Part 11

After the abscess has been opened, or has broken, tonics as from a quarter of a grain[1] to one grain of sulphate of quinine should be given three times a day.

=Meningitis (Inflammation of the Membranes of the Brain)=:

_Symptoms_: Occasionally occurs in young puppies, particularly when suffering from worms, but is more often the result of a protracted attack of distemper.

In young puppies, the patient rolls its head from side to side, is constantly whining and crying, has convulsions, and the head is burning hot. When the result of distemper, convulsions are always present, the dog champs the jaws, emitting a quantity of frothy saliva. These are what are called distemper fits. The eyes are congested, and there are generally two, three, or more degrees of fever. The patient is frequently crying or whining, denoting evident signs of pain. As a rule, in these cases the patient becomes greatly emaciated and very weak—in fact, paralysed; and often, as the inflammation extends to the spinal cord, which it frequently does, chorea or St. Vitis’s dance sets in, which is practically incurable.

_Treatment_: When occurring in young puppies, worm medicine should always be given; and to allay the pain and stop the convulsions, small doses of bromide of potassium be given—from two[1] to five grains in a little milk three or four times a day. Ice may also be applied to the head in a sheep’s bladder. When the convulsions have quite stopped, small doses of cod-liver oil do good. When meningitis follows distemper, if the attack is a bad one, there is little hope of recovery, and as a result the proper course to pursue is to have the dog mercifully put out of his misery. However, people seldom will agree to this without, as they say, giving the dog a chance, and when the case is not a bad one recovery is not impossible, though the chances are greatly against it, for usually it is a progressive disease. If the bowels are not operating (but there is generally diarrhœa) give a dose of castor oil, and commence a course of bromide of strontia at once. Give from two[1] to ten grains, or even fifteen grains, if the dog is a very big one, every three, four, or six hours, according to the severity of the case. Apply an ice-bag to the head for a quarter of an hour or longer at a time, and put a seton in the back of the neck, just behind the ears, which dress with turpentine ointment. Keep the dog absolutely quiet in a dark room, and feed entirely on a liquid diet—as milk, with white of egg; Benger’s food or toast; and some beef-tea. Brand’s essence or rabbit soup may be given occasionally, but those latter foods are more stimulating than nourishing. The milk foods mentioned are perfect food, and will support the dog an indefinite time. For the treatment of chorea and paralysis, see the articles on those subjects.

The bromide must be continued for some time, even though the convulsions stop, but given in less quantities.

=Milk=:

It is not generally known how much stronger or more nourishing a bitch’s milk is than cow’s milk, and when I had some samples analysed I was surprised myself. Below I give the analysis of a fair sample of each kind:—

Cow’s. Bitch’s. Water, 87·4 66·3 Butter, 4·0 14·8 Sugar and Soluble Salts, 5·0 2·9 Caseine and Insoluble Salts, 3·6 16·0

Practically a bitch’s milk is nearly three times as strong as a cow’s, and yet people, when giving the latter to puppies, often dilute it with one-third of water, and thus add to its weakness. Consequently a much larger quantity has necessarily to be given to a puppy for it to derive sufficient nourishment to sustain it, and as a result the stomach is over-distended. Indigestion follows, and the puppies do not thrive. All breeders must have noticed how often puppies go back directly artificial food is given them, even before being entirely weaned, and this, no doubt, is in a great measure due to improper food in overloading the stomach with a quantity of waste and superfluous fluid. Even when cow’s milk is given pure, nearly three times the quantity in bulk ought to be given than if bitch’s milk is used, and it is thus seen at a glance how a puppy’s stomach, which is naturally small, is over-distended. A dog’s digestive organs are arranged to receive food in a concentrated form—as, for instance, dogs in nature eat only meat, and until they get this food they have nothing else but the dam’s milk, which is also a concentrated food. When about five or six weeks old the mother goes out in search of food, and comes back with her stomach loaded, which, after a time, when it is partially digested, she ejects by vomiting, and this the puppies eat, and thus they get naturally partially-digested food suitable for a puppy’s delicate stomach.

To treat cow’s milk so as to make it as like bitch’s milk as possible, to every three-quarters pint of the former add two and a half ounces of cream—that is, about three tablespoonfuls—two and a quarter ounces of plasmon, and five ounces of water. First mix the plasmon with the water, add the milk and slowly boil in an enamel saucepan for two minutes, then add the cream when cold and well mix.

When feeding puppies with artificial bitches’ milk, it must be remembered that only a small quantity is necessary—for instance, about the third part one would give of cow’s milk.

=Milk (Defective Secretion)=:

_See_ LACTATION (DEFECTIVE).

=Milk (Excessive Secretion)=:

_See_ LACTATION (EXCESSIVE).

=Mouth=:

_See_ GUMBOIL, LIPS, TEETH, TOOTHACHE.

=Mumps=:

_Symptoms_: Swelling of side of face, and just below the ear, which is very tender. Dogs suffering from this complaint are generally rather feverish. There is a loss of appetite and an excessive flow of saliva.

_Treatment_: Give a dose of purgative medicine and cover swelling over with a piece of spongiopyline, or a pad of cotton-wool covered over with oil-silk, and apply a bandage or put on a cap. Later, when the swelling has commenced to go down, give the following tonic pills:—

_Recipe_:

Reduced Iron, 6 to 30 grains.[1] Sulphate of Quinine, 4 to 12 ” Common Mass. sufficient.

Mix.

Divide into 12 pills. One to be given twice a day one hour after food.

=Muscles (Wasting)=:

_Symptoms_: There may be general wasting of all the muscles of the body, the result of some long illness, as distemper; or there may be wasting of the muscles of one or more limbs, the result of want of use, as in cases of injury; or some disease of the spinal cord, causing paralysis, and occasionally wasting of the muscles of one or both sides of the head and face, the result of some injury to the head.

_Treatment_: When the result of illness, no special treatment is required beyond giving tonics, as cod-liver oil, for when the patient gets about again the muscles will fill up as before. When one or more limbs are affected as the result of disuse from lameness or paralysis, the limbs should be massaged and galvanised. When the head is affected, the case is often very obstinate, and sometimes the muscles never regain their normal size, but the best treatment is massage galvanism, and encourage the dog to gnaw big bones.

=Muzzling a Dog=:

The best way to muzzle a dog effectually, so that he cannot bite, is with a piece of strong tape which should be passed over the top of the nose, tied twice under the chin, and then the ends should be carried behind the ears, and again tied tightly.

Care must be taken in muzzling a bulldog, or you may interfere with his breathing. Therefore, after tying behind the head, one end of the tape should be passed under the tape which crosses the top of the nose, and this part pulled well up and tied with the other end of the tape over the forehead, so as to remove any pressure from the top of the nose. (_See_ ILLUSTRATION.)

=Nails (Cutting)=:

This cannot be safely done with scissors, but proper nail-clippers should be used. When the nails are white, it is an easy matter, as the quick can be seen, and the nail may be cut off within the sixteenth of an inch of the quick; but when the nail is black, the quick cannot be seen, then the first one must be cautiously cut a little at a time. The dog will soon wince when the nippers are getting near the sensitive part. When one is done, it is an easy matter doing the rest, as they may be cut off in the same proportion as the first.

=Nails (Dew-Claws)=:

The dew-claws or side-nails should always be removed from the back legs a few days after birth, by being cut off close to the limb with a pair of sharp scissors. I always consider it would be a good plan if it was a custom to remove the dew-claws from the forelegs of all dogs also; of course, in some cases, as in fox-terriers and others, it is done.

=Nails (Injuries, etc.)=:

_Symptoms_: Dogs with defective action wear their nails away (more particularly those on the forelegs) to the quick, which causes lameness. Some dogs’ nails are very brittle, and they crack and split to the quick, causing lameness. Toe-nails of dogs who do not have sufficient exercise turn over as they grow, and the point becomes embedded into the pad, causing swelling, suppuration, and great pain. The dew-claws of dogs who do not get the chance of digging often grow to a considerable extent, which weakens and makes them liable to break, which often happens, and the quick becomes exposed and bleeds, causing the dog to go lame as if he had a broken leg. If they do not break, they grow, entering the pad as previously described.

_Treatment_: In cases of a dog wearing the claws away through defective action, as a rule, treatment is of little use; but if the dog is made to exercise on grass land, the nails will grow to an ordinary extent, and the dog walk much better, but the relief is only maintained whilst he is not allowed to run on hard roads. When the defective action of the limbs causing undue wearing of the nails is due to partial general paralysis—as the sequel of distemper, for instance—then it is only temporary, and will pass off as the patient improves in health and strength. To remedy the cracking and splitting of the nails is often a difficult matter. In some cases benefit is derived by the application of tar ointment, which should be well rubbed into the nails twice a day. The frequent application of glycerine is also a good remedy. In very bad cases, especially when only one nail is affected, it may be extracted.

When a nail has grown too long and injured the pad, the nail should be cut close to the quick without making it bleed; and when there is any festering, hot bread or linseed-MEAL poultices should be applied for a day or so. Afterwards the wound should be dressed with boracic ointment, and the foot kept in a canvas bag for a few days.

When a dew-claw becomes broken, it is nearly always through the quick. In such cases it is necessary to remove the claw by extraction with a pair of tooth forceps, and not by cutting, or the quick will be injured, and the nail will grow deformed. Afterwards anoint the raw surface with boracic ointment, cover over with a pad of boracic wool and bandage.

=Nasal Catarrh=:

_Symptoms_: Sneezing; a watery discharge from nose, followed by a semi-purulent discharge and coughing; but unlike distemper, the attack is seldom accompanied by fever and with little loss of condition, and as a rule, the dog is better in a few days.

_Treatment_: Put in a dry, warm room of a temperature about 60 degs. F.; give a dose of aperient medicine as from two[1] to ten grains of jalapin.

The next day, when this has worked off, commence the following pills:—

_Recipe_:

Salicylate of Quinine, 2 to 12 grains.[1] Solution Arsenic, 3 to 12 minims. Solution Sulphate Atropine, ½ to 2 drops. Extract Gentian, 5 to 20 grains.

Mix.

Divide into 12 pills—one to be taken every four hours.

When the discharge has ceased, and the appetite has become normal, if the cough continues troublesome, give from half[1] a teaspoonful to a tablespoonful of cod-liver oil two or three times a day.

=Nasal Parasites=:

_Symptoms_: Very occasionally dogs suffer from a worm in one of the nostrils called Pentastioma Tænoides. It is a worm varying in size from one and a half to two inches long, and about half an inch wide in the centre, tapering slightly at each end. It develops at the back of the nose, and whilst growing appears to cause no discomfort to its host; but when it commences to move, it induces a good deal of sneezing and a discharge of mucus from the nasal passage from the side where it is lodged. The dog eventually dislodges it during a violent attack of sneezing.

I have never seen more than one in a case, and the dog seems comfortable directly it has got rid of its guest.

=Nasal Polypus=:

_Symptoms_: A growth with a narrow neck which forms in the nasal passage causing irritation, sneezing and snorting, a purulent discharge which may sometimes be tinged with blood.

_Treatment_: Consists in removing the growth by ligature if it can be got at, or by an ecraseur or a snare; but it is a surgical case, and a veterinary surgeon should be consulted.

=Necrosis (Diseased Bone)=:

_Symptoms_: Generally the result of some injury. The parts are swollen, inflamed, and very painful, and generally an abscess forms, which, if not lanced, bursts, discharging a thick, creamy and often offensive-smelling pus. The bone, which is generally dead, lies exposed at the bottom of the wound, which does not heal permanently until the dead bone comes away.

_Treatment_: At first, hot linseed-meal poultices dusted over with powdered charcoal are to be applied, and continued for some days after the abscess is open. Then lint saturated with carbolic oil, one in forty, is to be placed over the wound, and kept in place with a bandage. As a rule, after some time the dead bone exfoliates and comes away of itself, and the wound then soon heals, but in many cases, an operation is necessary to remove the dead bone.

=Nephritis (Inflammation of the Kidneys)=:

_Symptoms_: Generally commences suddenly with an attack of shivering and a rise of temperature, there being often three or four degrees of fever accompanied by a rapid pulse. There is pain in the back, vomiting, scanty and high-coloured urine, or blood may be mixed with the water. In some acute cases it is quite suppressed, and the dog then suffers from uræmic poisoning. It may arise from a severe chill, but oftener from a stone in the kidneys.

_Treatment_: Give milk and Vichy water in equal parts to drink, also water to drink, to which has been added a teaspoonful of cream of tartar to every pint. Administer a dose of Epsom salts, from one scruple[1] to one ounce, dissolved in warm water, but given cold. If vomiting persistent, give from half[1] to two drops of diluted hydrocyanic acid in a teaspoonful of water, and ice to lick. After the acute stage has passed, give from one[1] to five grains of ammoniated citrate of iron, three times a day in water.

=Nettlerash=:

_Symptoms_: Generally arises suddenly, and often the result of a chill, as, for instance, a dog plunging into cold water when hot after exercise. When once a dog has had an attack, he is liable to a recurrence, and then indigestion will often induce it. The skin becomes suddenly nodulated or swollen in patches, the hair standing on end. The ears may be affected and become half an inch thick; the head is often attacked, and the dog is temporarily blind because the eyelids are swollen. Sometimes one or more legs are the seat of the trouble, and become three or four times their normal size; in other cases, large patches appear about the body. As a rule, it passes away almost as quickly as it comes.

_Treatment_: Keep dog quiet and warm whilst the attack is on, and give from half to two drops[1] of liquor arsenicalis (P. B.) in a little water every two or three hours. Also give a good dose of aperient medicine. For a few days after a dog has had nettlerash, he should be kept on a light milk diet, and given a course of arsenic, as from one to eight drops[1] of liquor arsenicalis in water, three times a day after food.

=Neuralgia=:

_Symptoms_: Dogs are affected with a form of neuralgia that attacks the muscles and nerves of the neck and shoulders. The pain, which is very acute, comes on quite suddenly, and the dog cries with it. The head is drawn into the body, as it were. The muscles are swollen, and very tense. There is a difficulty in walking; and when it is attempted, it is done very slowly and stiffly. The attack may last a couple of hours, sometimes longer, and then slowly passes off, and the patient may appear quite well; when all at once it may come on again as bad as before, and so keeps on for days, and sometimes weeks, unless some suitable treatment is adopted.

_Treatment_: The dog must be kept very quiet in these cases, as very often any sudden movement induces an attack. Give from two to ten grains[1] of salicylate of soda three times a day, made into a pill; and if the attacks of pain are very acute, also give two or three times a day, injected under the skin, from one-twentieth to the eighth of a grain[1] of hydrochlorate of morphia, with from ⅟₃₀₀th to ⅟₁₀₀th of a grain[1] of atropine, in from five[1] to ten minims of distilled water. At first these injections induce vomiting, but it soon ceases, and the treatment is a specific for the disease.

=Nipples (Sore)=:

_Symptoms_: The nipples become swollen, inflamed, and cracked very often after a bitch has been nursing puppies some weeks, so much so that at last she will not allow the puppies to suckle.

_Treatment_: Wash the parts two or three times a day with boracic lotion, and anoint with boracic ointment after drying.

=Nose (Bleeding)=:

_Symptoms_: May be due to injury of the head or face. It often occurs in cases of pneumonia, and it is a symptom of a polypus in the nose or ulceration of the membrane lining the nasal passages.

_Treatment_: When slight, no particular treatment is required; but if persistent, the cause should be ascertained, and if possible removed. When severe, as the result of some injury, ice may be held to the bridge of the nose; and if this does not stop it, then pour or inject about fifteen drops of the solution of adrenalin diluted four times with water into one or both nostrils. It is not advisable to plug the nostrils, as it distresses a dog to breathe through his mouth.

=Nursing=:

The first thing to be considered in nursing a sick dog is proper quarters for the patient to live in, for in all cases of serious illnesses he should not be allowed to run loose about a house and out of doors when he likes. If a house dog, he should be put in a good, well-ventilated room, with the temperature kept at as near 60 degs. F. as possible. Of course, in very hot weather that cannot be done, but as much air as possible must be given by keeping the windows wide open during the summer months. In winter or cold weather, the temperature of the room should be kept up to 60 degs. F. by means of artificial heat—an ordinary fire is best; failing this, a paraffin stove—avoid a gas stove if possible. Of course, with dogs who are in the habit of living out of doors it is different; but even with them, dry, large, well-lighted and ventilated, comfortable quarters, free from draughts, are absolutely necessary if the patient is to have a fair chance, and the temperature of the place should be kept up to 55 degs. F. A loose box in a stable that is kept _clean_ makes a capital place; but unless the stable is kept very clean, it smells of ammonia, which is fatal to a dog suffering from distemper, because pneumonia and bad eyes are sure to develop.

Sick dogs should always be kept separate. It is a great mistake to put three or four together.

As to diet for patients, see article on _Invalid Food_; when they will not take food voluntarily, a small quantity, varying according to size of dog, must be given often, about every two hours or oftener, day and night. It is useless to feed a dog well for sixteen hours, and to leave him to chance for eight. It is often during the night, when the system is at its lowest, that a little good nourishing food, with some stimulant, is most wanted; and it is this attention that saves the patient in many cases.

The preparation of food is most important. It should either be done by one’s self, or under the personal superintendence of a responsible person. All milk food should be made fresh three times a day, and any that is left over should be thrown away. All feeding utensils must be kept scrupulously clean, and the spoon, bottle, or feeding-cup that is used for food or medicine should be washed and dried immediately after being used, ready for next time. The cooking utensils also must be kept scrupulously clean. If these things are not attended to, diarrhœa and sickness result, and the patient is weakened, and perhaps has a relapse. Also keep the sick dog scrupulously clean. Each time after feeding clean his lips with a little weak solution of Condy’s fluid on a pad of cotton-wool—which should be thrown away immediately after using—and dry with soft cloth; also cleanse the fundament and prepuce once a day with the same preparation, and keep the eyes free of discharge with a little weak boracic acid lotion, and also clean the teeth with a weak solution of permanganate of potash. _This is very important._

As well as attending to the patient, the room or kennel requires frequent attention. Do not make the air stuffy with strong disinfectants, but it is a good plan to sprinkle the floor, whether a kennel or room, with pine sawdust, and if the flooring be wood, to cover it over with sheets of old newspapers, which may be covered with sawdust, and then all evacuation can be carried away and burnt, for when a dog is very ill he ought not to be allowed to go out. There are some dogs who are so clean that they will not make themselves comfortable in a room, and it becomes absolutely necessary to let them out rather than make them worse by keeping them in. But a dog may be kept for some hours, twelve or even sixteen, to see if he will not give way. Once he has relieved himself in the room, and finds he is not scolded, he gains confidence, and is not so particular in the future. To make an obstinate dog do what is necessary in a room, especially when the weather is bad, and when perhaps it would be fatal to let him out, I give either a dose of aperient medicine or an enema, which invariably has the desired effect.

Do not always be fidgeting an invalid. Do what is necessary, and then leave him alone.

Take the temperature regularly three times a day, at the same time each day, and keep a record on a chart; also, if you can, at the same time count the pulse and the number of respirations per minute, and record them for reference. In all cases of severe illness, it is a good plan to put the dog in a flannel jacket, as depicted in the illustration.

The points to be remembered are:—

1. Dry, well-ventilated, light quarters of a proper temperature.

2. Cleanliness of patient.

3. Cleanliness of the surroundings.

4. Cleanliness of everything used for the patient.

5. Not to fidget the patient, but to give him food and medicine at regular stated times.