The first pup is often long before it is delivered; so that the cries be not sharp, loud, and frequent, the delay need not generate fear. Four-and-twenty hours having elapsed, and the indication of suffering with constant straining being present, the help which man can give should not be pressed upon the animal. The throes must cease, or the bitch appear exhausted by lying on its side, and emitting low moans before any aid is offered. Then the little finger, well greased, may be passed gently up the vagina, to learn if anything be within the passage; and if a pup be felt, instruments, as hereafter described, may be employed; but, on no account, need the finger be pushed beyond the os uteri. If the mouth of the womb be well opened, free, and the passage clear, the attention must be bestowed upon the bitch, and every means employed to revive the strength and bring back the pains. Some unusual circumstance is needed to justify manual interference—such as a pup with its side presented, or the os uteri well expanded, and the head of a dead pup filling up the space.
To such an extent have I practically followed out the measures here recommended, that under my care the labor-pains of a Scotch terrier ceased without anything being born. The bitch returned to her customary habits, but appeared dull, while a dark discharge was emitted. I told the proprietor the bitch had a dead pup within her, and entreated him to give the animal time. He consented to do this; and on the fourth day from that of the unsuccessful labor, the animal was delivered of a dead pup, with perfect ease.
The presence of straining alone should never be regarded as a symptom of pupping being actually at hand. The bitch, like other animals, is subject to spasms, called false labor-pains. These are in appearance highly deceptive, for they are generally accompanied with plaintive cries. To distinguish their true character, let the hands embrace the abdomen; and at the time when spasm seizes her, let gentle pressure be made upon its sides. If the pains be false, the convulsion will be felt to render turgid the muscles of the abdomen, but nothing within it will at the same time feel hard. Should, however, the labor have commenced, other signs than these will then declare the fact. When the throes come on, the uterus will contract; and beneath the hands it will be then felt a hard, harsh, and solid body. Its character, when naturally excited, is not to be mistaken; but is so well and strongly marked, that there is no excuse for not detecting its indication.
For false pains nothing need be done for some time; but if they continue, and seem to distress the animal, ether and opium may be freely given by the mouth; this will have the effect of quieting the spasm without injuring the pups.
The existence of true labor being ascertained, should there be sufficient cause to suspect obstruction to be present, then let the finger be oiled and introduced up the passage with caution as directed. Some persons when called to a bitch in pup, always begin at once doing this, but it should not be done unless there be some reason for the practice. I have known fellows poke the poor animals about, as though to do so was an important duty, which they were bound incessantly to perform. The introduction of the finger cannot do otherwise than remove the mucus which Nature provides to lubricate the passage and facilitate the egress of the pup. It is the mildest and best moisture the membrane can receive, and its removal is not to be slightly thought of. The finger, moreover, by the friction it occasions, irritates the parts; and however gently it may be introduced, it cannot otherwise than in some degree have this effect. The less it is used, therefore, the better; and when it is inserted, the attention should be alive to note every circumstance the touch can acquaint us with.
Other parties, when the labor is difficult or tedious, think it advisable to place the bitch in a hot bath. All the authors I know of, recommend this measure; but I must, without reservation, in the strongest possible terms, condemn it. In obedience with the directions of those who wrote or lectured on this subject, I originally followed the practice; but it was not long before I was apprised of its evil effects; and my wonder now is, how so injurious a custom ever came into general favor. I have known the bitch, when the throes were energetic, to be placed in the warm bath; and under its action to have indeed been quieted, for the pains never subsequently returned. The efforts, upon the vigor of which the delivery depended, have, to my knowledge, been more than once, twice, or thrice, dispersed, by the warmth which at such a time is a poison; for I can recollect but few cases where the bitch was taken from the water to survive.
Still, as the assertions of an individual cannot be supposed of sufficient force to overthrow an established habit, let me here, at the hazard of wearying the reader, venture to reason upon the matter. The uterus is principally composed of white muscular fibre, upon which structure heat has a sedative and cold has a stimulative action. The members of our profession well know this fact; and the reader, who can hardly be unacquainted with the colic, may in that affection find a proof to convince him of its truth. Cold water will bring on the belly-ache. This is occasioned by a chill to the intestines, causing their muscular fibre, which resembles that of the womb, to spasmodically contract. The vitality of the muscles of the intestines is excited; and to allay the pain, that excitability must be destroyed. Heat will effectually do this; and hot clothes, bags of sand, or bottles, are placed against the belly for that purpose. When the suffering depends on cold alone, the relief is speedy; and when it is dependent on other causes, the sense of comfort imparted testifies to the effect of the application. The heat allays the spasm, which the cold provoked.
Warmth, therefore, is a sedative to organic muscular fibre; and now, let it be asked, if during labor we should seek to dispel the contraction of the womb? During gestation the muscular coat of the uterus is passive; but when that function has been perfected, Nature endues it with energy to expel the fœtus. Upon the violence of its contractions the performance of this important office is wholly and entirely dependent. Without it the young cannot be borne; and however painful may be its force, nevertheless, such pain is to be welcomed, and regarded thankfully. The throes may be agonizing, but it is more cruel to check than to promote them; for the temporary relief we obtain by causing them to cease, will certainly be purchased with the life of the animal that enjoys so dearly-bought a repose.
The shriek of the bitch during the time when a pup probably is being forced into the world, may harrow the heart of an affectionate master, and his sympathies may be wrought upon by beholding the convulsion which stretches every fibre of her frame. The sounds may grate upon the ear, and the spectacle may be terrible to look upon—for in dogs I have seen misery so powerfully exemplified, that I do no wrong to any man, when I suppose the picture would be piteous to his humanity—but it is not charity which would put a termination to the pangs. Place the bitch, then, in a warm bath, and the appearances almost instantaneously are changed. The animal rejoices in the ease which a cessation of torture produces. No doubt she, for the time, luxuriates, and her face expresses the sense of happiness she then enjoys. But her fate is with the pleasure sealed; and she obtains a momentary ease to meet with a lingering, or perhaps a frightful death, for I have known inflammation of the womb to follow the use of the warm bath. The use of the warm bath is, during labor, at best a mistake generated by ignorance; and unfortunately it is one of those errors which can rarely be afterwards redeemed; for the weakness it induces is so great, that the tonicity required in parturition is destroyed; and this no medicine can restore.
Another common failing in veterinary practitioners is, a belief that the ergot of rye, or secale cornutum, acts upon the dog as a direct uterine excitant, and thus promotes the parturitive function. In this belief, however, they are not single. Many writers speak with confidence of its operation upon the animal. The accounts are positive; and I would not lightly place my unsupported testimony to the fact against a host of authors who can be suspected of no motive to misstate. The gentlemen alluded to are authorities of such weight that a strong conviction of the truth is required to make me advance, against such and so many witnesses, my single word. The reader must, however, take both for what they are worth; and remember the truth is not the less true because there may be but one humble individual ranged upon its side. It is not my intention to say the authors who speak decidedly concerning the action of the ergot on the bitch had no grounds for the statements they advance. I should not be justified in making so gross an assertion; on the contrary, I believe sincerely they saw all which they narrate; but, nevertheless, I am prepared to maintain that secale cornutum is not an excitant to the uterus of the dog in that sense which would warrant the veterinary practitioner in regarding it as a lawful agent. To be so esteemed by such persons, it should be both safe and certain in its operation. It should not only possess a chance of doing good in one direction, but it ought to be attended with no probability of doing harm in another way. It may, in the hands of others, have caused the uterus to contract, and thus have favored parturition, or have brought about abortion. I have seen it do neither, but I cannot say it has never thus acted; I am in no position to prove the negative. When I have given it to the animal, it has disordered the stomach and induced vomition. The dogs I tried its action upon might possibly have been bad subjects for experiment, but I am not aware that they presented any peculiarity. In every case that has passed under my observation, secale cornutum has been injurious; and I fear lest it may be so, when employed by others; I, therefore, discountenance its use, declaring the custom of exhibiting it with a view to quicken labor to be dangerous. I have used it as an emetic, though, rarely; as, for ordinary circumstances, there are preferable agents at command; but for some time I have abandoned its employment as a parturient for the bitch.