294: THE DOG IN DISEASE. 



case, the nipple should be washed with cold water after 

 the lotion has been used, before the puppies suck. 



Discharges from the genitals may indicate a condition 

 of affairs within requiring treatment. The natural " involu- 

 tion " of the uterus, etc., is attended by a breaking down 

 of old structures, giving rise to a discharge for a few 

 days. 



Should this get foul, be attended by blood to any ap- 

 preciable extent, become muco-purulent or thin and irri- 

 tating, a condition of metritis or vaginitis, most likely of a 

 subacute or chronic character, may be suspected in the ab- 

 sence of marked constitutional symptoms. 



In these cases, injections of such lotions as before rec- 

 ommended, after previous cleansing, will generally lead to 

 a cure ; but unless these indications are met, the bitch is 

 very likely to suffer considerably in health 



Hcemorrhage of a serious kind rarely occurs during 

 labor. Now and then, however, when the contractions 

 are very severe, the whelp may be expelled with such 

 force as to break the umbilical cord or tear away a part of 

 the after-birth (placenta), when, unless the uterus con- 

 tracts on the rest and expels it at once, bleeding will 

 follow. 



To stimulate contraction of the uterus and favor the 

 arrest of bleeding from any cause, cold, applied in the 

 form of external applications to the lower abdomen, a little 

 piece of ice dropped within the vagina, or an injection of 

 a small quantity of cold water, will usually meet the case. 



Ergot of rye, when the uterus fails to contract after 

 all the puppies are expelled, is indicated, other means 

 failing. 



