Asthma
This disease, which most nearly resembles broken wind in the horse, is characterized by difficult breathing, with intervals of free respiration.
Causes.—Close confinement, want of outdoor exercise, excessive feeding; it is observed almost wholly among fat and petted dogs, from four to seven years old.
Symptoms.—The disease is insidious in its invasion; it begins with a slight cough, which returns at irregular intervals, and is therefore likely to escape observation. It, however, becomes more frequent and troublesome; is harsh, dry and sonorous, and may give the mistaken impression that there is a bone in the throat. It is then provoked by every change of temperature, food or posture; becomes almost incessant; disturbs sleep; produces nausea and sickness; but nothing is expelled besides mucus from the respiratory passages, where its presence is a cause of irritation. Meanwhile the breathing is affected, and is not unfrequently very labored and painful. The digestion may be impaired; the appetite slight or morbid; the breath offensive; the teeth covered with tartar; the coat rough; the skin mangy. In some cases the dog is worn down by the irritation of the cough; in others the pulmonary congestion arrests respiration, and causes suffocation; or cardiac difficulties cause accumulation of blood in the head, and consequent convulsive fits. But the disorder generally ends in hydrothorax or ascites—generally the latter. In these cases the body wastes, the abdomen is enlarged, the legs swell, the coat is staring, the breathing very laborious, till, ultimately, suffocation puts an end to the animal’s existence.
Treatment.—If the disorder be treated judiciously in the early stage, it is curable; but if it has continued for any length of time, only palliation can be looked for. Give E.E., a dose, according to size of dog, two or three times per day. For a fit of asthma or bad breathing, give A.A., every hour. For old, bad cases, try I.I., three times per day.
Accessory Means.—Exercise should be regularly taken in the open air, except when the weather is cold, or damp, or sultry. The food should be of the best and most nutritious quality, given frequently, but in small quantities at a time.
Inflammation of the Chest, Pneumonia or Pleurisy
Inflammation of the chest usually involves both the pleura or lining membrane of the chest, and the substance of the lungs, so that they may be advantageously treated. It is usually the result of cold and exposure after being heated; it may also be produced by wounds.
Symptoms.—Shivering chill, followed by heat and thirst; the sides are painful when pressed upon; stitches are observed; the dog sits upon his haunches, with the fore legs separated from each other, and the head held forward; the breath hot; cough short and painful; breathing frequent, labored and heaving; pulse full and quick; tongue hangs out of the mouth; eyes thrust forward and red; finally drowsiness, and death. Sometimes the effusion of water in the chest is very abundant, when the legs swell, and breathing becomes difficult, labored and suffocating.
Treatment.—Give first, three or five drops, according to the size of the dog, of the A.A., and repeat the dose every two hours for the first twenty-four hours. Then alternate the E.E. with the A.A., at intervals of two or three hours.