CHAPTER V.—PART IV.

DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

Salivation

Mercury, in its various forms, is sometimes given to dogs by ignorant persons, or by chemists and dog-fanciers, for some real or supposed disease; or it is applied to them externally as an ointment for mange, in either case resulting in salivation, with the following.—

SYMPTOMS.—Loss of appetite; sore, swollen gums, which are blueish, easily bleed, and generally ulcerate; loosened teeth, which may even fall out; constant dribbling of saliva from the mouth; offensive breath; swelled glands; extreme weakness; hair falls off; and frequently purging, attended with straining.

TREATMENT.—Give the A.A., a dose each morning and noon, and a teaspoonful of HUMPHREYS’ MARVEL WITCH HAZEL at night, especially if there is ulceration of the mouth or throat. If not improved after three or four days, substitute I.I., three or five drops, morning and night.

Canker in the Mouth

This is a very troublesome affection, and often difficult to cure; indeed, if the disease be the result of a long continued local irritation, or the dog be old, it is generally considered to be incurable.

SYMPTOMS.—The gums are swollen, and discharge purulent, bloody, offensive matter; “proud flesh” is formed; bleeding ensues; there is difficulty in eating; appetite and condition are lost; emaciation and exhaustion follow.

TREATMENT.—When the disease is of recent origin, or the dog is young and generally healthy, the mouth should be washed out once a day for several days, with a solution of HUMPHREYS’ MARVEL WITCH HAZEL, half water; and give J.K., say three times per day, two to three drops, according to the size of the dog. It is usually promptly efficacious.

Diseases of the Teeth

The teeth are more frequently affected in the dog than in other domestic animals. This may be the result of a variety of causes, among which are the following: Eating or gnawing bones, by means of which the teeth may be broken or ground down to the quick; healthy, well fed dogs only pick their bones; rich, sweetened food, which has an injurious effect upon the teeth; mercury, frequently given to dogs, which produces salivation, loosening, and eventually falling out of the teeth. Teaching dogs to carry or chase hard substances, stones, etc., frequently results in diseased teeth, as they are thus rubbed down to the gum, and the stump produces much mischief.

SYMPTOMS.—If the dog has a bad breath, seems to be in pain when he eats, does not thrive or manifest his usual spirit, the mouth should be examined. One or more teeth will be found worn down to the gum; the fang produces irritation, and may result in an abscess; the sides of the mouth are raw and ulcerated, and saliva dribbles from it.

TREATMENT.—Extraction is the sole remedy for loose, irregular or decayed teeth.

Indigestion

DEFINITION.—Imperfect transformation of food into a state suitable for the nourishment of the body.

CAUSES.—Improper food, or food in too large quantities; want of exercise.

SYMPTOMS.—Restlessness; partial loss of appetite; frequently attempts to vomit, sometimes bringing up only froth; at other times a mixture of froth and green fluid; foulness of breath; irregular action of the bowels; distention of the body; lying out at full length and rolling over; the appetite is vitiated or impaired.

TREATMENT.—Give the J.K., for indigestion, a dose, one to three drops, according to the size of dog, once in two, three or four hours. Often a dose night and morning is sufficient.

ACCESSORY MEANS.—Attention to diet and regular exercise go a long way towards curing and preventing this disease.

Vomiting

It is such an easy matter for dogs to vomit that the least thing which disagrees with the stomach occasions it. It is rarely of any consequence, as it does not interfere with the health; but there are some cases of continued vomiting, in which it is necessary to administer medicine.

TREATMENT.—When vomiting takes place daily for several days, and soon after eating, it will most likely be remedied by changing diet; if it continues after the diet has been changed, give a dose of J.K., morning and night. Should the dog be bloated or full of gas, a dose of F.F., will be curative.

Colic

Colic is not unfrequent in the dog. It is often connected with constipation, and may result from bad food, sudden change of food, exposure to cold, or from worms. It is common in puppies.

SYMPTOMS.—The dog has sudden pain in the bowels; it comes on in fits, is worse at one time than another. The dog is restless, frequently changing his position; he extends himself and then draws himself in with arched back, turns his head towards his sides, throws himself down, rolls about, moans or whines when the pain is severe, with a short, rough voice. There is rarely any fever in case of simple colic.

TREATMENT.—The F.F., should be given; a dose, from three to five drops, according to the size of the dog, and repeated every half hour or hour, as the urgency of the case demands.

Should it not promptly relieve, the A.A., or J.K., may be given alternately with F.F.

Gastritis—Inflammation of the Stomach

CAUSES.—Drinking cold water when heated from running; damp kennels; continued feeding with rich food; indigestion; poisons.

SYMPTOMS.—Great pain; the dog throws himself on the ground, kicks and rolls; there is constant desire for cold water, but as soon as any food or drink is swallowed, it is rejected; constant retching; dry and hot nose; cold extremities; quick breathing; anxious countenance; lying on the belly on the coldest ground the dog can find.

TREATMENT.—A.A., is the proper medicine. Give a dose as often as every hour if in great distress, and at longer intervals as the patient improves. From one to three drops, according to the size of dog.

ACCESSORY MEANS.—Nothing but cold water should be allowed till all the symptoms have disappeared; even then great care must be exercised for several days, as to the kind of food given; cold milk or oatmeal gruel will then be suitable, in small quantities.

The treatment of gastritis produced by poisons consists in removing the poison from the system and neutralizing its effect.

Enteritis—Inflammation of the Bowels

DEFINITION.—Inflammation of the bowels, either of their whole substance or only the inside or lining membrane.

CAUSES.—Drinking cold water when heated; exposure of petted dogs to cold; damp or sudden changes of weather; keeping the kennels of chained dogs on a damp, sunless situation; too long continuance of animal food; flatulent colic; obstruction of the bowels from hardened fæces, foreign bodies, etc.

SYMPTOMS.—Violent pain, without cessation; great tenderness of the abdomen, which is very hot; the pain is often so severe that the poor animal throws himself violently down, howls, springs up again, walks about for a few seconds, throws himself down again, rolls over and cries out; these actions are repeated until relief is obtained, or, in fatal cases, till a short time before death takes place. There is also aversion of food, constant thirst, constipation, the excrement coming away in small, hard pieces, during the first stage of the disease; the evacuations afterwards become loose and bloody.

TREATMENT.—A. A., is the proper remedy, a dose of from one to three drops, in a spoonful of water or milk, should be given, at first every half hour, then, as he improves, every hour, and as improvement progresses, at still longer intervals, until relief is obtained. Sometimes interposing a dose of F. F., is beneficial, if there are loose, bloody stools, or violent pain.

ACCESSORY MEANS.—Fomentations of hot water should be applied to the body, and continued till the symptoms have abated; cold water given to lap; milk and broth may be given when the severe symptoms have subsided.

Diarrhea

Excess of food, bad food, exposure to cold and wet, as well as a bilious condition, may induce diarrhea in the dog. If slight it will cure itself. It usually manifests itself by sickness, vomiting, thirst, discharges more frequent and thinner than usual. If it continues, the animal becomes thin, weak, does not eat his food, and his breath becomes offensive.

TREATMENT.—The F. F., will be found effectual. Give three or four drops, according to the size of the dog, three times per day.

Dysentery

SYMPTOMS.—Thirst, purging of fluid mixed with small pieces of dung, attended with severe straining and pain; often the discharges are of mucus mixed with blood. There is loss of strength and appetite, with rapid wasting.

TREATMENT.—Give the F. F., two to five drops, every one, two or three hours, according to the urgency of the case.

Constipation, or Bound Bowels

Constipation is more frequently observed than diarrhea in a dog. It may be the result of a want of proper exercise, improper food, or some disorder of the liver or other part of the digestive system. It is manifested by frequent unavailing efforts to evacuate, attended with groaning, trembling or other manifestations of pain.

TREATMENT.—Give J. K., three to five drops, according to size of animal, three times per day.

Should this course not relieve, an injection of warm soap and water should be given, and repeated, if necessary, until the result is accomplished.

Worms

The entire animal kingdom is subject to numerous parasites or entozoa. These have their abode either upon the surface, or along the intestinal tract, or within the cavities, or even in the more solid substances or muscles of the body. They are found in all animals and fish—those in apparent health as well as those that are sick—and part they play in the economy of nature is confessedly obscure. It is generally conceded that it is only in peculiar or morbid conditions, or under a course of diet and regimen unfavorable to health, that they multiply or increase to such an extent as to become of themselves a source of irritation and disease. It is under these conditions that INTESTINAL WORMS become the subject of medical treatment.

No animal is so subject or so frequently tormented by worms as the dog. This is doubtless owing to his highly artificial life and the great variety of food given him. Intestinal worms are of four varieties; the first is the Ascarides or round worm, white or light yellow in color and common in puppies. The second is the Oxyaris Vermicularis, known as the pin or thread worm and inhabiting the lower bowel. The third is the Tenia or tape worm. The fourth is the Uncinaria Trigonocephalus or hook worm.

SYMPTOMS.—All worm symptoms are questionable, except finding them in the discharges. Their existence may be inferred if the dog has a short coat, bound bowels or purging, turns of griping, wasting or fits.

TREATMENT.—For the first two classes of worms there are two systems of treatment. The first is to give a Vermifuge; this kills the worms and expels them from the system, however, it has done nothing to relieve the morbid conditions that allowed the worms to accumulate in the first place and they will return and have to be expelled etc. The other system is to remove the morbid conditions which allowed the worms to accumulate and the system will then expel the worms of its own accord. This is naturally a slower process than the first but its effects are much more lasting. D. D. belongs to the latter class of remedies.

GIVE D. D., two to five drops, according to size of dog, two or three times per day. Its continuance will not fail to eradicate them from the system.

The TAPE WORM consists of a head not larger than a pin’s head, in which there are four sucking cups and their armature; a neck, which is an inch or more in length, very slender and without joints; and the body, consisting of a long row of flat, ribbon like segments, each of which in rectangular in shape and increasing in size towards the caudal extremity. These segments have each the male and female organ, and at the caudal extremity the ripe eggs; there may be several hundred of these segments, each half or three-quarters of an inch in length, and the entire animal measure several yards. From time to time, the lower segments or joints as they are termed, ripen, and are pushed off, and appear in the evacuations.

THE HOOK WORM or UNCINARIA TRIGONOCEPHALUS is a small thread like worm, from one-quarter to three-quarters of an inch long, white, with a black line down the body, the head has a bell shaped mouth provided with six hook like teeth; by means of these hooks the worm buries its head in the lining of the intestine from which it sucks blood. These worms are quite prevalent in the Southern States also in Southern Europe and Asia. They are found more frequently in packs of hunting dogs than in individual house dogs.

SYMPTOMS.—The disease develops gradually with weakness and wasting followed by colic and alternating constipation and diarrhea. A discharge of bloody mucus from the nose and swelling of the limbs is characteristic of the disease. Death follows at a considerable interval.

TREATMENT.—Both the Tape Worm and the Hook Worm are very tenacious parasites and are not expelled by Homeopathic Remedies nor by the ordinary Vermifuge. Oil of Chenipodium has lately come into prominence as a Vermifuge for worms of all kinds; this is an American drug commonly called “Worm Seed” and was used by the Indians before the days of Columbus and later was very popular among the Southern “Mammies” for the elimination of round worms. It has lately returned to favor particularly for the treatment of Hook Worms.

The Oil can be obtained at any drug store, 16 drops is the dose for a dog of 40 pounds or over, this should be reduced in proportion to the weight of the dog. The dog should be starved for at least 12 hours, preferably 24 hours; he should then receive three doses with intervals of two hours between the doses. Two hours after the last dose give a tablespoonful of castor oil with a teaspoonful of chloroform (reduce in proportion to size of dog).

Be careful to give the medicine exactly according to the directions. A Vermifuge is a drug that is strong enough to kill or paralize the worms without killing or paralizing the animal; however too large a dose, or, too short an interval between the doses, or, too many doses may kill or paralize the animal as well as the worms.

If during the treatment the dog appears unusually depressed, stop the medicine and give castor oil to move the bowels and strong hot coffee as a stimulant.

Thread Worms (Filaria Immitis)

These thread worms inhabit principally the heart, lungs, and sometimes the throat and air-passages of the dog. They are sometimes found in bundles, slowly unrolling themselves when the part is cut open, or are found stretched out along the surface.

The characteristic symptom is a peculiar cough exhibited by any movement, especially after sleeping, ending in a violent effort to bring up something, emaciation, difficult breathing. When affected, the dogs run violently; they fall down, become stiff, insensible, and after a time get up and renew the chase.

Gastro-Duodinal Catarrh—Jaundice

This disease is occasionally found in dogs, more particularly in fat ones. It may be the result of excess of food and deficient exercise, or exposure to cold or moisture.

SYMPTOMS.—The dog vomits, at first a yellow fluid which may afterward become greenish and have streaks of blood in it, eats little and is thirsty, the white of the eye, gums, lips and parts of the skin not covered with hair are yellow; hence the name Jaundice or yellows. He is sometimes hot, at others cold, the urine is dark and the dung clay colored, is dull, sleepy, shrinks from notice and becomes thin. These symptoms all increase until the dog becomes thin as a skeleton and at last dies, quite worn out.

TREATMENT.—Give the A.A., alternately with J.K., a dose of three to five drops, according to the size of the dog, every three or four hours, as the urgency of the case may demand. Old cases of liver complaint simply require a dose of J.K., morning and night.

Foreign Bodies in the Esophagus—Choking

A dog sometimes swallows a bone or piece of gristle, which sticks in his throat. He begins to cough, is restless, cannot swallow, puts his paw to the side of his head as if to pull something away; the eyes are red and prominent; mucus escapes from the mouth and nose.

TREATMENT.—The mouth should be opened as wide as possible, and warm water poured in till the dog vomits, when the intruder may come away; or it may be removed with a forceps. But if removal in this direction be impracticable, an attempt may be made to push the foreign body into the stomach with a piece of whalebone, cane or willow, protected at the end with a piece of sponge dipped in oil. If this fails, it will be necessary to open the esophagus. If this tube has been injured, two or three drops of arnica should be given in water, twice a day. For several days, milk or soup diet only should be given.