INFLAMED BOWELS. 187 



quick but small. Enteritis may be distinguished from spas- 

 modic colic by the extreme tenderness and heat in the 

 bowels, which are not so apparent in the inflammatory. 



Under these circumstances, the dog should be early and 

 freely bled. From three to six or eight ounces may be taken 

 away, according to the size and strength of the patient. A 

 laxative of castor oil, or of Epsom salts, should be adminis- 

 tered ; but unless the bowels are obstinately bound, and 

 have been so for several days, nothing drastic should be 

 given by the mouth, as it would only heighten the inflamma- 

 tory symptoms. The animal should be bathed in warm water 

 every three or four hours: when that is found too troublesome, 

 from his size or other circumstances, the belly may be rubbed 

 with hot water, or fomented with hot flannels; but one or the 

 other must by no means be omitted. Clysters of castor oil, 

 with mutton broth, should be frequently thrown up, till eva- 

 cuation is procured ; and, when the case is desperate, the 

 belly may also be rubbed with oil of turpentine between the 

 bathings, or covered with a blister ; or a mustard poultice may 

 be applied. No food should be given, and cold water should 

 be removed ; but the dog may be drenched with mutton 

 broth. In case the vomiting" continues obstinate, with every 

 dose of cas^tor oil, and with every drench of mutton broth, 

 give from ten to twenty drops of laudanum. In these cases, 

 when the animal becomes paralytic in his low^er extremities, 

 when the sickness proves incessant, and the mouth and ears 

 become cold and pale, mortification is at hand. This kind 

 of inflammation is not always accompanied with costiveness ; 

 in some there is very little ; and in a few cases the bowels 

 are even lax. But, in the greater number of instances, cos- 

 tiveness to a certain degree is present; for, even when it does 

 not exist previous to the attack, it is pretty sure to be brought 

 on by it. An effectual laxative is, therefore, premised early in 

 the complaint. If the dog is very delicate, this primary laxative 

 may be castor oil; but when that is not at hand, or fails in its 

 operation, I have used mild doses of Epsom salts with advan^ 



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