6o8 



THE NEW BOOK OF THE DOG. 



of the eyes. It may be caused by congestion 

 of the liver, often a result of complication of dis- 

 temper, or by a sudden chill, or from the dog's 

 having been allowed to stand long in the wet. 

 Every dog, as well as every human being, has 

 some organ of the body weaker than the rest, 

 and if one is exposed to cold while wet and 

 hungry this organ is the most likely to be sought 

 out and settled upon. 



The obstruction of the bile duct by the passing 

 of a gall-stone is another cause, or the duct may 

 be blocked by the entrance of a round worm. 



Symptoms. Jaundice may come on with some 

 days of dulness and loss of appetite, with staring 

 coat, dry nose, and heat on top of the head, or 

 there may be fever. The stools are dry and clay- 

 coloured from the absence of bile therein. 



Treatment. If the dog seems to be suffering 

 much pain, hot fomentations and large poultices 

 are to be applied to the region of the liver after 

 smearing the belly with belladonna liniment. 

 Give also from 2 to 10 or 20 grains of chloral 

 hydrate and repeat the dose if necessary, and after- 

 wards, when the pain has somewhat abated, 

 give either simply an aloes bolus to open the 

 bowels, or, better still, give an aloes bolus at 

 night and a draught in the morning, containing 

 sulphate of soda and sulphate of magnesia, from 

 yi drachm to 3 drachms of each in water. 



As emaciation very soon comes on from the 

 fever and the want of bile in the food, much 

 good may often be done by the administration 

 every morning of purified ox-bile; dose, from 2 

 to 10 or 15 grains, made into a pill, combined with 

 from 5 to 20 grains of Barbadoes aloes, especially 

 if the obstruction is of long standing. 



Give light, nutritious, and easily digested food, 

 and the addition of a little nitre in the animal's 

 drinking water will do good. Afterwards tonics 

 (iron and quinine best), and plenty of food and 

 moderate exercise. In jaundice from suppression 

 of bile our treatment, of course, must be different. 

 It must, however, be borne in mind that we must 

 not weaken the digestion in any way. Our sheet- 

 anchors here are purgatives, in order to stimulate 

 the secretion of the bile. We may also use some 

 of the mineral acids, the dilute nitric, or nitro- 

 hydrochloric with taraxacum. If the reader cares 

 to try the effect of mercury in some form, he may 

 do so, giving small doses of calomel combined 

 with aloes, in the morning, for two or three days : 

 Calomel, % to 5 grains; aloe, 2 grains to 20; or 

 podophyllin will be found as effectual .and less 

 dangerous, especially if combined with small 

 doses of rhubarb. Instead of the nitrate of potash 

 in the dog's drink, the bicarbonate, a teaspoonful 

 or two, may be given with advantage. 



The food should be light and easily digested : 

 boiled eggs, bread puddings, bread-and-butter 

 with a little beef-tea, and a very little raw meat 

 minced. 



Kidneys. Vide NEPHRITIS. 



Lactation. The bitch's milk may be deficient. 

 Give plenty of creamy cow's milk to drink, mixed 



and thickened with corn flour ; also Robinson's 

 patent barley. Massage to the breasts. If there 

 is a flow of milk from the teats of a bitch who 

 is not in whelp, with painful swollen glands, 

 milking may be needed twice a day, but no vio- 

 lence must be used. Rub the breasts with a little 

 brandy, and with belladonna liniment, and give 

 castor-oil. Afterwards liver to keep the bowels 

 open. Never neglect such a condition, else 

 tumours may form. 



Laryngitis, or Inflammation of the Organ 

 of Voice. This may be acute or chronic, the 

 former sometimes the result of injury or exten- 

 sion of inflammation of throat, as in colds. There 

 may be a good deal of effusion and swelling. 

 If the dog seems in much pain and is making 

 strange noises and attempts to vomit, better send 

 for the vet. ; meanwhile fomentations with large 

 hot poultices will do much good. Open bowels 

 and put on low diet. Quiet and rest, with ice- 

 cooled water to drink. In the chronic form a 

 harsh dry cough, with hacking and evident pain. 

 This form may or may not be infectious, but the 

 dog should be kept by himself anyhow. Good 

 nursing is needed, and, if a thin-coated dog, a 

 coat had better be worn. Open the bowels and 

 give a cough mixture. 



Lice. The common dog louse is not unlike the 

 head louse of mankind, but is not so large, more 

 squarely built, and of a light-grey or straw-colour. 

 They are found occasionally on the bodies of all 

 breeds of dogs, but mostly in long-haired animals 

 like St. Bernards, Newfoundlands, etc., who have 

 been allowed to roam about wherever they list 

 and sleep out on dirty straw. 



But lice do not seem to inconvenience those out- 

 of-door dogs very much. On puppies lice mul- 

 tiply very quickly indeed, and the agony the 

 poor things suffer is sometimes really pitiful to 

 see. I have known a case of a black-and-tan 

 English Terrier infested with lice, but, strange 

 to say, in this case they turned out to be not 

 dog but horse lice, and it was afterwards found 

 that this dog was in the habit of sleeping every 

 night on the back of one of the horses. They 

 did not seem to give him any trouble, however, 

 and were soon got rid of. 



The lice are hatched from nits, which we find 

 clinging in rows, and very tenaciously too, to the 

 hairs. The insects themselves are more difficult 

 to find, but they are on puppies sometimes in 

 thousands. 



To destroy them I have tried several plans. 

 Oil is very effectual, and h'as safety to recom- 

 mend it. Common sweet oil is as good a cure as 

 any, and you may add a little oil of anise and 

 some sublimed sulphur, which will increase the 

 effect. Quassia water may be used to damp the 

 coat. 



The matted portions of a long-haired dog's coat 

 must be cut off with scissors, for there the lice 

 often lurk. The oil dressing will not kill the nits, 

 BO that vinegar must be used. After a few days 

 the dressing must be repeated, and so on three 



