Worms
There are various kinds of worms to which the dog is subject; they have occasionally been confounded with each other; but they are essentially different in the situations which they occupy, and the effects which they produce.
The
ascarides
are small thread-like worms, generally not more than six or ten lines in length, of a white colour, the head obtuse, and the tail terminating in a transparent prolongation. They are principally found in the rectum. They seem to possess considerable agility; and the itching which they set up is sometimes absolutely intolerable. To relieve this, the dog often drags the fundament along the ground.
All the domesticated animals are subject to the annoyance which these worms occasion. They roll themselves into balls as large as a nut, and become entangled so much with each other that it is difficult to separate them. Sometimes they appear in the stomach, and in such large masses that it is almost impossible to remove them by the act of vomiting. It has been said that packets of ascarides have been collected in the stomach containing more than one hundred worms. These collections are rarely or never got entirely rid of. Enormous doses of medicine may be given, and the worms may not be seen again for several weeks; but, at length, they reappear as numerous as ever.
Young dogs are exceedingly subject to them, and are with great difficulty perfectly freed from their attacks.
species of worm is the
teres
. It would resemble the earth-worm in its appearance, were it not white instead of a red colour. They are very common among dogs, especially young dogs, in whom they are often attended by fits. Occasionally they crawl into the stomach, and there produce a great deal of irritation.
, and the most injurious of the intestinal worms, is the
tænia
, or 'tape-worm'. It is many inches in length, almost flat in the greater part of its extent, and its two extremities are nearly or quite equal. Tape-worms associate in groups like the others, but they are not so numerous; they chiefly frequent the small intestines. They are sometimes apt to coil themselves, and form a mechanical obstruction which is fatal to the dog.
The presence of all these worms is readily detected. There is generally a dry, short cough, a staring coat, a hot and fetid breath, a voracious appetite, and a peculiar state of the bowels; alternately constipated to a great degree, or peculiarly loose and griping. In young dogs the emaciated appearance, stinted growth, fetid breath, and frequent fits, are indications not to be mistaken.
At other times, however, the dog is filled with worms with scarcely any indication of their presence. Mr. Blaine very properly remarks that it does not follow, because no worms are seen to pass away, that there are none: neither when they are not seen does it follow even that none pass; for, if they remain long in the intestines after they are dead, they become digested like other animal matter.
means of expelling or destroying worms in the intestines of the dog are twofold: the first and apparently the most natural mode of proceeding, is the administration of purgatives, and usually of drastic ones; but there is much danger connected with this; not merely the fæces will be expelled, but a greater or less portion of the mucus that lines the intestinal canal. The consequence of this will be griping and inflammation to a very dangerous extent. Frequent doses of Epsom salts have been given; but not always with success, and frequently with griping. Mercurial medicines have been tried; but they have not always succeeded, and have often produced salivation.
method of expelling the worm has been adopted which has rarely failed, without the slightest mischief — the administration of glass finely powdered. Not a particle of it penetrates through the mucus that lines the bowels, while it destroys every intestinal worm. The powdered glass is made into a ball with lard and ginger.
following account of the symptoms caused by tænia may be interesting. A dog used to be cheerful, and particularly fond of his master; but gradually his countenance became haggard, his eyes were red, his throat was continually filled with a frothy spume, and he stalked about with an expression of constant inquietude and suffering. These circumstances naturally excited considerable fear with regard to the nature of his disease, and he was shut up in a court, with the intention of his being destroyed. Thus shut up, he furiously threw himself upon every surrounding object, and tore them with his teeth whenever he could seize them. He retired into one of the corners of the court, and there he was continually rubbing his nose, as it were to extract some foreign body; sometimes he bit and tore up the earth, barking and howling violently; his hair stood on end, and his flanks were hollow.
During the whole of his disease he continued to recognise his master. He ran to him at the slightest word. He refused nothing to drink; but he would not eat. He was killed on account of the fear excited among the neighbours.
The veterinary surgeon who attended him suspected that there was some affection of the head, on account of the strange manner in which he had rubbed and beaten it. The superior part of the nose was opened, and two
tæniæ lanceolatæ
were found: it was plain enough that they were the cause of all the mischief.
The proprietor of the dog nevertheless believed that it was a case of rabies; he had the caustic applied to his hands, and could not persuade himself that he was safe until he had been at the baths of Bourbonne
.
There is a worm inhabiting the stomach of young dogs, the
Ascaris Marginata
, a frequent source of sickness and occasionally of spasmodic colic, by rolling itself into knots. It seems occasionally to take a dislike to its assigned residence, and wanders into the œsophagus, but rarely into the larger intestines. A dog had a severe cough, which could not be subdued by bleeding or physic, or sedative or opiate medicines. He was destroyed, and one of these ascarides was found in the trachea. Others find their way into the nasal cavity; and a dreadful source of irritation they are when they are endeavouring to escape, in order to undergo one of the changes of form to which they are destined, or when they have been forced into the nostril in the act of vomiting.
I once had a dog as a patient, whose case, I confess, I did not understand. He would sneeze and snort, and rub his head and nose along the carpet. I happened to say that the symptoms in some respects resembled those of rabies, and yet, that I could not satisfy myself that the dog was rabid. The mention of rabies was sufficient, and in defiance of my remonstrances the animal was destroyed.
The previous symptoms led me to examine the nasal cavity, and I found two of these ascarides, one concealed in the middle and the other in the upper
meatus
, through neither of which could any strong current of air be forced, and from which the ascarides could not be dislodged.
may be the cause of sudden death in a dog. The following case, communicated by Professor Dick, illustrates this fact:
I lately had the body of a dog sent to me: his owner sent the following letter by the same conveyance.
"My keeper went out shooting yesterday morning with the dog which I now send to you. He was quite lively, and apparently well, during the former part of the day; but towards evening he was seized with violent vomiting. When he came home he refused to eat, and this morning about eight o'clock he died. As I have lost all my best dogs rather suddenly, I will thank you to have him examined, and the contents of his stomach analyzed; and have the kindness to inform me whether he has been poisoned, or what was the cause of his death."
On opening the abdomen, the viscera appeared quite healthy: the stomach was removed, and the contents were found to be more decidedly acid than usual. The acids were the muriatic and acetic: the finding of an increased quantity of these is far from being unusual. There was not a trace of arsenical, mercurial, nor any other metallic poison present. Of the vegetable poisons, I can only say there was not the slightest trace of the morbid effects of any of them. The pericardium and the left side of the thorax contained a small quantity of bloody serous fluid, and the heart was full of black blood. The left lung was a little inflamed. The trachea contained some frothy yellow mucous matter, similar to the contents of the stomach. In the larynx was found one of those worms occasionally inhabiting the cavities of the nose, and which had probably escaped from the nose while the dog had been hunting; and, lodging in the larynx, had destroyed the animal by producing spasms of the larynx. The worm was about one inch and a half in length, and had partly penetrated through the
rima glottidis.
Another worm about the same size was found in the left bronchia, and a still smaller one among the mucus of the trachea: there were also four others in the nose.
Some years ago I found some worms of the
filacia
species in the right ventricle of the heart of a dog, which had produced sudden death by interrupting the action of the valves.
The following is a curious case of tape-worm, by Mr. Reynold:
On an estate where a great quantity of rabbits are annually destroyed in the month of November, we have observed that several dogs that were previously in good health and condition soon became weak, listless, and excessively emaciated, frequently passing large portions of the tape-worm. This induced us to examine the intestines of several hares and rabbits; and, with, very few exceptions, we found each to contain a perfect tape-worm three to four feet in length. We then caused two of the dogs whose cases appeared the worst to be separated from the others, feeding them on potatoes, &c.; and, in eight or ten days, after voiding several feet of the worms, they were perfectly restored to their former strength and appearance. The worm disease, hitherto so formidable to the spaniel and pointer, may in a great measure be fairly attributed to the custom of giving them the intestines of their game, under the technical appellation of "the paunch." The facts above stated, in explaining the cause of the disease, at the same time suggest the remedy.
A worm in the urethra of a dog
. Séon, veterinary surgeon of the Lancers of the Body Guard, was requested to examine a dog who strained in vain to void his urine, often uttering dreadful cries, and then eagerly licking his penis. M. Séon, after having tried in vain to abate the irritation, endeavoured to pass an elastic bougie. He perceived a conical body half an inch long protruding from the urethra with each effort of the dog to void his urine, and immediately afterwards returning into the urethra. He crushed it with a pair of forceps, and drew it out. It proved to be a worm resembling a
strongylus
, four and a half inches long. It was living, and moving about. M. Séon could not ascertain its species. The worm being extracted, the urine flowed, and the dog soon recovered
.
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