From what has been described, the reader will have seen that the diseases of the dog's rectum are neither few nor insignificant. Fistula in ano is said to be often beheld; but I have never seen a case in which it assumed in the dog that serious form which characterises it in man. In the canine race I have mostly let it alone, and hitherto I have had no reason to repent my forbearance. Blaine and Youatt both speak of the affection, and give directions for its treatment by operation. The most active remedy I have found it necessary to resort to has been an astringent or mildly caustic injection; the solution of the chloride of zinc I prefer to every other, but the sulphates are also not to be despised. Injections, when not designed to be immediately operative, or meant to distend the gut and to act through being ejected, are best given by means of the India-rubber bladder, which allows the fluid to be more gently and silently thrown up. The less noise or force attending the operation the less likely is the animal to be alarmed or excited, and the probability is the enema will be retained. Small quantities are to be administered when the fluid is wished to remain; and by attracting the attention of the dog at the time, and amusing him after the business is finished, the object in view is considerably favored. The administration of an injection is in the first instance almost certain to alarm the animal, who can neither understand nor passively sanction the strange liberty the operation implies. A little soothing, however, will restore his confidence, and he who has gained the trust of a dog, may subsequently do as he pleases with the body of the generous and confiding beast.
NERVOUS DISEASES.—FITS IN THE DOG.
Youatt speaks of fits as particularly fatal to the dog, saying they "kill more than all the other diseases put together." The experience of this esteemed authority is in direct variance with my own—save from distemper. When the fits occur in that disease they are mostly fatal, being the wind-up of all the many evils which the malady in its most intense and malignant form can accumulate on one doomed life—I have not otherwise found them especially troublesome.
Fainting fits require little attention; if the dog be left quiet, it will in due time often recover without medicine.
Puerperal, or rather pupping fits, are treated of in their fitting place, and, if properly administered to, are by no means dangerous.
Fits par excellence are witnessed when a dog is taking a long walk with its master; the animal at first lingers behind, or gets a long distance before the proprietor, who notices the fact, but contents himself with whistling and walking forward. The dog does not obey the mandate; it is standing still as if stupefied; suddenly it emits a strange, loud, guttural sound, and then falls upon its side, continuing to cry, but more feebly and more naturally; its fæces and urine may be discharged involuntarily; it will bite any one who, during the existence of the attack, incautiously attempts to lay hold of it; its limbs, at first stretched rigidly out, are ultimately, with returning volition, put into violent motion; the eye is protruded and foam covers the mouth. When the convulsion has subsided, the dog raises its head and stares about; after which it would, if left alone, start at its utmost pace, and run heaven only knows where. Should idle men and foolish boys behold a dog wildly run onward after having come out of a fit, and raise the cry of "mad dog," the fate of the poor animal is then sealed, as fear is devoid of discrimination or pity. Half the dogs killed as rabid are those in this condition, scampering under the impulse of returning sensation.
The first thing any person is to do when out with a dog which has a fit is to secure the animal, and to prevent its running away when the fit has passed. The second thing is stubbornly to close his ears to the crowd who are certain to surround him. No matter what advice may be given, he is to do nothing but get the animal home as quickly as possible. He is neither to lance the mouth, slit the ear, nor cut a piece of the tail off. He is on no account to administer a full dose of salt and water, a lump of tobacco, or to throw the animal into an adjacent pond; and of all things he is to allow no man more acquainted with dogs than the other spectators to bleed the creature. Any offer to rub the nose with syrup of buckthorn, however confidently he who makes the proposal may recommend that energetic mode of treatment, is to be unhesitatingly declined. The friendly desire of any one who may express his willingness to ram a secret and choice specific down the prostrate animal's throat, must be refused with firmness. The attendant must however take advantage of the time the dog is on the ground to pass a handkerchief round the neck or through the collar. This done, he must wait patiently till the dog gets upon its legs, when he must, amidst its struggles to be free, caress it and call it kindly by its name. That part of the business over, he must take the creature in his arms, and seeking the nearest cab-stand, carry the poor animal with all expedition homeward.
I have known a dog to have a succession of fits which lasted more than an hour; and yet this creature, by the treatment I shall presently describe, was the next day upon its legs, and to all appearance as well as ever.
The dog being brought home, if the fit continues, give nothing by the mouth; because the animal being insensible cannot swallow; and the breathing being laborious, anything administered is more likely to be drawn on to the lungs, and so to suffocate the creature, than to pass into the stomach, and thus (if it have any curative properties) effect a restoration. On this account the very best physic ever invented would be dangerous, and should be withheld. Enemas are the only things in these cases to be depended upon; and the best the author is at present acquainted with, is made of 1, 2, or 3 drachms of sulphuric æther, and 2, 4, or 6 scruples of laudanum to 1½, 3, or 4½ ounces of the very coldest spring water that can be obtained. The above injection having been administered, the dog is left entirely by itself, and, as far as possible, in absolute silence for an hour; at the expiration of which time, in whatever state the animal may be in, another dose is given in the same manner as before.