30 DISEASES 



in a retching and gagging, as if vomiting or expelling a piece of phlegm 

 from the throat. Give aperient medicine so as to keep the bowels open 

 and use the following mixture: Tincture of nux vomica thirty drops, syrup 

 of squills one ounce, water to make three ounces; dose from half a tea- 

 spoonful to a tablespoonful three times a day after feeding, the first for 

 a toy, the second for a St. Bernard or one of the larger breeds. If the 

 cough is very severe give from fifteen drops to a teaspoonful of glyco- 

 heroin in water. Feed underdone meat, raw eggs, gelatine or any easily 

 digested food that will not distend the stomach unduly, as a distension of 

 the stomach brings pressure on the chest and aggravates the condition." 



Bowels (Intussusception). — This trouble is of more frequent occur- 

 rence in puppies than old dogs. It is the result of the bowel telescoping 

 upon itself. By careful manipulation of the abdomen it can be located by 

 a long, hard swelling. The patient suffers much pain and usually whines 

 and cries pitifully. The other symptoms are diarrhea, with blood-tinged 

 mucus, and in the early stages vomiting. Intussusception is due to a variety 

 of causes, such as worms, indigestion and colic, or the eating of hard 

 substances, but as indigestion, colic and the abnormal appetite that causes 

 dogs to eat indigestible and irritating matter are more or less the result 

 of the presence of worms, the latter must be accepted as the primary 

 cause. The importance of treating for them frequently is therefore ap- 

 parent. In treating mild cases that have not progressed far give from 

 one to five drops of laudanum 'every three hours in a teaspoonful of milk. 

 One drop is the correct dose for a puppy two to three months old of the 

 toy breeds and five drops is the dose for the large breeds of the age men- 

 tioned. Feed only liquid food — milk or beef tea. If there is not a decided 

 improvement in the puppy's condition in twenty-four hours an operation 

 should be resorted to. In the early stages it is nearly always successful 

 and the puppy receives immediate relief. If it is postponed the operation 

 is more difficult, on account of the inflammation, and the bowels cannot 

 be so easily straightened. The patient should fast for twenty-four hours 

 following the operation, after which for a few days administer only liquids. 



Breasts (Inflammation) . — This painful condition usually attacks bitches 

 while nursing their puppies, the abscesses that are liable to form at other 

 times being generally of slower growth and not accompanied by systemic 

 disturbance. The milk gland in acute cases is swollen, hard and red and 

 very painful, and the elevation of temperature indicates the formation of 

 pus. After two or three days the swelling becomes softer, comes to a 

 point, breaks and freely discharges. If the bitch is nursing it is necessary 

 usually to remove the puppies and feed them by hand or turn them 

 over to a foster-mother, the mother meanwhile being milked two or three 

 times a day. The swellings should be poulticed with flaxseed until they 

 are soft, and then lanced. As a rule they do not require any other treat- 

 ment, for their dependent position insures free drainage. It is advisable 

 to keep the patient's bowels open with a dose of aperient medicine. 



Biliousness. — Symptoms are vomiting in the morning of frothy yellow 



