THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS 175 



the ribs the bowels feel hard and stiff, and pain is generally evince. 1 . 

 Treatment. — Purgatives must be given with great caution ; the 

 medicine named in par. 272 can be given, followed by small 

 doses of syrup of buckthorn and castor oil ; but the most reliance 

 must be placed on enemas, and nothing is better than 1 ounce of 

 glycerine mixed in \ pint of warm water, and injected into the 

 bowels once every eight hours if necessary. 



274. Impaction of the Rectum — accumulation of faeces in the 

 back bowel. This arises from causes similar to those given in the 

 above paragraph (273), and a similar Treatment has to be adopted, only 

 the hard impacted matter, which generally contains sharp pieces of 

 bone, has to removed with the finger, well oiled, assisted by the 

 warm water and glycerine injections. 



275. Diarrhoea, a discharge of the contents of the bowels in a 

 fluid or semi-fluid condition, is often seen in the dog without any 

 constitutional disturbance, and greatly depends on what the animal 

 has been eating. Treatment. — Should the purgation become trouble- 

 some, a dose of castor oil — from 1 teaspoonful to 2 tablespoonfuls — 

 with 5 to 30 drops of laudanum, according to age and size of dog, 

 may be given. This may be all that is required, but if necessary, 

 follow up with 5 to 20 grains subnitrate of bismuth, 10 to 60 grains 

 carbonate of soda, and 10 to 60 grains of carbonate magnesia, accord- 

 ing to age and size. Mix, and give in a little warm milk twice a day. 



276. Worms. — From the uncleanly feeding habits of the dog, 

 the digestive organs become a veritable harbour for worms, of which 

 there are a great variety. The kinds mostly met with are the Ascaris 

 marginata, or common round worm, and the tape-worms. The Ascaris 

 marginata vary in size from 2 inches to 6 inches, and are generally 

 found in the stomach and small intestines, while occasionally they 

 are vomited up. Young puppies are frequently infested with these 

 worms as early as a fortnight old and upwards, the eggs from which 

 they are developed coming from the intestines of the mother. They 

 get located under the tail and round the opening into the bowels, 

 and are transferred from there to the teats by the tongue of the 

 mother, and from there suckled into the stomach by the young 



