362 THE DOG IN DISEASE. 



Paresis or paralysis is apt to follow. Should it occur, 

 reliance is to be placed oh massage, nux vomica, strych- 

 nine, etc. 



Exercise should be only gradually and cautiously al- 

 lowed. 



Dropsy. — Dropsy is a term usually applied to a con- 

 dition associated with fluid in the abdomen. It is a symp- 

 tom, and not a pathological condition, but is worthy of 

 special reference. 



It is due to some cause that gives rise to a very im- 

 poverished condition of the blood, or, as is more com- 

 mon, to pressure on or distention of the veins. The con- 

 dition may be present in the thorax {hydrothorax), in the 

 abdomen {ascites)^ or in the cranial cavity {hydrocephalus). 

 Ascites is the more common, and is due to heart disease 

 sometimes, but more frequently to some organic (struct- 

 ural) disease of the liver. 



Symptoms. — These are made up of those due to the 

 presence of the fluid and of those that are associated with 

 the cause of the dropsy. There is usually debility, feeble 

 pulse, loss of appetite, weak digestion, and probably diffi- 

 cult respiration or hurried breathing, etc. 



Diagnosis.— T\\\^ lies in the bitch between pregnancy 

 and the disease in question. The pregnant animal is not 

 sick or emaciated, the abdomen has not the even, tense 

 feel of the dropsical subject, however many whelps may be 

 within ; besides, the mammary glands are usually enlarged. 

 If there be a history of illness, the probability is that 

 dropsy is the cause of the distended abdomen ; but the 

 matter may be settled by percussion. Dullness is always 

 present, while a gentle tap at one part, as the animal lies 



