This generally happens to animals that are weakly; such being of what are called high breeds, or having recovered from some dangerous disorder. It is not a dangerous affection, and if taken early is very easily subdued. With a silk handkerchief, the exposed part should be grasped by the left hand; and while every means is employed to push the gland back, the fingers of the right hand ought to be used, to draw the prepuce over it. A little time and care will, in most instances, do what is desired; and there is no need of haste, or justification for violence. Oil is not required, as the parts are sufficiently lubricated by their own secretion; and still less are those practices some persons have advocated, admissible.
The scarification of the glans, or the slitting of the prepuce, should not ever be allowed, save the absolute failure of all other measures has demonstrated relief is not otherwise to be procured. Before these severe resorts are sanctioned, the effects of cold and stimulants, locally applied, ought to be fully and patiently tried. A lotion containing ether, in such proportions as water will dissolve it, should be applied to the part; and spirit of nitric ether, to which double its amount of proof spirit has been added, may be with a camel's hair pencil painted over its surface. Ice is even better, but both, according as they can be readily obtained, are beneficial. Gentle manipulations will also be of benefit, and if the patience of the practitioner be not too easily exhausted, he will rarely need more to bring about that which is desired.
Retention of urine, though not very common in the dog, is, however, encountered too frequently to be termed a rare affection. It mostly accompanies debility, during the last stage of distemper, and is sometimes present in paralysis of the hind extremities. I have not seen a case in which it took the acute form, though obviously it may do so.
The symptoms generally are obscure; for in the majority of instances the distension of the bladder will simply aggravate the general uneasiness. The condition of the part, therefore, may not be suspected, but in such cases it is to be ascertained by manipulation. By taking the animal, and gently pressing its abdomen, if the bladder be empty, the intestines will be felt; but if the viscus be full, there will be a soft and pulpy mass under the fingers. The sensation imparted by it conveys the idea that it is fluid, and the greatest care will in it detect nothing denoting substance or form. The proof thus obtained is positive, and will not deceive him who has accepted it. All pretending to administer to canine disease should be able to read this indication, but sometimes others direct attention to its presence.
The dog having the bladder gorged, and not so debilitated as to be deprived of power to move, or by paralysis disabled, mostly lies, but even then it is never at rest. The position is constantly shifted. Food and drink are refused, great dulness is exhibited, and a low plaintive moan is from time to time emitted. If made to walk, the animal straddles the hind-legs, and its gait is peculiar. The spine is arched, but the posterior limbs are not drawn or carried forward. If pressure is made upon the belly, it provokes resistance; and any attempt to raise the dog from the ground induces it to struggle.
Relief should without loss of time be afforded by the use of the catheter. When I was a pupil at the college, the professor used to assert that the introduction of such an instrument was in the dog a physical impossibility. The bone found in the penis of this animal, the gentleman instructed his pupils to believe, opposed an obstacle which could not be overcome. My former teacher, however, was in error. He had either never made the trial, or he had not judgment sufficient to conduct an operation which, when properly undertaken, is remarkably easy and simple. I believe I was the first practitioner in England who used the catheter for the dog, though prior to my doing so, reports were published of the instrument having been employed in France. On the Continent, however, I have heard of no one who had thought of introducing a catheter into the bladder of the bitch. That also I have done; and find the operation to be unattended with danger or difficulty. The method of operating upon the female will be explained in another place. Here I have to speak of the mode in which the male is to be relieved.
Let the dog be placed upon its side, and by means of a handkerchief the penis be drawn. A catheter of proportionate size must be selected. Metallic tubes will not do; but the gum elastic are to be employed. Before one of these is introduced, the wire must be taken out, and the outer surface moistened with olive oil.
The human catheters answer admirably for small dogs; but these are not made long enough to be of service to animals of the larger kinds. For a dog of middle height, an instrument twice the length of those employed on man ought to be at hand; and for a huge Newfoundland, one thrice as long will be useful. The shorter catheters may be of the sizes sold as Nos. 1, 2, and 3; the middle length, 4 and 5; the longest, Nos. 6, 7, and 8.
The dog being placed upon its side, and retained there in a position such as the operator may think most advantageous to his movements, the catheter is introduced with one hand while the penis is held by the other. The meatus being found—there is no great ingenuity required to discover it—the instrument is inserted and pushed gently onward. At first its passage is easy, but it has not gone far before a check is felt. The stoppage arises from the spasmodic contraction of the canal, caused by the point of the instrument having reached the bone of the penis. For a period the passage is effectually closed; but no force must be employed to overcome the obstacle. Gentle but steady pressure is kept up; and under this it is rarely longer than a few minutes before the spasm yields. The catheter then glides forward, and the operator, resigning the hold of the penis to his assistant, passes his free hand to the perinæum. When he feels the point of the tube below the anus, he uses his fingers to direct its course,—for at this part the canal curves, taking a direction forward,—and after a little further way has been made, another check is experienced. This last springs from the contraction of the neck of the bladder; and once more gentle, but steady pressure must he employed to overcome the spasm. It rarely resists long; but the sudden absence of all opposition, and the flow of urine, shows that the object of the operation has been obtained.
The dog offers no resistance to the passage of the instrument. I have never known one to cry, or seen one exhibit a struggle. I could not account for this by attributing it to any fondness for the necessary restraint, under which the creature is temporarily placed. During the flowing of the urine, the dog invariably remains perfectly quiet; and the relief afforded seems to dispose it almost to sleep; for after it is over, the animal lies in a kind of happy lethargy. The fluid, however, does not jet forth or empty quickly. The operator must not be impatient, for the stream is perfectly passive; since, in consequence of the distension, the bladder has lost its contractive power. To obtain the whole of the contents, has sometimes required a quarter of an hour, and the quantity procured has frequently been quite disproportioned to the size of the patient. From a small petted spaniel, brought under my notice by my friend, Mr. Henderson, I extracted very nearly half a pint of urine, and the animal from that period began to get well. From a very small dog, the property of a lady of fortune, I for several days, every night and morning, withdrew about four ounces of the excretion with marked benefit to the animal. The operation is tedious, but it repays us for the time it occupies. Towards the conclusion the stream is frequently interrupted. It stops, then recommences; ceases, and then begins again; and the last portions are often ejected with a force which the first did not display. A little straining may attend the closing of the operation. For this the operator must be prepared, and immediately withdraw the catheter; lest the bladder, energetically contracting upon it, should cause the point to pierce the sides of the viscus. The instrument is no longer required when straining is excited; for then the contractive function has been resumed, and nature will subsequently perform her office without assistance.