Piles.—The dog is very subject to these annoyances in all their various forms; for the posterior intestine of the animal seems to be peculiarly susceptible of disease. When enteritis exists the rectum never escapes, but is very frequently the seat of the most virulent malice of the disorder. There are reasons why such should be the case. The dog has but a small apology for what should be a cæcum, and the colon I assume to be entirely wanting. The guts, which in the horse are largest, in the canine species are not characterised by any difference of bulk; and however compact may be the food on which the dog subsists, nevertheless a proportionate quantity of its substance must be voided. If the excrement be less than in beasts of herbivorous natures, yet there being but one small receptacle in which it can be retained, the effects upon that receptacle are more concentrated, and the consequences therefore are very much more violent. The dung of the horse and ox is naturally moist, and only during disease is it ever in a contrary condition. Costiveness is nearly always in some degree present in the dog. During health the animal's bowels are never relaxed; but the violent straining it habitually employs to expel its fæces would alone suggest the injury to which the rectum is exposed, even if the inclination to swallow substances which in their passage are likely to cause excoriation did not exist. The grit, dirt, bone, and filth that dogs will, spite of every precaution, manage to obtain, must be frequent sources of piles, which without such instigation would frequently appear. Bones, which people carelessly conclude the dog should consume, it can in some measure digest; but it can do this only partially when in vigorous health. Should the body be delicate, such substances pass through it hardly affected by the powers of assimilation; they become sharp and hard projections when surrounded by, and fixed in the firm mass, which is characteristic of the excrement of the dog. A pointed piece of bone, projecting from an almost solid body, is nearly certain to lacerate the tender and soft membrane over which it would have to be propelled; and though, as I have said, strong and vigorous dogs can eat almost with impunity, and extract considerable nourishment from bones, nevertheless they do not constitute a proper food for these animals at any time. When the system is debilitated, the digestion is always feeble; and, under some conditions of disease, I have taken from the stomachs of dogs after death, in an unaltered state, meat, which had been swallowed two days prior to death. It had been eaten and had been retained for at least forty-eight hours, but all the functions had been paralyzed, and it continued unchanged. If such a thing be possible under any circumstances, then in the fact there is sufficient reason why people should be more cautious in the mode of feeding these creatures; for I have extracted from the rectums of dogs large quantities of trash, such as hardened masses of comminuted bones and of cocoanut, which, because the animal would eat it, the owners thought it to be incapable of doing harm. Nature has not fitted the dog to thrive upon many substances; certain vegetables afford it wholesome nourishment, but a large share of that which is either wantonly or ignorantly given as food, is neither nutritive nor harmless. Whatever injures the digestion, from the disposition of the rectum to sympathise in all disorders of the great mucous track, is likely to induce piles; and the anus of the animal is often as indicative of the general state of the body as is the tongue of man.
In perfect health the anus should be small, firm, close, and entirely retracted; especially should it be cleanly. Any soil upon the part, or any excrement adhering to the hair about its margin, is indicative of derangement. If the fundament protrudes, so that it can be grasped by the finger and thumb, or if it presents a sensible projection to the touch, the digestion is not sound. The indication is still worse when the orifice is enlarged—the edges not being inflamed, which indeed they seldom are, but swollen, loose, coarse, creased, and unsightly. This state will not continue long before cracks and ulcers may be detected upon the borders of the opening, which ultimately is constantly moistened by an unctuous and peculiarly fetid discharge. If the lips of the orifice be gently pulled aside, the more inward portion of the membrane will frequently be seen of a bright scarlet color, and wet with a watery fluid, but the anus is rarely of so deep a tint, the hue being, even in aggravated cases, only a pale reddish brown.
To correct this state of disease, the first thing to be attended to is the food. The diet must be strictly regulated; it should not be too much reduced either in quantity or quality, for dogs in this state are generally old, and always weakly. Enough of good food should be allowed, but nothing more ought to be given. Meat, lean, and from a healthy animal, as constituting the lightest and most nourishing diet, will here be best, and from two ounces to two pounds may be divided into four meals, and given in the course of the day. Plenty of exercise and a daily cold bath will likewise be beneficial.
Medicine must be employed for two purposes; the first, to alleviate the pain and act locally on the disease; and the second, to amend the general health, checking the constitutional disposition to be affected. As a local application, Mr. Blaine recommends an ointment; which I object to, because I have found it aggravate the suffering without conferring any compensating benefit. Astringents, such as the acetate of lead, are not curative; but the following ointment has done so much good in these cases that I can most confidently submit it to the public:—
| Camphor | Two drachms. |
| Strong mercurial ointment | One drachm. |
| Elder ointment | One ounce. |
The only addition I make to the above is occasionally a drachm of powdered opium. This is smeared over the exterior of, and also inserted up, the rectum, thrice in the day. A piece of wood nicely rounded, or a penholder if the animal be small, answers very well to introduce the salve into the gut; and of course it should be done with every consideration, for the pain it will at first produce. The resistance is often strong, and the cries violent; for in some cases the rectum is so sensitive that the mere lifting of the tail cannot be silently endured. The poor dog seems in constant agony; for I have known the exclamations to be provoked by simply looking at the part, and the animal evidently shrieked from the idea of it being touched. All possible tenderness, therefore, is required; and the dog should be very firmly held, to prevent its contortions from adding to its anguish. When the ointment is regularly and properly employed, the relief is generally speedy; and after the third day the dog, which had been so energetically resistful, often submits to be dressed without a murmur. The cessation of the howling will indicate the progress of the cure, but the application should be used for some days after the animal becomes silent. If much stench is present, the fundament may be at each dressing moistened with very dilute solution of the chloride of zinc, and a small quantity may be administered as an injection, after the grease has been introduced.
The constitutional remedies must be regulated by the symptoms, and nothing absolute can be said on this subject; but in the great majority of instances tonics will be required. Purgatives are not often needed, but a day's feed of liver once or twice a week will do no harm. Should it not have the desired effect, a little olive oil may be given; but nothing stronger ought to be risked, and above all, no preparation of mercury—which, in the dog, specially acts upon the rectum—ought on any account to be permitted.
Piles, if not attended to, become causes of further disease, which may in some cases prove fatal, though in the larger number of instances they are far more distressing than dangerous.
A sero-sanguineous abscess, that is, a tumor consisting of a single sac or numerous small bladders, containing a thin and bloody fluid, is by no means a rare accompaniment of long-continued piles. These mostly appear rather to one side of, and more below than above, the opening, the verge of which they always involve. They occasion little pain, and often grow to a comparatively enormous size; when they may burst and leave a ragged ulcer, which has little disposition to heal, and is not improved by the dog's drawing it along the ground.
When these are observed, the knife should not be too quickly resorted to. The abscess should be allowed to progress until it is fully matured, the dog being in the meantime treated for simple piles. When the tumor perceptibly fluctuates, it should be freely opened, the incision being made along its entire length. This is best done with one of Liston's knives, which should be thrust fairly through the swelling, entering at the top and coming out at the lowest part, when with one movement of the wrist the substance is divided. The operation thus performed is much quicker, less painful, and more safe than it can possibly be rendered if the tumor be punctured and slit up with repeated thrusts of an ordinary lancet. I have frequently opened these sacs without the animal uttering even a moan, and mercy is wisdom where surgery is employed. Dogs will not bear torture, and soon become blindly infuriated if subjected to pain. The animal is naturally so sensitive and excitable that the brutality or suffering a horse can sustain, these animals would perish under. He, therefore, who undertakes to treat the diseases of the canine race, if the amiable qualities of the brute or his own feelings have no influence, will in the success of his practice discover ample reason for the exercise of a little humanity.