, and at last ceases. The sneezing stops and the spirits return; but should the disorder not be checked, the larynx becomes involved, and cough appears. If no relief be now sought, and the disease spreads, the breathing grows quick at first, and then laborious.

The pup may even at this stage be eager to feed, and when its attention is excited, be as playful as in health; but if watched it will be seen, when alone, to be oppressed and languid. In such cases, belladonna, combined with James's powder, an equal amount of each, should be administered. The dose should be exhibited every hour, for here the wish is to obtain the speedy effect of the drug without allowing its sedative property to seriously affect the strength. To a young pup, a quarter of a grain will be the proper quantity; and for a full-grown large-sized dog, two grains of the extract may be employed. The action, however, must be observed, and when a marked disinclination for food or drink, with a seeming wish for both, and signs of inconvenience in the throat are seen, the belladonna must be withheld. On the third day, if the cure be not complete, it may be a second time employed; and, after a like period, even a further trial may be made. At the same time, a little soap liniment may be rubbed into the throat, along the course of the windpipe, and over the chest. The bowels also should be regulated; but purgation is not to be desired. Should the liver be sluggish, mild alterative doses of the grey powder may be sprinkled upon the food, and will thus be taken without the necessity of forcing the animal. When the measures recommended do not succeed, the appearance of the patient must direct those which are next to be adopted. Where weakness prevails, and shivering denotes the presence of fever, quinine and the sulphate of iron are required. Small blisters, or mustard poultices, to the chest, may with due caution be applied. An emetic may even be administered; but, if repeated at all, it must be only after two or three days have elapsed. Where the system is vigorous, expectorants and sedatives, with leeches to the chest, may be used. Turpentine liniment to the sides, throat, and under the jaws, may also be freely rubbed in, and the diet in quantity restricted. Tartar emetic in very minute doses may be exhibited three times daily.

The chest of the dog is not in any remarkable degree the seat of disease. The ribs of the animal being constructed for easy motion, and the muscles which move them being strong and large in proportion to the size of the bones, the lungs, therefore, are in general properly expanded; and this circumstance tends to preserve them in a healthy condition. They do not, however, always escape, but are subject to the same inflammations as those of the horse, though, from the causes stated, more rarely attacked.

INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS is denoted by a quickened pulse and breathing, preceded by shivering fits. The appetite does not always fail; in one or two instances I have seen it increased; but it is most often diminished. The animal is averse to motion; but when the affection is established, the dog sits upon its hocks, and wherever it is placed, speedily assumes that position. As the disorder becomes worse, the difficulty of breathing is more marked. The creature also shows a disposition to quit the house, and if there be an open window it will thrust its head through the aperture. The sense of suffocation is obviously present, and at length this becomes more and more obvious. The dog in the very last stage refuses to sit, but obstinately stands. One of the legs swells, and, on being felt, it is ascertained to be enlarged by fluid. There is dropsy of the chest, and the limb has sympathized in the disposition to effusion. The pulse denotes the weakness of the body; but the excitement of disease in a great measure disguises the other symptoms. The dog may even, to an unpractised eye, seem to possess considerable strength; for it resists, with all its remaining power, any attempt to move it, and its last energies are exerted to support the attitude that affords the most relief to the respiration. At length the poor brute stubbornly stands until forced to stir, when it drops suddenly, and for several moments lies as if the life had departed. Again it falls, but again revives; and always with the return of consciousness gets upon its legs; but at last it sinks, and without a struggle dies.

The lungs have been, in the first instance, inflamed, but the pleura or membrane covering the lungs, and also lining the chest, has likewise become by the progress of the disease involved. The cavity has become full of water, or rather serum, and by the pressure of the fluid the organs of respiration are compressed. It is seldom that both sides are gorged to an equal degree; but one cavity may be quite full while the other is only partially so. One lung, therefore, in part remains to perform the function on which the continuance of life depends; and if, by any movement, the weight of fluid is brought to bear upon the little left to continue respiration, the animal is literally asphyxiated. It drops, in fact, strangled, or more correctly, suffocated; and as the vital energy is strong or weak, so may the dog more or less frequently recover for a time. In the end, however, the tax upon the strength exhausts the power, and the accumulation of the fluid diminishes the source by which the life was sustained. After death, I have taken from the body of a full-sized Newfoundland one lung, which lay with ease upon my extended hand; while the two held together afforded a surface sufficient to support the other. The condensation was so great that the part was literally consolidated, and the fluid which exuded on cutting into the substance was small in quantity. The blood-vessels were, with the air-cells, compressed, and while the arterialization of the blood was imperfect, the circulation was also impeded.

The causes usually assigned to account for inflammation of the lungs will not, in the dog, explain its origin. I have usually met it where the animal had not been exposed to wet or cold; where it had not undergone excessive exertion, or been subjected to violence. Extraordinary care as rather seemed to induce, than the neglect of the creature appeared to provoke the attack. It is, however, easy to trace causes when we have a wish to explain a particular effect; but where the lungs have been inflamed I have never, to my entire satisfaction, been able to ascertain that the animal had been exposed to hardship, or subjected to labor which it had not previously sustained, and which, if the health had been good, it might not have endured.

Disease of the lungs is, in the early stage, very readily subdued; but, if allowed to establish itself, it is rarely that medicine can eradicate it. The majority of persons who profess to know anything about the diseases of dogs, look upon the nose as an indication of the health. While the appetite is good, or the nose is cold and moist, such people are confident no fear need be entertained. Of the uncertainty that attends the disposition to feed mention has been already made; but with regard to the condition of a part, the persons who assume to teach us are likely to be in such cases entirely deceived. I have known dogs with violent inflammation of the lungs; I have seen them die from dropsy of the chest; and their noses have been wet and cold, even as though the animals had iced the organs. From this mistaken notion, therefore, no doubt, are to be traced the numerous instances of dogs brought for treatment when no remedies can be of avail. They are submitted to our notice only that we may be pained to look upon their deaths; and often have my endeavors been thus limited to simple palliative measures, when an earlier application would have enabled me to employ medicine with a reasonable prospect of success.

In the commencement, when the breathing is simply increased and the pulse slightly accelerated, then if you place the ear to the side, there is merely a small increase of sound; and the animal exhibits no obstinate, or more properly, unconquerable disposition to sit upon the hocks; small quantities of belladonna, combined with James's powder, will generally put an end to the disease. The belladonna, in doses of from one to four grains, may be given three times a day; but where trouble is not objected to, and regularity can be depended upon, I prefer administering it in doses of a quarter of a grain to a grain every hour. By the last practice I think I have obtained results more satisfactory; but it is not always that a plan necessitating almost constant attention can be enforced, or that the animal to be treated will allow of such repeated interference. The following formula will serve the purpose, and the reader can divide it if the method I recommend can be pursued.

Extract of belladonna One to four grains.
James's powder Two to eight grains.
Nitrate of potash Four to sixteen grains.
Extract of gentian A sufficiency for one pill.

If, on the second day, no marked improvement is perceptible, small doses of antimonial wine may be tried; from fifteen minims to half-a-drachm may be given every fourth hour, unless vomiting be speedily induced; when the next dose must, at the stated period, be reduced five or ten minims, and even further diminished if the lessened quantity should have an emetic effect. The object in giving the antimonial wine is to create nausea, and not to excite sickness; and we endeavor to keep up the action in order to affect the system. This is frequently very decisive in the reduction of the symptoms; but, even after the danger has been dispelled, the pills before recommended must be persevered with, and every means adopted to prevent a relapse.

Sometimes, however, the disorder commences with a violence that, from the very beginning of the attack, calls for the most energetic measures. If the breathing be very quick, short, and catching; the position constant; the pulse full and strong; the jugular vein may be opened, and from one ounce to eight ounces of blood extracted; or leeches may be applied to the sides; or an ammoniacal blister may be employed. This is done by saturating a piece of rag, folded three or four times, with a solution composed of liquor ammoniaca fort., one part; distilled water, three parts; and, having placed it upon the place from which the hair has been previously cut off, holding over it a dry cloth to prevent evaporization of the volatile vesicant. A quarter of an hour will serve to raise the cuticle; but frequently that object is accomplished in less time; therefore, during its operation, the agent must be watched, or else the effect may be greater than we desire, and sloughing may ensue.

A dose of castor oil may also be administered, and the food should be composed entirely of vegetables, if the animal can be induced to eat this kind of diet. Exertion should be prevented, and quiet as much as possible enjoined. The tincture of aconite, it is said, sometimes does wonders in inflammation of the lungs; but in my hands its operation has been uncertain, though the homoeopathists trust greatly to its action in this disease. They give it singly, but I have not reaped from its use on the dog those advantages which tempt me to depend solely on its influence. When employed, it may be given in doses of from half a drop to two drops of the tincture, in any pleasant vehicle, every hour.

After dropsy of the chest has been established, the chance of cure is certainly remote; but tapping at all events renders the last moments of life more easy. It is both simple and safe, and does not seem to occasion any pain; but, on the contrary, to afford immediate relief. The skin should be first punctured, and then drawn forward so as to bring the incision over the spot where the instrument is to be inserted. The place where the trocar should be introduced is between the seventh and eighth ribs, nearer to the last than to the first, and rather close to the breast-bone. The point being selected, the instrument is pushed gently into the flesh; and when the operator feels no resistance is offered to the progress of the tube, he knows the cavity has been pierced. The stilet is then withdrawn, and the fluid will pour forth. Unless the dog shows signs of faintness, as much of the water as possible ought to be taken away; but if symptoms of syncope appear, the operation must be stopped, and after a little time, when the strength has been regained, resumed. When this has been done, tonics must be freely resorted to. The following pill may be administered three or four times a day; and the diet should be confined to flesh, for everything depends on the invigoration of the body, and the inflammation is either gone, or it has become of secondary importance.

Iodide of iron One to four grains.
Sulphate of iron Two to eight grains.
Extract of gentian Ten grains to half a drachm.
Powdered capsicums Two to eight grains.
Powdered quassia A sufficiency.

The above will make two pills; and it is better to make these the more frequently, as they speedily harden, and we now desire their quickest effect, which is sooner obtained if they are soft or recently compounded.

During recovery the food must be mild, and tonics must be administered. Exercise should be allowed with the greatest caution, and all excitement ought to be avoided. The dog must be watched and nursed, being provided with a sheltered lodging and an ample bed in a situation perfectly protected from winds or draughts, but at the same time cool and airy.

ASTHMA is a frequent disease in old and petted dogs. It comes on by fits, and, through the severity of the attack, often seems to threaten suffocation; but I have not known a single case in which it has proved fatal. The cause is generally attributable to inordinate feeding, for the animals thus afflicted are always gross and fat. The disorder comes on gradually in most instances, though the fit is usually sudden. The appetite is not affected, or rather it is increased often to an extraordinary degree. The craving is great, and flesh is always preferred, while sweet and seasoned articles are much relished. On examination, the signs denoting the digestion to be deranged will be discovered. Piles are nearly constantly met with; the coat is generally in a bad condition, and the hair off in places. The nose may be dry; the membrane of the eyes congested; the teeth covered with tartar, and the breath offensive. The dog is slothful, and exertion is followed by distress. Cough may or may not exist; but it usually appears towards the latter period of the attack.

Asthma is spasm of the bronchial tubes, and when it is thoroughly established it is seldom to be cured. All medicine can accomplish is the relief of the more violent symptoms. The fits may be rendered comparatively less frequent and less severe; but the agents that best operate to that result are likely in the end to destroy the general health. Between two evils, therefore, the proprietor has to make his choice; but if he resolves to treat the disorder, he must do so knowing the drugs he makes use of are not entirely harmless.

Food is of all importance. It must be proportioned to the size of the patient, and be rather spare than full in quantity. Flesh should be denied, and coarse vegetable diet alone allowed. The digestion must also be attended to, and every means taken to invigorate the system. Exercise must be enforced, even though the animal appear to suffer in consequence of being made to walk. The skin should be daily brushed, and the bed should not be too luxurious. Sedatives are of service; and as no one of these agents will answer in every case, a constant change will be needed, that, by watching their action, the one which produces the best effect may be discovered. Opium, belladonna, hyoscyamus, assafoetida, and the rest, may be thus tried in succession; and often small doses produce those effects which the larger one seems to conceal. A pill containing any sedative, with an alterative quantity of some expectorant, may be given three times daily; but when the fit is on, I have gained the most immediate benefit by the administration of ether and opium. From one to four leeches to the chest, sometimes, are of service; but small ammoniacal blisters applied to the sides, and frequently repeated, are more to be depended upon. Trivial doses of antimonial wine or ipecacuanha wine, with an occasional emetic, will sometimes give temporary ease; but the last-named medicines are to be resorted to only after due consideration, as they greatly lower the strength. Stomachics and mild tonics at the same time are to be employed; but a cure is not to be expected. The treatment cannot be absolutely laid down; but the judgment must be exercised, and whenever the slightest improvement is remarked every effort must be made to prevent a relapse.

HEPATITIS.

LIVER complaints were once fashionable. A few years ago the mind of Great Britain was in distress about its bile, and blue pill with black draught literally became a part of the national diet. At present nervous and urinary diseases appear to be in vogue; but, with dogs, hepatic disorders are as prevalent as ever. The canine liver is peculiarly susceptible to disease. Very seldom have I dipped into the mysteries of their bodies but I have found the biliary gland of these animals deranged; sometimes inflamed--sometimes in an opposite condition--often enlarged--seldom diminished--rarely of uniform color--occasionally tuberculated--and not unfrequently as fat with disease as those are which have obtained for Strasburg geese a morbid celebrity.

It is, however, somewhat strange that, notwithstanding the almost universality of liver disease among petted dogs, the symptoms which denote its existence are in these creatures so obscure and undefined as rarely to be recognised. Very few dogs have healthy livers, and yet seldom is the disordered condition of this important gland suspected. Various are the causes which different authors, English and foreign, have asserted produced this effect. I shall only allude to such as I can on my own experience corroborate, and here I shall have but little to refer to. Over-feeding and excessive indulgence are the sources to which I have always traced it. In the half-starved or well-worked dog I have seen the liver involved; but have never beheld it in such a state as led me to conclude it was the principal or original seat of the affection which ended in death. On the other hand, in fatted and petted animals, I have seen the gland in a condition that warranted no doubt as to what part the fatal attack had commenced in.

When death has been the consequence of hepatic disorder, the symptoms have in every instance been chronic. I am not aware that I have been called upon to treat a case of an acute description, excepting as a phase of distemper. It would be too much to say such a form of disease does not exist in a carnivorous animal; but I have hitherto not met with it. Neither have I seen it as the effect of inveterate mange; though I have beheld obstinate skin disease the common, but far from invariable, result of chronic hepatitis. I have also known cerebral symptoms to be produced by the derangement of this gland, which, in the dog, may be the cause of almost any possible symptom, and still give so little indication of its actual condition as almost to set our reason at defiance.

When the animal is fat, the visible mucous membranes may be pallid; the tongue white; the pulse full and quick; the spirits slothful: the appetite good; the foeces natural: the bowels irregular; the breath offensive; the anus enlarged, and the rump denuded of hair, the naked skin being covered with a scaly cuticle, thickened and partially insensible.

When the animal is thin, almost all of the foregoing signs may be wanting. The dog may be only emaciated--a living skeleton, with an enlarged belly. It is dull, and has a sleepy look when undisturbed; but when its attention is attracted, the expression of its countenance is half vacant and half wild. The pupil of the eye is dilated, and the visual organs stare as though the power of recognition were enfeebled. The appetite is good and the manner gentle. The tongue is white, and occasionally reddish towards the circumference. The membranes of the eye are very pale, but not yellow. The lining of the mouth is of a faint dull tint, and often it feels cold to the touch. The coat looks not positively bad; but rather like a skin which had been well dressed by a furrier, than one which was still upon a living body.

The history in these cases invariably informs us that the animal has been fat--very fat--about six or twelve months ago. It fell away all at once, though no change was made in the diet; and yet we learn it has been physicked. No restraint has been put upon buckthorn, castor oil, aloes, sulphur, and antimony, but yet the belly will not go down--it keeps getting bigger; and now we are told the animal has a dropsy which "wants to be cured." It is natural the figure and condition should suggest the idea of ascites; but the hair does not pull out--none of the legs are swollen--the shape of the abdomen wants the appearance of gravitation, and if the patient be placed upon its back the form of the rotundity is not altered by the position of the body. Moreover, the breathing is tolerably easy: and, though if one hand be placed against the side of the belly, and the part opposite be struck with the other, there will be a marked sense of fluctuation; still we cannot accept so dubious a test against the mass of evidence that declares dropsy is not the name of the disease. To make sure, we feel the abdomen near to the line of the false ribs. This gives no pain, so we press a little hard, and in two or three places on either side, on the right, or may be the left, high up or low down; for in abnormal growths there can be no rule--in two or three places we can detect hard, solid, but smooth lumps within the cavity. This last discovery leaves no room for further doubt, so we pronounce the liver to be the organ that is principally affected. In chronic cases, especially after the dog has begun to waste, enlargement nearly always may be felt, not invariably hard, yet often so, but never soft or so soft as the other parts; and this proof should, therefore, in every instance of the kind be sought for.

With regard to treatment, the food must not be suddenly reduced to the starvation point. Whether the dog be fat or lean, let the quality be nutritious, and the quantity sufficient; from a quarter of a pound to a pound and a half of paunch, divided into four meals, will be enough for a single day; but nothing more than this must be given. Tonics, to strengthen the system generally, should be employed; and an occasional dose of the cathartic pills administered, providing the condition is such as justifies the use of purgatives. Frequent small blisters, applied over the region of the liver, may do good; but they should not be larger than two or four inches across, and they should be repeated one every three or four days. Leeches put upon the places where hardness can be felt, also are beneficial; but depletion must be regulated by the ability of the animal to sustain it. A long course of iodide of potassium in solution, combined with the liquor potassae, will, however, constitute the principal dependence.

Iodide of potassium Two drachms two scruples.
Liquor potassae One ounce and a half.
Simple syrup Six ounces.
Water Twelve ounces and a half.

Give from half a teaspoonful to a teaspoonful three times a day.

The above must be persevered in for a couple of months before any effect can be anticipated. Mercury I have not found of any service, though Blaine speaks highly of it, and Youatt quotes his opinion. Perhaps I have not employed it rightly, or ventured to push it far enough.

Under the treatment recommended, the dog may be preserved from speedy death; but the structures have been so much changed that medicine cannot be expected to restore them. The pet may be saved to its indulgent mistress, and again perhaps exhibit all the charms for which it was ever prized; but the sporting-dog will never be made capable of doing work, and certainly it is not to be selected to breed from after it has sustained an attack of hepatitis.

Sometimes, during the existence of hepatitis, the animal will be seized with fits of pain, which appear to render it frantic. These I always attribute to the passage of gall stones, which I have taken in comparative large quantities from the gall-bladders of dogs. The cries and struggles create alarm, but the attack is seldom fatal. A brisk purgative, a warm bath, and free use of laudanum and ether, afford relief; for when the animal dies of chronic hepatitis, it perishes gradually from utter exhaustion.

The post-mortem examination generally presents that which much surprises the proprietor; one lobe of the gland is very greatly enlarged; it evidently contains fluid. It has under disease become a vast cyst, from which, in a setter, I have actually extracted more than two gallons of serum: from a small spaniel I have taken this organ so increased in size that it positively weighed one half the amount of the body from which it was removed. The wonder is that the apparently weak covering to the liver could bear so great a pressure without bursting.

INDIGESTION.

Things must seem to have come to a pretty pass when a book is gravely written upon dyspepsia in dogs. Nevertheless, I am in earnest when I treat upon that subject; and could the animals concerned bear witness, they would testify it was indeed no joke. The Lord Mayor of London does not retire from office with a stomach more deranged than the majority of the canine race, shielded by his worshipful authority, could exhibit. The cause in both instances is the same. Dogs as they increase in years seem to degenerate sadly; till at length they mumble dainties and relish flavors with the gusto of an alderman. Pups even are not worthy of unlimited confidence. The little animals will show much ingenuity in procuring substances that make the belly ache; and, with infantine perversity, will, of their own accord, gobble things which, if administered, would excite shrieks of resistance. A litter of high-bred pups is a source of no less constant annoyance, nor does it require less incessant watching, than a nursery of children. There is so much similarity between man and dog that, from fear of too strongly wounding the self-love of my reader, I must drop the subject.

Indigestion in dogs assumes various forms, and is the source of numerous diseases. Most skin affections may be attributed to it. The inflammation of the gums, the foulness of the teeth, and the offensiveness of the breath, are produced by it. Excessive fatness, with its attendant asthma and hollow cough, are to be directly traced to a disordered digestion. In the long run, half of the petted animals die from diseases originating in this cause; and in nearly every instance the fault lies far more with the weakness of the master than with the corruptness of the beast. He who is invested with authority has more sins, than those he piously acknowledges his own, to answer for.

The symptoms are not obscure. A dislike for wholesome food, and a craving for hotly spiced or highly sweetened diet, is an indication. Thirst and sickness are more marked. A love for eating string, wood, thread, and paper, denotes the fact; and is wrongly put down to the prompting of a mere mischievous instinct: any want of natural appetite, or any evidence of morbid desire in the case of food, declares the stomach to be disordered. The dog that, when offered a piece of bread, smells it with a sleepy eye, and without taking it licks the fingers that present it, has an impaired digestion. Such an animal will perhaps only take the morsel when it is about to be withdrawn; and, having got it, does not swallow it, but places it on the ground, and stands over it with an expression of peevish disgust. A healthy dog is always decided. No animal can be more so. It will often take that which it cannot eat, but, having done so, it either throws the needless possession away or lies down, and with a determined air watches "the property." There is no vexation in its looks, no captiousness in its manner. It acts with decision, and there is purpose in what it does. The reverse is the case with dogs suffering from indigestion. They are peevish and irresolute. They take only because another shall not have. They will perhaps eat greedily what they do not want if the cat looks longfully at that which had lain before them for many minutes, and which no coaxing could induce them to swallow. They are, in their foibles, very like the higher animal.

The treatment is simple. The dog must be put upon, and strictly kept upon, an allowance. Some persons, when these animals are sent to them, because the creatures are fat and sickly, shut the dogs up for two or four days, and allow them during the period to taste nothing but water. The trick often succeeds, but it is dangerous in severe cases, and needless in mild ones. This is a heartless practice, which ignorance only would resort to; but such conduct is very general, and the people who follow it boast laughingly of its effect. They do not care for its consequences. A weakly stomach cannot be benefited by a prolonged abstinence. I have kept a dog four-and-twenty hours without food, but never longer, and then only when the animal has been brought to me with a tale about its not eating. The report, then, is assurance that food has been offered, and the inference is that the stomach is loaded. A little rest enables it to get rid of its contents, and in some measure to recover its tone. The dog, as a general rule, does well on one meal a day; afterward, the food is regularly weighed, and nothing more than the quantity is permitted. This quantity may be divided into three or four meals, and given at stated periods, so that the last is eaten at night. When thus treated, animals, which I am assured would touch nothing, have soon become possessors of vigorous appetites. At the same time, exercise and the cold bath every morning is ordered; and either tonic or gentle sedatives, with alkalies and vegetable bitters, are administered. The following are the ordinary stomach-pills, and do very well for the generality of cases:--

Extract of hyoscyamus Sixteen grains.
Sodae carb. Half an ounce.
Extract of gentian Half an ounce.
Ferri carb. Half an ounce.

Make into sixteen, thirty, or eight pills, and give two daily.

The reader, however, will not depend upon any one compound, for stomach disease is remarkably capricious. Sometimes one thing and sometimes another does a great deal of good; but the same thing is seldom equally good in any two cases. Stimulants, as nitrate of silver, trisnitrate of bismuth, or nux vomica, are occasionally of great service; and so also are purgatives and emetics, but these last, when they do no benefit, always do much injury. They should, therefore, be tried last, and then with caution, the order being thus:--Tonics, sedatives, and alkalies, either singly or in combination, and frequently changed. Stimulants and excitants in small doses, gradually increased. Emetics and purgatives, mingled with any of the foregoing. The food and exercise, after all, will do more for the restoration than the medicine, which must be so long continued that the mind doubts whether it is of any decided advantage. The affection is always chronic, and time is therefore imperative for its cure.

Dogs are afflicted with a disease of the stomach, which is very like to "water-brash," "pyrosis," or "cardialgia," in the human being. The animals thus tormented are generally fully grown and weakly: a peculiarity in the walk shows the strength is feeble. The chief symptom is, however, not to be mistaken. The creature is dull just before the attack: it gets by itself, and remains quiet. All at once it rises; and without an effort, no premonitory sounds being heard, a quantity of fluid is ejected from the mouth, and by the shaking of the head scattered about. This appears to afford relief, but the same thing may occur frequently during the day. This disease of itself is not dangerous; but it is troublesome, and will make any other disorder the more likely to terminate fatally; it should, therefore, be always attended to. The food must not be neglected, and either a solution of the iodide of potassium with liquor potassae, or pills of trisnitrate of bismuth, must be given. The preparations of iron are sometimes of use; and a leech or two, after a small blister to the side, has also seemed to be beneficial. When some ground has been gained, the treatment recommended for indigestion generally must be adopted, the choice of remedies being guided by the symptoms. The practitioner, however, must not forget that the mode of feeding has probably been the cause; and, therefore, it must ever after be an object of especial care. The cold bath and exercise, proportioned to the strength, are equally to be esteemed.

Very old dogs often die from indigestion, and in such cases the stomach will become inflated to an extent that would hardly be credited. These animals I have not observed to be subject to flatulent colic; when, therefore, the abdomen becomes suddenly tympanitic the gas is usually contained in the stomach. Fits and diarrhoea may accompany or precede the attack, which in the first instance yields to treatment; but in a month more or less returns, and is far more stubborn. Ether and laudanum, by mouth and enema, are at first to be employed; and, generally, they are successful. The liquor potassae, chloride of lime in solution, and aromatics with chalk, may also be tried, the food being strengthening but entirely fluid. The warm bath is here highly injurious; and bleeding or purging out of the question. When the distension of the stomach is so great as to threaten suffocation, the tube of the stomach-pump may be introduced; but, unless danger be present, the practitioner ought to depend upon the efforts of nature, to support which all his measures should be directed. After recovery, meat scraped as for potting, without any admixture of vegetables, must constitute the diet; and while a sufficiency is given, a very little only must be allowed at a time. With these precautions the life may be prolonged, but the restoration of health is not to be expected.

GASTRITIS

Dogs are abused for their depraved tastes, and reproached for the filth they eat; but if one of them, being of a particular disposition in the article of food, takes to killing his own mutton, he is knocked on the head as too luxurious. It is a very vulgar mistake to imagine the canine race have no preferences. They have their likes and dislikes quite as strong and as capricious as other animals. Man himself does not more frequently impair his digestion by over indulgence than does the dog. In both cases the punishment is the same, but the brute having the more delicate digestion suffers most severely. The dog's stomach is so subject to be deranged that few of these creatures can afford to gormandize; to which failing, however, they are much inclined. The consequence is soon shown. A healthy dog can make a hearty meal and sleep soundly after it. The petted favorite is often pained by a moderate quantity of food, and frequent are the housemaid's regrets that his digestion is not more retentive. He spoils other things besides victuals; and the more daintily he lives the more generally is he troublesome. It is the variety that diseases him. He grows to be omnivorous. He learns to relish that which nature did not fit him to consume, and as a consequence he pays for his bad habits. The dog in extreme cases can digest even bones; a banquet of tainted flesh will not disorder him; but he cannot subsist in health on his lady's diet. His stomach was formed to receive and assimilate certain substances, and to deny these is not to be generous or kind.

Gastritis is very common with ladies' favorites. Its symptoms are well marked. Frequent sickness is the first indication. This is taken little notice of. The mess is cleared up, and the matter is forgotten. Thirst is constant, and the lapping is long; but no further notice is taken of this circumstance, than to remark the animal has grown very fond of water. At last the thirst has increased, and no sooner is the draught swallowed than it is ejected. The appetite which may have been ravenous a little time before, now grows bad, and whatever is eaten is immediately returned. The animal is evidently ill. The nose is dry, and the breathing quick. It avoids warmth, and lies and pants, away from the hearthrug. It dislikes motion and stretches itself out, either upon its chest or on its belly. Sometimes it moans, and more rarely cries. The stomach is now inflamed; and if the symptoms could have been earlier understood, frequently has the animal been seen, prior to this stage of attack, licking the polished steel fire-irons. It has been horrifying its mistress's propriety, by its instinctive desire to touch something cold with its burning tongue; and the poor little beast perhaps has been chastised for seeking a momentary relief to its affliction.

Dogs that are properly treated rarely have gastritis. When they do, it is generally induced by some unwholesome food. I have known it to be caused by graves more often than by anything else they are accustomed to eat. I never recommend this stuff to be given to dogs. Meal and skim milk is far better, and that can always be procured where flesh is scarce. The entrails of sheep, &c., if washed and boiled with a large quantity of any kind of meal, are nutritious and wholesome; nay, even when a little tainted, they will not be refused. If, however, they were hung up in a strong draught, they would soon dry; and in that state might be preserved for use any length of time; all they afterwards require would be boiling. The paunch can be prepared in the same manner; and it would be worth some little trouble to avoid a mixture which contains nothing strengthening, and too often a great deal that is injurious.

The treatment of gastritis is simple. It is generally accompanied by more or less diarrhoea; but the violence of the leading symptom renders that of comparatively little consequence. The degree of sickness will always indicate whether the stomach is the principal seat of disease.

As nothing is retained, it would be a needless trouble to give many solids or fluids, by the mouth. From half a grain to a grain and a half of calomel, thoroughly mixed with the same quantities of powdered opium, may be sprinkled upon the tongue; and from one drachm to four drachms of sulphuric ether may be given in as much water as will dissolve it twenty minutes afterwards. The medicine will most probably be ejected; but, as it is very volatile, it may be retained sufficient time to have some influence in quieting the spasmodic irritability of the stomach. Ethereal injections should be administered every hour, and no food of any kind allowed. Besides this, from a quarter of a grain to a grain of opium may be sprinkled on the tongue every hour; and the ether draught continued until the sickness ceases, or the animal displays signs of being narcotised. An ammoniacal blister, if the symptoms are urgent, may be applied to the left side; but in mild cases, a strong embrocation will answer every purpose. Except the constitution be vigorous, and the pulse very strong, it will not be advisable to bleed, but from two to twelve leeches may be applied to the lower part of the chest. Cold water may be allowed in any quantity, but nothing warm should be given. The colder the water, the better, and the more grateful it will be to the animal. Where it can be obtained, a large lump of ice may be placed in the water, for the dog often will lick this, and sometimes even gnaw it. Small lumps of ice may be forced down as pills, and a cold bath may be given, the animal being well wrapped up afterwards, that it may become warm, and the blood, by the natural reaction, be determined to the skin.

When the sickness is conquered, the following should be administered:--

Powdered nux vomica A quarter of a grain to a grain.
Sulphate of iron One grain to four grains.
Extract of gentian Sufficient to make a pill.

The above may be repeated every four hours until the stomach is quiet; but it is not always tranquillized; sickness may return, and the pills may possibly seem to aggravate it. If such should appear to be the case, try the next:--

Acid hydrocyanic, L.P. One drop to four drops.
Carbonate of soda Three grains to twelve grains.
Water A sufficiency.

The ether and opium must also he persevered with, regulating the last of course by the action which it induces.

Food should consist of cold broth, slightly thickened with ground rice, arrowroot, starch, or flour, and for some days it must be composed of nothing more; but by degrees the thickness may be increased, and a little bread and milk introduced. After a time a small portion of minced underdone meat, without skin or fat, may be allowed; but the quantity must be small, and the quality unexceptionable.

The second day generally sees an abatement of the more urgent symptoms, and then the draught may be composed of five minims of laudanum to every drachm of ether, and ten drachms of water. This to be given both by mouth and injection six times daily. The former pills were intended only to allay the primary violence of the disease, and when that object is attained, the following remedy may be employed:--

Extract of hyoscyamus One grain to four grains.
Carbonate of soda Three grains to twelve grains.
Carbonate of ammonia Half a grain to two grains.
Extract of gentian Five grains to a scruple.
Powdered quassia A sufficiency.

The above is for one pill, which should be repeated four times daily, and continued for some days; when, if the dog seems quite recovered, a course of the quinine tonic pills, as recommended for distemper, will be of use; but should any suspicion be created of the disorder not being entirely removed, the animal may be treated as advised for indigestion.

Sporting dogs are frequently sent to me suffering under what the proprietors are pleased to term "Foul." The history of these cases is soon known. They have been withdrawn from the field at the close of the season, and have ever since been shut up in close confinement, while the working diet has been persevered with. The poor beast is supposed capable of vegetating until the return of the period for shooting requires his services. He remains chained up till he acquires every outward disease to which his kind are liable; and then, when he stinks the place out, his owner is surprised at his condition, pronouncing his misused animal to be "very foul." "Foul" is not one disease, but an accumulation of disorders brought on by the absence of exercise with a stimulating diet. The sporting dog, when really at work, may have all the flesh it can consume; but at the termination of that period its food should consist wholly of vegetable substances, while a _little_ exercise daily is necessary, not to health, but absolutely for life. The dog with "foul" requires each seat of disease to be treated separately; beginning of course with the dressing for mange or for lice, one or the other of which the animal is certain to display.

DISEASES DEPENDENT ON AN INTERNAL ORGAN.

STOMACH.--ST. VITUS'S DANCE.

This disease generally is assumed to be a nervous disorder, and so the symptoms declare it to be; but on _post mortem_ examinations no lesion is found either upon the brain, spinal marrow, or the nerves themselves. This last circumstance, however, proves nothing; for the same thing may be said of tetanus in the human being, and of stringhalt in the horse; both of them being well-marked nervous affections. I append St. Vitus's Dance to the stomach, not because of that which I have not beheld, but because of that which I have positively seen.

It follows upon distemper. I do not know it as a distinct disorder, though it is asserted to exist as such when the greater or leading disease is unobserved. It then follows up the affection which primarily involves the stomach and intestines, and to which indications all other symptoms are secondary. On every _post mortem_ which I have made of this disorder, I have discovered the stomach inflamed; and, therefore, not because the nerves or their centres are blank, but because on one important viscus I have found well marked signs to impress my reason, I propose to treat of this disorder as connected with the stomach.

The signs to which I allude, consists of patches of well-defined inflammation; and hence, knowing how distemper has the power to involve other organs, I conclude it has caused the spinal marrow to be sympathetically affected.