Chapter IX: Part 9

_Treatment_: They should be carefully picked off the dog with forceps, avoiding breaking them if possible. The little spot caused by the bite of the tick soon heals, and does not require any special treatment.

=Tongue (Chorea in the)=:

_Symptoms_: The tongue is continually being popped in and out of the front of the mouth for an inch or more. This is a rare disease, and I have only seen one case, and that was in a collie. As in ordinary chorea, it is the result of distemper.

_Treatment_: _See_ CHOREA.

=Tongue (Inflammation of)=:

_Symptoms_: Swelling and redness of the tongue; it often hangs out of the mouth, the result of temporary paralysis, and the dog is unable to lap. The condition is generally caused by injury from the teeth, as a bite during a fit, or a sharp tooth. Wasps’ stings will also induce the same condition.

_Treatment_: Wash the mouth and tongue thoroughly several times a day with a solution of borax, one teaspoonful to half a pint of water. To any wounds or ulcers apply sparingly night and morning a two-per-cent. solution of nitrate of silver. When the tongue is very swollen and protruding beyond the mouth, apply ice.

=Tongue (Paralysis of)=:

_Symptoms_: The tongue hangs out of the mouth generally, to one side sometimes, but not often, in front, and there is inability to retract it. The protruding part has a dead and cracked appearance, and loses its natural pink colour. There is a difficulty in eating and drinking. This condition may follow injury to the head; it is sometimes present in cases of general paralysis, the sequel of distemper or from other causes, and it is often seen in old dogs, especially those with a short face, as pugs and Japanese spaniels, due to loss of teeth.

_Treatment_: Medicine has little effect in these cases. When the result of injury or distemper, as the dog improves in general health the tongue regains strength. A course of Nux Vomica as recommended for general paralysis assists.

=Tongue (Warts on)=:

_Symptoms_: Small greyish-coloured excrescences appear all over the tongue, as well as on the cheeks and lips. Warts on the tongue and mouth are only seen in puppies. I do not remember seeing them in an adult dog. Sometimes they appear in such numbers as to inconvenience a puppy when feeding. Thick, dirty-looking saliva dribbles from the mouth; the breath is offensive. They are contagious from one puppy to another.

_Treatment_: Wash the mouth out two or three times a day with a teaspoonful[1] or a drachm of common washing-soda dissolved in half a pint of warm water. Do not cut the warts to make them bleed, as that only increases the number. When the solution of soda does not take them away dress the warts (only a few each day) with a five-per-cent. solution of chromic acid applied sparingly on the end of a wooden match.

In obstinate cases a course of Donovan’s solution of arsenic does good; give twice a day after food from one to five drops[1] in a little water, or it may be mixed with the food.

=Tongue (Wounds and Ulcers of the)=:

_Symptoms_: The wound may be a simple, punctured one induced by one of the tusks during a fit, or the tip of the tongue may be bitten off, the result of an accident. Abrasions and ulcers occur along the sides of the tongue, due to friction against the molar teeth when thickly encrusted with tartar. Very severe and dangerous ulcers appear on the sides and point of the tongue in cases of acute gastro-enteritis or German distemper, and occasionally in this disease the point of the tongue sloughs off.

_Treatment_: In ordinary wounds of the tongue, when there is no suppuration, simply washing the mouth often with borax and water—one teaspoonful to half a pint—several times a day is sufficient, but when there is suppuration and ulceration of the parts, besides keeping clean with the borax, the ulcers should be painted twice a day with a five-per-cent. solution of chromic acid. The teeth should be thoroughly cleaned by scraping, especially on the inside. When the point of the tongue dies—in which case it turns to a greyish-white colour—it should be clipped off with scissors and the wound caused by the operation dressed two or three times a day with the chromic acid lotion.

=Tonsilitis=:

_See_ THROAT (SORE).

=Toothache=:

_Symptoms_: Dogs’ teeth, as the result of their formation, do not often decay, but as the result of the accumulation of tartar the gums recede, the fangs become exposed, and suppuration takes place around the neck of the tooth, which extends into the socket or alveolar cavity. The adjoining gum becomes swollen and tender.

_Treatment_: As a rule, in these cases it is best to extract the tooth at once, which quickly gives relief, but this is sometimes objected to by the owner. In these circumstances the tooth should be thoroughly cleaned by scraping, and strong carbolic acid applied very sparingly around the neck of the tooth on a piece of sharp wood or a pointed wooden match. The mouth should be kept clean by being sponged night and morning with a saturated solution of boracic acid.

The offending tooth has to be extracted sooner or later.

=Tumours=:

_Symptoms_: New growths, causing swelling and enlargement of the part of the body in which they appear. A tumour, unlike an abscess, generally forms slowly, and is at first usually not painful, and moreover, is not accompanied during the early stages by a rise of temperature as is found when an abscess is forming.

_Treatment_: It is seldom that a tumour of any kind can be reduced or removed except by a surgical operation. I have sometimes thought that gently rubbing the tumours formed on the milk glands, especially when small, daily for some time with iodine vasogen has checked their growth.

Directly a tumour has been diagnosed, unless the patient is a very old one, it is best to have it removed before it has developed into a large growth; the operation, unless the tumour is situated in the neck, is a simple one, and the wound, with ordinary aseptic precautions, heals in seven or eight days. Of course there are some exceptions, as, when the tumour is a cancer or some other malignant growth, it is not always advisable to sew the wound up after operation, but then of course it takes much longer to heal.

=Ulcers=:

_Symptoms_: These are unhealthy wounds or sores left after decay or destruction of some superficial parts of the body.

_Treatment_: Keep them clean by sponging two or three times a day with Pearson’s fluid—one teaspoonful to half a pint of water. For a day or two apply either hot linseed-meal poultice dusted over with powdered charcoal, or a piece of lint soaked in a saturated solution of boracic acid, placed over the wound and covered with oil-silk, then bandage. When the wound looks cleaner, healthier, and discharges less, and there are signs of healing by the formation of new skin around the edges of the wound, simply cover it over with some carbolic gauze squeezed out in a solution of boracic acid, and apply a bandage.

When an ulcer is healing very slowly, lint dipped in the following lotion and applied to the ulcer stimulates healthy action and healing:—

_Recipe: The Lotion_:

Tincture Calendula, 3 drachms.
Sulphate of Zinc, 1 scruple.
Water to 6 ounces.

Mix.

Apply as directed two or three times a day. In some cases dusting the wound over with a powder made with one part of iodoform mixed with eight parts of boracic acid. Amyloform is also another good healing powder. It is necessary to keep the dog’s tongue away from it, otherwise he is continually licking off the new skin as it forms.

=Uræmia=:

_Symptoms_: This condition generally follows some severe illness affecting the kidneys or bladder when the suppression of the secretion of urine has occurred. Anything that stops the flow of water from the bladder, as stone or stricture, may cause it; it also occurs in bad cases of stone in the kidney. In these cases the dog is very ill, there is an entire loss of appetite and often severe vomiting; a heavy, sleepy condition soon comes on, and the temperature is very high. The white of the eyes are greatly congested, and any urine passed is of dark colour and may be mixed with blood. Sometimes there are convulsions, but the dog soon sinks into a comatose state. As a rule these cases terminate fatally.

_Treatment_: It is often difficult to give medicine by the mouth in these cases as the vomiting is generally so severe and frequent, but the dog is able, as a rule, to drink milk and Vichy water in equal parts. If possible, give a purgative, Epsom salts being about the best. The dose is from fifteen grains to one ounce,[1] given in water, or with milk and Vichy water if the dog can be persuaded to take it. Small doses of urotropine stimulates the action of the kidneys, from one[1] to eight grains in a cachet may be given every four or six hours. Hot linseed-meal poultices to loins relieve the kidney congestion.

As to diet, milk and Vichy water are quite sufficient to sustain the dog for two or three days, when, if patient is better, fish may be given, but when this cannot be digested, peptonised milk, from one to six[1] tablespoonfuls, may be given every two hours.

=Urethritis=:

_Symptoms_: Pain when passing water, or when handled; mattery discharge often tinged with blood from passage. The penis is swollen and red from the inflammation. This condition is generally caused by the passage of gravel, and it may also be the result of frequently passing a catheter.

_Treatment_: Hot poppy-head fomentations do good. For medicine give from three[1] to twenty grains of hyposulphite of soda in water three times a day. If there is much pain, from two[1] to ten drops of tincture of henbane may be given with each dose of the above.

Feed principally on a milk diet; some boiled fresh fish may be given, but meat must be avoided.

=Urine (Incontinence)=:

_See_ INCONTINENCE OF URINE.

=Urine (Sediment in)=:

_Symptoms_: The urine may be passed white and cloudy, or clear, but of a high colour, and when cold there is a thick, yellowish-white deposit.

_Treatment_: When accompanied by some illness with a high fever, no special treatment is necessary, as the condition will pass away as the health improves, but when the symptoms described are present and the dog seems otherwise apparently well, give a course of hyposulphite of soda, from three to twenty[1] grains two or three times a day in water or a little milk. A dog will generally take this medicine himself when mixed with milk.

_Diet_: Milk, tripe, stewed rabbit, etc., with rice or bread, but avoid red meat.

=Urticaria=:

_See_ NETTLERASH.

=Uterus, Inflammation of (Metritis)=:

_Symptoms_: This disease generally occurs after heat, and is a condition which old bitches are more subject to than young ones. The exciting cause is generally due to something which stops the natural discharge, as a chill, the result of washing a bitch during heat, or from getting wet by rain. Once this disease has occurred it often follows every period of œstrum. The signs of inflammation of the womb do not come on very suddenly like other inflammations, there is for two or three days a loss of appetite and dulness, the bitch is thirsty, and if the temperature is taken, there will be generally found two or three degrees of fever. There is generally loss of flesh, though the abdomen will be noticed large and harder than usual, and painful to the touch. The symptoms gradually increase in severity, and the bitch becomes very ill and weak and refuses food of all kinds, and if forced with any it generally induces vomiting. About the third week there are signs of some discharge from the vagina, pinkish in colour and very offensive, which quickly increases in quantity and seems to pour away, a small bitch often getting rid of half a pint or more in a short time. Once the discharge commences, the bitch appears better, the temperature falls, she is brighter and is inclined to take some nourishment, but there is always a danger of the matter accumulating again. When the discharge does not come away through the natural passage, the womb ruptures, inducing acute peritonitis. Then there is a sudden collapse of the patient, the mouth and limbs go cold, the abdomen is very painful, the pulse becomes very rapid and almost imperceptible, and death occurs within twelve hours.

_Treatment_: There is little to be done in these cases. The bitch should be kept very quiet, in a dry, warm place; hot linseed-meal poultices should be applied to the abdomen for four or five hours daily—of course, being changed from time to time. When the poultices are removed, a flannel bandage is to be placed round the abdomen. Hot boracic lotion should be freely pumped into the vagina night and morning to relax the neck of the womb. Medicine is generally not of much use, though, if the discharge does not come away, from a half to two[1] grains of permanganate of potash made into a pill with resin ointment, and given three times a day, is beneficial in some cases.

It is important to keep the patient’s strength up. Give plenty of milk; if it is not retained try it with equal parts of Vichy water; also give Brand’s beef essence and raw-meat juice. Tripe and fish may also be tried, and when there is great weakness and food is not retained by the stomach, peptonised beef suppositories may be made use of. Small quantities of brandy occasionally do good.

Once the discharge has come away tonic medicine is to be given, as the following pills:—

_Recipe_:

Salicylate of Quinine, 2 to 12 grains.[1]
Reduced Iron 6 to 36 grains.
Extract of Gentian, _q.s._

Mix.

Make twelve pills—one to be given two or three times a day.

Once the temperature is normal, scraped raw meat and other strengthening foods must be given.

=Vagina (Discharge from)=:

_Symptoms_: Bitches occasionally suffer from a white mattery discharge from the vagina, sometimes before or more often after being on “heat”. Sometimes after pupping a bitch will continue to discharge a thick, tarry-looking blood for weeks, which causes weakness, and often upsets the milk.

_Treatment_: In the former case, if the bitch is coming on heat, do not interfere with it beyond keeping the external part clean by sponging occasionally with a weak solution of Pearson’s antiseptic fluid; but when it occurs after the heat, even though the bitch may have been served, means must be taken to stop the discharge, which is very weakening.

Syringe the vagina night and morning with a warm solution of burnt alum, say ten grains to every ounce of water, and use from two to ten[1] ounces of the solution each time. The syringe should be one with a long nozzle, and after being vaselined be passed into the passage as far as it will go.

Tonics should be given as from half[1] to three grains of sulphate of iron made into a pill. Repeat twice a day after food.

When the discharge is of a bloody nature, as occurs after pupping, syringe as just recommended, and give from half[1] to two grains of ergotine added to each iron pill.

The property of Mrs. Hugh Andrews, Toddington, Winchcombe, Glos.

_Norman May & Co, photo._] [_face p. 318._]

=Vagina (Injuries to)=:

_Symptoms_: Occurs sometimes during the birth of a puppy, even when being naturally expelled, and it is often caused by instruments carelessly used to extract a puppy. Injuries to the passage at this time are always dangerous, as blood-poisoning often follows. The vagina may also be injured by dragging apart a dog and bitch when “locked” together. This is quite an unnecessary procedure, as they will quickly separate if the dog’s testicles be gently but firmly pressed.

The vagina is also frequently injured by the passage of some foreign substance into it, as a peg or stick, as I have seen done in cases of prolapsus of this part. In these cases there is generally a mattery discharge, and when the injury has occurred during the birth of a puppy it may be very offensive, and in these cases there are symptoms of blood-poisoning, as a high temperature, loss of appetite, vomiting, etc.

_Treatment_: In the latter mentioned cases—that is, when the injury occurs during parturition, the passage should be first thoroughly washed out with a tepid solution of perchloride of mercury, one in three thousand, using from two to twenty tablespoonfuls,[1] and about two minutes afterwards all traces of this should be removed by again syringing the passage with water that has recently been boiled, used just warm. Afterwards repeat the injections night and morning, now using a saturated solution of boracic acid. If temperature is high, give from one to five grains[1] of salicylate of quinine in a cachet, and if temperature is not reduced in six hours, repeat the dose.

In ordinary cases of injury, simply washing the passage out night and morning with a saturated solution of boracic acid or with a solution of permanganate of potash—one grain to every ounce of warm water—is sufficient.

=Vagina (Polypus of)=:

_Symptoms_: A pear-shaped growth with the narrow end attached to the membrane of the vagina. In these cases the bitch is frequently straining to pass water, and she is constantly licking the parts; and there is generally some mucus discharge. After a time, especially when she comes in season, the growth may show itself externally.

_Treatment_: It consists in drawing the growth gently out as far as it will come, and placing a ligature of strong silk or catgut tightly round the neck or narrow part, then severing the polypus by cutting through the neck between the ligature and growth a full half-inch away from the ligature. Afterwards syringe the passage out night and morning with a warm solution of boracic acid.

=Vagina (Prolapsus of)=:

_Symptoms_: A condition that only occurs during the “heat” or œstrum of a bitch. It is more common amongst large and bull-bitches than other and smaller ones.

It shows itself as a pinkish, glistening body at the entrance to the vagina (vulva). As the parts become more relaxed during the “heat” the protrusion increases in size and prominence, and in a large bitch may be as big as an orange. As the result of exposure, and being rubbed along the ground when the bitch sits, the parts become sore and inflamed. The protruding part is merely a fold of thickened and relaxed membrane of the vagina, arising just forward of the passage to the bladder. The swelling, which has a broad base (and in this respect is unlike a polypus, which has a narrow constricted base), can be usually easily returned, but it comes out again almost immediately. Once a bitch has suffered from prolapsus of the vagina it generally occurs afterwards at each period of heat unless removed by operation, though sometimes when a bitch has been bred from, it does not occur again.

_Treatment_: The swelling disappears of itself as the “heat” passes, and when the prolapsus is small and does not cause much discomfort it is just as well to leave it alone, especially in cases where it is not intended to breed from the bitch, and even when one does wish to breed, the swelling can be returned just immediately before service and then there is no difficulty, and under ordinary circumstances she will prove in pup.

When the prolapsus is very large and there is a difficulty, or it is impossible to return it, it should be removed by operation, which is not dangerous if ordinary aseptic care is taken, especially if an ecraseur is used. When the prolapsus is removed by ligature, as recommended by some, blood-poisoning and death sometimes occur.

After removal, all that is necessary is to syringe the vagina out night and morning with a warm solution of boracic acid for a few days, and keep the bitch on a light diet.

=Vagina (Stricture of)=:

_Symptoms_: This frequently occurs with bitches, more particularly with griffons and bulls. It does not cause any inconvenience, and it is seldom found out until it is wished to breed from her, and then proper service is not possible in consequence of the passage being constricted with a sort of fibrous ring.

_Treatment_: It consists in forcibly dilating the passage either with dilating forceps, or if these are not at hand it can easily be done with a well-greased finger. It is best to pass the point of the small finger first, and then afterwards the forefinger. Care must be taken not to use too much force to injure the parts. There is no objection to the bitch being served immediately after the dilatation has taken place.

=Vagina (Tumour of)=:

_Symptoms_: The vagina is subject to a variety of tumours, as cancer, sarcoma, and particularly to a form of growth of a malignant and contagious nature to which bull-bitches seem especially liable. They are red, with broad base, and have the appearance of a ripe raspberry, but often larger. They vary in size from a raspberry to a Tangerine orange. They are particularly vascular, bleeding at the slightest touch. The growths extend inwards and outwards, often eating the vulva away. There is always more or less of a blood-like discharge.

_Treatment_: There is no cure for cancer or sarcoma when once established: the bitch should be mercifully destroyed. With regard to the other form of tumour described, with treatment the disease can be checked and the bitch may breed, but it is seldom or ever radically cured, and it is a question whether it would not be the soundest policy to destroy all bitches affected with this disease in consequence of its contagious nature, for although one bitch does not contract it from another, a bitch going to a dog when affected in this way is certain to infect the dog, and it may be some time before it is found out with him, and in the meantime he may, if a popular stud dog, have infected many bitches. If treatment is decided upon, the affected parts should be thoroughly curetted or scraped, and when the bleeding has ceased the raw surface from where the growths have been removed should, with the aid of a speculum, be dressed with chromic acid mixed with equal parts of water. The caustic must be repeated once or twice a week, and the scraping occasionally, if there are signs of the tumours growing again. The treatment is often a long and tedious one.

=Varicocele=:

_Symptoms_: A swelling, varying in extent in the scrotum and along the spermatic cord, feeling not unlike a bag of worms. It generally occurs on the left side. The affected testicle of the same side generally gets smaller and soft, and the complaint is sometimes accompanied by a good deal of pain.

_Treatment_: Attend to general health, keep bowels well open, give regular exercise, and avoid much meat. The local application of cold water often does good. When no improvement takes place, and the condition causes the dog much discomfort, it is advisable to have the testicle of the affected side removed by operation. Such treatment does not interfere with stud work.

=Vertigo=:

_Symptoms_: Old dogs suffering from chronic asthma, accompanied by a weak heart, often turn giddy and fall after a severe attack of coughing. The attack seldom lasts for more than a few moments, and the dog jumps up again looking rather vacant, but is soon himself.

_Treatment_: Give a good dose of purgative medicine, as from two to twelve[1] grains of jalapin, as the liver is often engorged with blood in cases of chronic asthma or chronic bronchitis. Afterwards, a course of the following mixture is advised:—

_Recipe_:

Tincture Nux Vomica, 1 drachm.
Tincture Digitalis, 2 drachms.
Water to 6 ounces.

_Doses_: From one to four[1] teaspoonfuls three times a day after food.

For small dogs a quarter or half the above quantity of mixture may be made.

_Diet_: Raw meat.

=Voice (Loss of)=:

_Symptoms_: Dogs sent away from home or confined anywhere, and are constantly barking one hour after another as they will do, often lose their voice, and after a time, when attempting to bark, they simply make a husky noise.

_Treatment_: The condition soon rights itself when the cause is removed and the dog leaves off trying to bark. A teaspoonful of glycerine and water, or a little vaseline, soothes the throat in these cases.

=Vomiting=:

_Symptoms_: Vomiting is a symptom of disease, as indigestion, gastritis, gastric catarrh, kidney trouble, peritonitis, enteritis, stoppage of the bowels, biliousness, poisoning, etc.

_Treatment_: This must depend on the cause, and the case treated accordingly.

Many cases of simple vomiting may be checked by giving iced Vichy water to drink, also allowing the dog to lick ice, and in severe cases the following mixture will often be found useful:—

_Recipe_:

Diluted Hydrocyanic Acid, 24 drops.
Liq. Bismuth, 3 drachms.
Water to 3 ounces.

From half to two[1] teaspoonfuls to be given every three or four hours.

Small quantities of Brand’s beef or chicken essence, or Benger’s peptonised beef-tea, may be given in jelly form.

When the sickness is very obstinate the stomach should be given absolute rest for six hours or longer, and if there is great weakness nourishment should be given by rectum, as just warm peptonised milk from one[1] to six tablespoonfuls every four hours alternately with peptonised beef suppositories.

=Warts=:

_Symptoms_: Excessive growth of the papillæ of the skin, resulting in the formation of small nodules of a roughened and scaly nature. They grow or develop in all parts, and old dogs, especially dachshunds, are very subject to them.

_Treatment_: When the wart has a narrow neck it is best removed by tying a ligature of silk tightly round it, but when it has a broad base this treatment is not practical; then some mild caustic should be applied, as acetic acid, tincture of iodine, or a twenty-five per cent. solution of chromic acid. It is only necessary just to touch the wart with the caustic on the end of a wooden match once a day. When the wart is very large, it is best removed by being cut out and the skin wound brought together by a few stitches, and then treated as an ordinary wound. Warts on the eyelids must never be cauterised, but always removed by ligature, unless there is a broad base, when they should be cut out with the points of a pair of probe-pointed scissors. Warts on very old dogs are best left alone unless they are troublesome and are frequently bleeding, when they should be removed in the ordinary way.

=Water on the Brain=:

_See_ HYDROCEPHALUS.

=Weaning=:

Puppies must not be weaned suddenly, but by degrees, as the milk continues to be secreted, and if not drawn off by the puppies or artificially, it collects in large quantities, causing much pain and often abscesses to form. When there is a large litter, and the mother is not very strong, the youngsters may be taught to lap, when three or four weeks old, artificially prepared bitches’ milk made as follows:—

_Recipe_:

Cow’s Milk, 15 ounces.
Casein or Plasmon, 2¼ ”
Cream, 2¼ ”
Water, 5 ”

Mix the casein into a paste with the water, then add the milk, thoroughly stirring. Put in an enamel saucepan and bring gradually to a boil, and boil for two minutes. Set aside to cool, and when cold, add the cream, and well stir again.

For a change, Sanatogen may be given with milk or Spratt’s invalid food.

Cows’ milk diluted with water should never be given as is often done, and the puppy’s digestion ruined by over-dilating the stomach, for the puppy has to take such a quantity to get sufficient nourishment, whereas dogs have only a small stomach and require concentrated food.

Puppies should commence to be weaned when about six weeks old. The bitch at first should be kept away from her offspring during the day, say for three or four days; afterwards she should be allowed to visit them night and morning, say for about an hour each time, so long as there are any signs of milk being secreted.

To help to disperse the milk, a dose of castor oil, from one teaspoonful to three[1] tablespoonfuls, may be given the bitch occasionally.

If anything is rubbed on the milk glands, like methylated spirits and water, or spirits of camphor, etc., it must be carefully washed off before the bitch is allowed to return to the puppies. If the glands become hard and knotted they must be kneaded with camphorated oil until soft, and then the contents drawn off with the fingers or a proper breast-pump.

For hints how to feed young puppies, _see_ article on FEEDING in the Appendix.

=Wen=:

_Symptoms_: A small roundish or oval tumour of smooth surface situated just under the skin, and one that moves freely about, it being unattached. It is a simple growth and quite painless.

_Treatment_: The only thing to be done in these cases is removal by operation, which is quite a simple matter, for when the skin covering the wen is cut through the little tumour is easily squeezed out. The wound should be afterwards sewed up, some carbolic gauze applied, which should be kept in its place with a bandage or jacket.

=Wind in the Stomach=:

_Symptoms_: Dogs, especially big ones, occasionally suffer from a 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