The Dog

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The dog is subject to sudden attacks of 'angina'. It has been imagined,
from the appearances that are manifested, that some strange body is
arrested in the windpipe or the throat. There is no dread of water or of
the usual fluids; the dog will lap once or twice from that fluid which
is placed before him, and turns slowly away from it; and this
circumstance gives rise to what is called dumb madness. The dog barks in
a particular manner, or rather howls like a rabid dog: he is out of
spirits, has a strange, anxious, altered countenance, and is alternately
cold and hot. Frequently added to this is redness of the buccal and
nasal membranes. He refuses all solid food, and either will not drink or
finds it difficult to swallow anything. His mouth is generally open, and
contains a spumy matter exhaling an offensive smell. His tongue, charged
with a great quantity of saliva, protrudes from his mouth, and the
submaxillary glands are enlarged. To these appearances are added a
yellow tint of the eyes, constipation, and a small quantity of urine,
surcharged with a deep yellow colour. At this period the disease has
generally reached a considerable degree of virulence. Often the
inflammation extends to the back part of the mouth and larynx; and in
this last case the respiration is attended by a hoarse, hissing kind of
sound.

The progress of the disease is rapid, and, in a few days, it reaches its
highest degree of intensity. It is always fatal when it is intense; and,
when its influence is widely spread, it is a very dangerous complaint.

Somewhat rarely the subjects of it recover. After death we find great
redness and injection in all the affected nervous surfaces, and
indications of abscesses in which suppuration was not fully established.

FOREIGN ARTICLES IN THE THROAT

When a substance, such as a bone, has become impacted in the throat, the
better plan is to attempt to push it downwards into the stomach, as
there is but little hope of extracting it.

[A portion of sponge may be securely tied on the end of a piece of
ratan, whalebone, or other flexible material, and inserted in the mouth,
may be carried over the tongue down the throat against the foreign
article, which may then be gently pushed before it. If this should not
succeed, and the substance appears firmly imbedded in the throat, an
incision may be made in the oesophagus and the bone extracted.--L.]

BRONCHOCELE OR GOITRE

in the dog is almost daily forced upon our notice. If a spaniel or
pug-puppy is mangy, pot-bellied, rickety, or deformed, he seldom fails
to have some enlargement of the thyroid gland. The spaniel and the pug
are most subject to this disease. The jugular vein passes over the
thyroid gland; and, as that substance increases, the vein is sometimes
brought into sight, and appears between the gland and the integuement,
fearfully enlarged, varicose, and almost appearing as if it were
bursting. The trachea is pressed upon on either side, and the oesophagus
by the left gland, and there is difficulty of swallowing. The poor
animal pants distressingly after the least exertion, and I have known
absolute suffocation ensue. In a few cases ulceration has followed, and
the sloughing has been dreadful, yet the gland has still preserved its
characteristic structure. Although numerous abscesses have been formed
in the lower part of it, and there has been considerable discharge,
viscid or purulent, the upper part has remained as hard and almost as
scirrhous as before.

'Cause of Goitre'.--In many cases, this enlargement of the thyroid
glands is plainly connected with a debilitated state of the constitution
generally, and more particularly with a disposition to rickets. I have
rarely seen a puppy that had had mange badly, and especially if mange
was closely followed by distemper, that did not soon exhibit goitre.
Puppies half-starved, and especially if dirtily kept, are thus affected;
and it is generally found connected with a loose skin, flabby muscles,
enlarged belly, and great stupidity. On the other hand, I have seen
hundreds of dogs, to all appearance otherwise healthy, in whom the
glands of the neck have suddenly and frightfully enlarged. I have never
been able to trace this disease to any particular food, whether solid or
liquid; although it is certainly the frequent result of want of
nutriment.

Some friends, of whom I particularly inquired, assured me, that it is
not to any great extent prevalent in those parts of Derbyshire where
goitre is oftenest seen in the human being.

It is periodical in the dog. I have seen it under medical treatment, and
without medical treatment, perfectly disappear for a while, and soon
afterwards, without any assignable cause, return. There is a breed of
the Blenheim spaniel, in which this periodical goitre is very
remarkable; the slightest cold is accompanied by enlargement of the
thyroid gland, but the swelling altogether disappears in the course of a
fortnight. I am quite assured that it is hereditary; no one that is
accustomed to dogs can doubt this for a moment.

'Treatment'.--I am almost ashamed to confess how many inefficient and
cruel methods of treatment I many years ago adopted. I used mercurial
friction, external stimulants, and blisters; I have been absurd enough
to pass setons through the tumours, and even to extirpate them with the
knife. The mercury salivated without any advantage, the stimulants and
the blisters aggravated the evil; the setons did so in a tenfold degree,
so that many dogs were lost in the irritative fever tint was produced;
and, although the gland, when directed out, could not be reproduced, yet
I have been puzzled with the complication of vessels around it, and in
one case lost my patient by hemorrhage, which I could not arrest.

When the power of iodine in the dispersion of glandular tumours was
first spoken of, I eagerly tried it for this disease, and was soon
satisfied that it was almost a specific. I scarcely recollect a case in
which the glands have not very materially diminished; and, in the
decided majority of cases, they have been gradually reduced to their
natural size. I first tried an ointment composed of the iodine of
potassium and lard, with some, but not a satisfactory result. Next I
used the tincture of iodine, in doses of from five to ten drops, and
with or without any external local application; but I found, at length,
that the simple iodine, made into pills with powdered gum and syrup,
effected almost all that I could wish. It is best to commence with the
eighth of a grain for a small dog, and rapidly increase it to half a
grain, morning and night. A larger dog may take from a quarter of a
grain to a grain. In a few instances, loss of appetite and slight
emaciation have been produced; but then, the medicine being suspended
for a few days, no permanent ill effect has ever followed the exhibition
of iodine.

PHLEGMONOUS TUMOUR.

A phlegmonous tumour under the throat, and accompanied by constitutional
disturbance, with the exception of there being little or no cough, often
appears in the dog. Comparing the size of the animals, these tumours are
much larger than in either the horse or ox; but they are situated higher
up the face, and do not press so much upon the windpipe, nor is there
any apparent danger of suffocation from them. The whole head, however,
is sometimes enlarged to a frightful degree, and the eyes are completely
closed. More than a pint of fluid has sometimes escaped from a
middle-sized dog at the first puncture of the tumour.

The mode of treatment is, to stimulate the part, in order to expedite
the suppuration of the tumour, and to lance it freely and deeply, as
soon as matter is evidently formed. The wound should be dressed with
tincture of aloes, and a thick bandage placed round the neck, to prevent
the dog from scratching the part, which often causes dreadful
laceration.

These tumours in the throat of the dog are not always of a phlegmonous
character. They are cysts, sometimes rapidly formed, and of considerable
size, and filled with a serous or gelatinous fluid.

* * * * *

CHAPTER XI.

ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF THE CHEST; THE DIAPHRAGM; THE PERICARDIUM; THE
HEART; PLEURISY; PNEUMONIA; SPASMODIC COUGH

The chest is the superior, or in quadrupeds the anterior, cavity of the
trunk of the body: it is divided into two cavities by a membranous
partition, termed 'mediastinum;' and separated from the abdomen, or
cavity which contains the liver, spleen, pancreas, and other abdominal
viscera, by the 'diaphragm,' which is of a musculo-membranous nature.
This membrane may be described, as it is divided, into the main circular
muscle, with its central tendinous expansion forming the lower part, and
two appendices, or 'crura,' as they are termed from their peculiar
shape, constituting its superior portion. We trace the fleshy origin of
the grand muscle, laterally and inferiorly, commencing from the
cartilage of the eighth rib anteriorly, and following somewhat closely,
as we proceed backward, the union of the posterior ribs with their
cartilages, excepting, however, the two last. The attachment is
peculiarly strong. It is denticulated: it encloses the whole of the
latter and inferior part of the chest as far as the sternum, where it is
connected with the ensiform cartilage.

The diaphragm is the main agent, both in ordinary and extraordinary
respiration. In its quiescent state it presents its convex surface
towards the thorax, and its concave one towards the abdomen. The
anterior convexity abuts upon the lungs; the posterior concavity is
occupied by some of the abdominal viscera.

Thus far we have described the diaphragm as found in the horse, ox, and
sheep. There is some difference with regard to the dog. The muscular
part of the diaphragm is thick and strong in every species of dog, while
the aponeurotic expansion is comparatively smaller. From the smaller
expanse of the thorax of the dog, and the consequent little expansion of
the diaphragm, the action, although occasionally rapid and violent--for
he is an animal of speed--is not so extensive, and more muscle and less
tendon may be given to him, not only without detriment, but with evident
advantage. Therefore, although we have occasional rupture of the heart
of the dog, oftener perhaps than in the horse, there is no case of
rupture of the diaphragm on record.

The cavity of the thorax is lined by a membrane, termed pleura, which
covers the surface of the lungs.

The lungs on either side are enclosed in a separate and perfect bag,
anil each lung has a distinct pleura. The heart lies under the left
lung; and, more perfectly to cut off all injurious connexion or
communication of disease between the lungs and the heart, the heart is
enclosed in a distinct pleura or bag, termed the 'pericardium'. This
membrane closely invests the heart, supports it in its situation,
prevents too great dilatation when it is gorged with blood, and too
violent action when it is sometimes unduly stimulated. Notwithstanding
the confinement of the pericardium, the heart, when under circumstances
of unusual excitation, beats violently against the ribs, and, were it
not thus tied down, would often bruise and injure itself, and cause
inflammation in the neighbouring parts.

The 'heart' is composed of four cavities; two above, called 'auricles',
from their shape, and two below, termed 'ventricles', occupying the bulk
of the heart. In point of fact, there are two hearts--the one on the
left side propelling the blood through the frame, and the other on the
right side conveying it through the pulmonary system; but, united in the
manner in which they are, their junction contributes to their mutual
strength, and both circulations are carried on at the same time.

The beating of the heart in the dog is best examined behind the elbow on
the left side. The hand, applied flat against the ribs, will give the
number and character of the pulsations. The pericardium, or outer
investing membrane of the heart, is frequently liable to inflammation,
milked by a quickened and irregular respiration, and an action of the
heart, bounding at an early period of the disease, but becoming scarcely
recognisable as the fluid increases. The patient is then beginning
gradually to sink. A thickening of the substance of the heart is
occasionally suspected, and, on the other hand, an increased capacity of
the cavities of the heart; the parietes being considerably thinner, and
the frame of the animal emaciated.

The pulse of the greater part of our domestic animals has been
calculated by Mr. Vatel, in his excellent work on Veterinary Pathology,
to be nearly as follows:

In the horse, from 32 to 38 pulsations in a minute.
" ox or cow, " 35 " 49 "
" ass, " 48 " 54 "
" sheep, " 70 " 79 "
" goat, from 72 to 76 pulsations in a minute.
" dog, " 90 " 100 "
" cat, " 110 " 120 "
" rabbit, . . 120 "
" guinea-pig, . . 140 "
" crow, . . 136 "
" duck, . . 136 "
" hen, . . 140 "
" heron, . . 200 "

The pulse of the dog may be easily ascertained by feeling at the heart
or the inside of the knee, and it varies materially, according to the
breed, as well as the size of the animal. This is very strikingly the
case with some of the sporting dogs, with whom the force as well as the
rapidity of the pulse vary materially according to the character and
breed of the dog.

There is, occasionally, in the dog as in the human being, an alteration
of the quantity, as well as of the quality, of the blood. 'Anaemia' is
the term used to designate a deficiency in quantity; 'plethora' is the
opposite state of it. M. D'Arbor relates a very curious account of the
former:

Two dogs were sent into the hospital of the veterinary school at Lyons.
They did not appear to suffer any considerable pain. Their skin and
mucous membranes that were visible had a peculiar appearance. They had
also comparatively little power over their limbs; so little, indeed,
that they rested continually on one side, without the ability to shift
their posture. When they were placed on their feet, their limbs gave
way, and they fell the moment they were quitted. In despite of the care
that was taken of them, they died on the second day.

Incisions were made through the skin, but in opening them no blood
flowed. The venae cavae themselves did not contain any--there were only
two clots of blood in the cavities of their hearts. One of them, of the
size of a small nutmeg, occupied the left ventricle; the other, which
was still smaller, was found at the base of the right ventricle. The
chest of one of them enclosed a small quantity of serosity; a similar
fluid was between the dura mater and the arachnoid membrane, and the
same was the case in the larger ventricles of the encephalon. The other
viscera did not offer anything remarkable, except the paleness and
flaccidity of their tissue. The great fatigues of the chase, and the
immersion of these animals in water at the time that they were very much
heated, appeared to have been the causes of this singular disease. In
the report of the labours of the School of Alfort, in the year 1825, the
same anaemia was remarked in two dogs that died there; one of them had
lately undergone a considerable hemorrhage, and in the other anaemia had
developed itself spontaneously.

It is in fact among dogs that this extreme anaemia has been principally
observed, and is ordinarily fatal. It has been remarked by M. Crusal in
a bullock attacked with gastro-enteritis.

This disease, according to M. Vatel, is generally the symptom of a
chronic malady, or the instantaneous effect of an excessive hemorrhage.
It is rarely primary. The extreme discoloration of the tissues, and of
the mucous membrane more particularly, the disappearance of the
subcutaneous blood-vessels, and the extreme feebleness of the animal,
are the principal symptoms. There also often exists considerable
swelling of the limbs.

The following singular case of a wound penetrating into the chest and
pericardium of a dog, is recorded by Professor Delafond:

A mastiff dog fighting with another was stabbed in the chest by the
master of his antagonist. Five hours after the accident, the Professor
was sent for. On the exterior of the sternum was a laceration an inch
and a half in length, covered by a spumy fluid, from the centre of which
was heard a gurgling noise, showing that a wound had penetrated into the
sac of the pleura. The respiration was quick, and evidently painful; the
beating of the heart was also strong and precipitate. The finger being
introduced into the wound, penetrated between the fourth and fifth rib
on the left side. "Having arrived at the pleuritic sac," says the
Professor, "I gently tapped the surface of the lung, in order to assure
myself that it was not injured; my finger penetrated into the
pericardium, and the point of the heart beat against it."

He bathed the wound with a little diluted wine, and brought the edges of
it as near together as he could, and confined them with a suture,
administering a mild aperient.

On the following day, the animal walked slowly about, seeking for
something to eat; he gave him some milk. On changing the dressing, he
tried whether he could again introduce any sound into the wound; but it
would only penetrate a very little way; indeed, re-union by adhesion had
already taken place.

On the fifth day, the animal was in good spirits; the wound had a
healthy red appearance, and all tended to a speedy cure.

On the eighth day he was sent home to his master, a distance of two
leagues from his house. He saw the dog eighteen months afterwards, and
he was as eager as ever after his game.

The following is a case of rupture of the heart:--A black pointer, of
the Scotch breed, had every appearance of good health, except that she
frequently fell into a fit after having run a little way, and sometimes
even after playing in the yard. She was several times bled during and
after these fits. When I examined her, I could plainly perceive
considerable and violent spasmodic motion of the heart, and the sounds
of the beating of the heart were irregular and convulsive. She was sent
to the infirmary, in order to be cured of an attack of mange; but during
her stay in the hospital she had these fits several times: the attack
almost always followed after she had been playing with other dogs. She
appeared as if struck by lightning, and remained motionless for several
minutes, her gums losing their natural appearance and assuming a bluish
hue. After the lapse of a few minutes, she again arose as if nothing had
been the matter. She was bled twice in eight days, and several doses of
foxglove were administered to her. The fits appeared to become less
frequent; but, playing one day with another dog, she fell and expired
immediately.

The 'post mortem' examination was made two hours after death. The cavity
of the pericardium contained a red clot of blood, which enveloped the
whole of the heart; it was thicker in the parts that corresponded with
the valve of the heart; and on the left ventricle, and near the base of
the left valve of the heart, and on the external part of that viscus,
was an irregular rent two inches long. It crossed the wall of the valve
of the heart, which was very thin in this place. The size of the heart
was very small, considering the height and bulk of the dog. The walls of
the ventricles, and particularly of the left ventricle, were very thick.
The cavity of the left ventricle was very small; there was evidently a
concentric hypertrophy of these ventricles; the left valve of the heart
was of great size.

The immediate cause of the rupture of the valve of the heart had
evidently been an increase of circulation, brought on by an increase of
exercise; but the remote cause consisted in the remarkable thinness of
the walls of the valve of the heart. This case is remarkable in more
than one respect; first, because examples of rupture of the valve of the
heart are very rare; and, secondly, because this rupture had its seat in
the left valve of the heart, while, usually, in both the human being and
the quadruped, it takes place in the right; and this, without doubt,
because the walls and the valves of the right side are thinner.

Diseases of the investing membrane of the lungs, and the pleura of the
thoracic cavity, and of the substance of the lungs, are more frequent
than those of the heart.

PLEURISY,

or inflammation of the membrane of the chest and the lungs of the dog,
is not unfrequent. There are few instances of inflammation of the lungs,
or pneumonia, that do not ultimately become connected with or terminate
in pleurisy. The tenderness of the sides, the curious twitching that is
observed, the obstinate sitting up, and the presence of a short,
suppressed, painful cough, which the dog bears with strange impatience,
are the symptoms that principally distinguish it from pneumonia. The
exploration of the chest by auscultation gives a true picture of it in
pleurisy; and, by placing the dog alternately on his chest, his back, or
his side, we can readily ascertain the extent to which effusion exists
in the thoracic cavity; and, if we think proper, we can get rid of the
fluid. It is not a dangerous thing to attempt, although it is very
problematical whether much advantage would accrue from the operation.
With a favourite dog it may, however, be tried; and, to prevent all
accidents, a veterinary surgeon should be entrusted with the case.

PNEUMONIA,

or inflammation of the substance of the lungs, is a complaint of
frequent occurrence in the dog, and is singularly marked. The extended
head, the protruded tongue, the anxious, bloodshot eye, the painful
heaving of the hot breath, the obstinacy with which the animal sits up
hour after hour until his feet slip from under him, and the eye closes,
and the head droops, through extreme fatigue, yet in a moment being
roused again by the feeling of instant suffocation, are symptoms that
cannot be mistaken.

Here, from the comparative thinness of the integument and the parietes,
we have the progress of the disease brought completely under our view.
The exploration of the chest of the dog by auscultation is a beautiful
as well as wonderful thing. It at least exhibits to us the actual state
of the lungs, if it does not always enable us to arrest the impending
evil.

Mr. Blaine and myself used cordially to agree with regard to the
treatment of pneumonia, materially different from the opinions of the
majority of sportsmen. Epidemic pneumonia was generally fatal, if it was
not speedily arrested in its course. The cure was commenced by bleeding,
and that to a considerable extent, when not more than four-and-twenty or
six-and thirty hours had passed; for, after that, the progress of the
disease could seldom be arrested. Blistering the chest was sometimes
resorted to with advantage; and the cantharides ointment and the oil of
turpentine formed one of the most convenient as well as one of the most
efficacious blisters. A purgative was administered, composed of mutton
broth with Epsom salts or castor oil; to which followed the
administration of the best sedatives that we have in those cases,
namely, nitre, powdered foxglove, and antimonial powder, in the
proportion of a scruple of the first, four grains of the second, and two
grains of the third.

Congestion of the lungs is a frequent termination of pneumonia; and in
that congestion the air-cells are easily ruptured and filled with
blood. That blood assumes a black pulpy appearance, commonly indicated
by the term of 'rottenness', an indication or consequence of the
violence of the disease, and the hopelessness of the case. A different
consequence of inflammation of the lungs is the formation of tubercles,
and, after that, of suppuration and abscess, when, generally speaking,
the case is hopeless. A full account of this is given in the work on the
Horse.

Two cases of pneumonia will be useful:

Oct. 22d, 1820. A black pointer bitch that had been used lo a warm
kennel, was made to sleep on flat stones without straw. A violent cough
followed, under which she had been getting worse and worse for a
fortnight. Yesterday I saw her. The breathing was laborious. The bitch
was constantly shifting her position, and, whether she lay down or sat
up, was endeavouring to elevate her head. Her usual posture was sitting,
and she only lay down for a minute. The eyes were surrounded, and the
nose nearly stopped with mucus. V. S. [Symbol: ounce] viij. Emet.
Fever-ball twice in the day.

23d. Breathing not quite so laborious. Will not eat. Medicine as before.
Apply a blister on the chest.