Symptoms: In young dogs it occurs as the result of injury; in old ones it arises from constitutional causes. The testicles become swollen and very painful, the scrotum is red and shiny. The dog walks and sits down with difficulty.
Treatment: Give a purge, as from two to ten grains[1] of jalapin. Foment the parts often with hot poppy-head tea, made by boiling a couple of crushed poppy-heads in a quart of water for ten minutes; then strain. Sometimes the application of an ice-bag gives more relief than the hot application.
Œstrum,
or the period of menstruation of the bitch, generally appears for the first time when the bitch is about eight or nine months old. With some foreign breeds, as in chows particularly, it often occurs for the first time sooner, even when the bitch is five or six months old. Occasionally, with very small bitches, the first heat may not appear until she is a year old. Once the period has commenced, it generally occurs regularly twice a year, but in a few exceptional cases every three or four months. The heat generally lasts from three to four weeks—that is, right from the commencement until the end.
The condition is recognised by the external parts—vulva—swelling, and a slight mucus discharge, which continues for about a week; then the discharge is pinkish, and after a few days blood-coloured. This latter condition continues for about eight or nine days, to be followed by a mucus discharge again, until the heat has ceased, when the parts have assumed their normal size.
Ophthalmia:
Symptoms: Generally both eyes are affected, the membrane (conjunctival) is intensely inflamed, and there is a good deal of purulent discharge. There is intolerance to light, and as a consequence, the lids are kept partly, if not quite, closed.
Treatment: Keep the dog for a time in a darkish room, and bathe the eyes three or four times a day with the following lotion:—
Recipe: