THE GRAVID UTERUS.
Before any instrument is employed, the pup should be within the vagina. This is a rule that can hardly be with impunity violated by the generality of practitioners. Simple and brief as may be the direction, it is one that only on rare occasions may be safely disregarded; and of the exceptional case, mention will be made hereafter. The pup must be within the passage; and not only there, but so there, as to seem impacted, before assistance by means of instruments is necessary. The largest fœtus can, in almost every case, proceed thus far; and where it is of too great a size to come so low, any interference would be desperate; for then it must be of such a magnitude as to destroy the probability of delivery being accomplished.
When the pup has not entered the pelvis, the practitioner may be assured the obstacle is not created by the disproportioned size of the young. The labor either has not proceeded far enough, and time is required for its completion; or the uterus is feeble, and stimulants are wanted to invigorate it. The largest fœtus can be moved by the womb; so the size must be an impediment only to its passage through the vagina. There is therefore no mechanical hindrance before that part has been reached, and no mechanical assistance at an earlier period is imperative.
When the veterinarian is called to a labor that has already commenced, and perhaps been some time about, he directs his first attention to the orifice. If the perineum looks unnaturally distended, so large as to be remarkable, the presence of a pup in the vagina may be concluded; and here he must know how to act with decision.
If the throes are on, and strong, though evidence of pain be heard, we must not be too quick to interfere. If there be anything like a bladder protruding from the vulva, nothing whatever must be done. In easy births the pups invariably come into the world enveloped in their membranes, and thereby their egress seems to be greatly accelerated. If these burst, or are broken, the delivery is thereby rendered more difficult. The membranes consequently, if protruding, should not be touched. Some persons, I know, seize them under an idea, that by pulling at these, or at the cord, the fœtus can be brought away. The notion is fallacious. With the first or second pup the membrane may be visible; and, nevertheless, the labor may not then have proceeded far enough to detach all the placenta. The entirety of the caul, or water-bag, denotes that the fœtus is alive; and it also shows that Nature is proceeding to accomplish, in due time, her offices.
The position which the bitch assumes during labor also deserves to be noted. While she remains within her bed, and continues lying upon her side, however tedious may be the labor, there is little reason for apprehension. A few cries vented when the throes are present, or a moan or two emitted when they are coming on, may be expected, and deserve little observation; but when the bitch gives forth sharp, short exclamations, leaves her house or basket, and places herself in the attitude she takes when voiding her fæces, there is cause to conclude something wrong, and requiring immediate help, has taken place.
Most authorities make mention of what are called wrong presentations; and such are very commonly met with in the cow, mare, and the larger animals; but I have never known a case of false presentation in the bitch; and I am led to conclude that the authors who narrated such cases, drew upon their experience in other directions, describing imaginative possibilities as circumstances that had actually occurred. I do not well comprehend how a false presentation could take place in this animal, and I can grant the possibility of its ever having been witnessed to the first pup alone. It is remotely possible that this one should be presented sideways, though highly improbable it could take such a position. After the womb has expelled the first of the litter, the body of the generative organ contracts; and all the others must pass through it in a line favorable to the birth.
It is of little consequence, in the young of the dog, whether the head or tail be first born. Examples in both directions are always witnessed in every puppying. So likewise is it of small importance how the legs are placed, though of course delivery is favored by their being properly arranged. At the time of birth, however, the bones of the pup are but partially consolidated; and that circumstance causes them not to offer those serious obstructions which they are found to present in other creatures. The gelatinous mass readily takes the form required for its expulsion; and the practitioner has little reason to perplex himself concerning those particulars which in the calf or foal he knows to be of vital import.
The principal obstruction to birth in the bitch springs from the weakness of the creature. To this its sufferings, and the too frequent tediousness of its labor, are to be mostly attributed. When there are evident signs of debility—shown by the throes having subsided, and further evidenced by no symptom of their reappearance being witnessed after three or four hours' watching—from a teaspoonful to a table-spoonful of brandy, mixed with sugar and cold water, may be administered; and in half an hour repeated, if it should have no effect. This I have seldom found to fail, and never have I known it to do injury; wherefore I prefer it to the ergot of rye, which in my hands has been uncertain and injurious. Patience, however, is more often needed, than stimulants required; and before the latter are resorted to, the symptoms of debility ought to be recognised; for without these be perceived, the passive condition of the uterus deserves no immediate attention.
When the throes are on, the efforts may be assisted. This is best done by placing the hands under the abdomen, and with them making pressure whenever the straining appears. The hands, however, must not be held so long as will let them get hot; for, by communicating warmth, more harm is done than the benefit afforded is likely to compensate. The object in placing the hands under the belly is, to brace and give support to the abdominal muscles; which, in the dog, are naturally weak, and in the bitch during gestation always become attenuated.