Cause.—Change of temperature, especially in spring, during the prevalence of easterly winds.
Symptoms.—Running from the nose and eyes; sneezing; diminished appetite; accelerated breathing; dullness; heaviness; sleepiness.
Treatment.—C.C., is the proper remedy, a dose, one to three drops, three or four times per day.
Accessory Treatment.—It will facilitate the cure if the dog is kept in a warm place for a day or two, not allowed to go out at all, and fed upon milk or thin oatmeal gruel. He should also have plenty of water to drink. The nose and eyes should be sponged with tepid water several times a day.
Bronchitis—Acute and Chronic
Definition.—Acute bronchitis is active inflammation of the membrane of the air-tubes of the lungs. Chronic bronchitis more particularly affects old dogs.
Causes.—Sudden changes of temperature; standing in the cold when heated; cold draughts of air in the kennels, or wherever the dog is kept, frequently cause bronchitis.
Symptoms.—The first symptoms of acute bronchitis are generally those of common cold; shivering; short, hard cough; constant distressing cough, at first dry, afterwards accompanied by a sticky mucous; feverish symptoms; accelerated pulse and breathing; loss of appetite; dullness; an anxious look depicted on the countenance. Auscultation detects a wheezing sound, or rattling of mucous, in the trachea and bronchial tubes. The nose is hot and dry at the commencement of the attack, but becomes moist when the inflammatory stage is passed. Chronic bronchitis consists of a cough during the winter months, which comes on after changes in the temperature, and is attended with shortness of breath and wheezing.
Treatment.—Give, at first, and during the feverish stage, a dose, of A.A., one to three drops, according to the size of the dog. After the more urgent symptoms have been relieved, E.E., may be given, in alternation with the A.A.
Accessory Means.—The dog should be kept in the house, and in one temperature, as nearly as possible. A pail of boiling hot water may be placed in the kennel from which the steam will evaporate and keep the air moist; this will be found very beneficial. Milk, or bread and milk, constitute the best diet; farinaceous food, but no meat; fresh supplies of cold water. Meat broth may be given in cases of great debility and old age.