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DISEASES AND TREATMENT Taken from The Sporting Bull Terrier The health of your dog is generally assured if proper attention to his environment be zealously maintained. But conditions may arise, indeed, frequently do, which no one could guard against, and the result is derangement of the dog's health, abnormal conditions which we term disease. So, granting the contingency, the manner of meeting it should be carefully studied that serious harm may be averted. As in the human family, the large majority of deaths occurring among dogs is found in those under a year old And the disease that carries off the majority of the canine race is the contagion known as distemper That this is a germ disease has been clearly proven by eminent specialists like Millais, Dr. Cecil French and Galli Valerio. A dog exposed to this disease is pretty apt to be affected, unless his vitality is unimpaired and his conditions of living perfect. The Bull Terrier has as good resisting powers as any breed, and if his strength has not previously been exhausted, he will not be an easy victim Pure bred dogs are much more liable to this disease than mongrels, for the evident reason that their lives are largely artificial. A dog raised for show and breeding purposes can no more be allowed to roam at his own discretion than can a court lady be allowed to mix with the common herd. But his artificial life can be so carefully adjusted that he will scarcely be injured by its unnatural conditions. Excessive in-breeding is a source of much weakness in dogs, and its value is questionable. Nature asserts the same laws here as in the human family. Dogs deprived of full liberty must have stated times for exercise, and their kennel environment must be as cheerful and wholesome as possible. To guard against this dread disease, two general rules can be laid down: I. Keep your dogs in dry, warm, cheerful, commodious kennels, with plenty of water and good, wholesome food. Give them all the exercise that their active nature demands. 2 Use every precaution to not expose them to the contagion. If the first rule is rigidly observed, you have so strengthened your dog's resisting powers that if exposure to the germ does occur, he is likely to resist it altogether or to experience it in only a mild form. The complications arising from distemper are more to be dreaded than the disease itself, for if the dog has an impaired or weakened organism, the distemper germ is sure to find it out and begin its ravages there. The general symptoms of the disease are a dry, hard nose, increased temperature, quickened pulse, extreme thirst, and later, discharges from the nose and eyes. In the early stages, careful nursing will effect much more than medicine The patient should be isolated immediately and his quarters made as comfortable as for a human being. A dry, warm bed, plenty of fresh air, water and sunshine should be provided. If he is constipated, the bowels should be opened with a dose of syrup of Buckthorn and sweet oil, one or two tablespoonfuls of each, according to his age. Two or three times a day give a cupful of milk into which has been poured a tablespoonful of strong tea made of sweet fern leaves; the tea will allay inflammation. Feed freely with nourishing food; beef or mutton broth, raw beef minced fine, milk and raw eggs. If the patient refuses to eat, he should be forced to, if his strength appears to be failing. Be careful not to irritate him, and keep him quiet and scrupulously clean. Watch every symptom carefully, and if your dog was in good health when attacked, he will be convalescent in a few days under this treatment. But convalescence is not health, and this is a critical period in distemper. Do not relax your care and watchfulness until full health is entirely restored. In case of complications affecting the nervous system, resulting in chorea, no medicine is required, except in severe cases a tonic of cod liver oil, in teaspoonful doses three times a day, mixed in a cup of milk. This, with nourishing food and careful nursing, will bring the patient through all right. Paralysis following distemper is usually hopeless, unless it be only in the hinder parts, which is usually caused by constipation, and disappearing when the cause is removed. Mange is a disease that is due to a very small parasite that burrows in the skin, and when properly attended to in its earliest stage, is easily eradicated, but if neglected, the skin becomes so thickened that it is difficult to reach the parasite by any remedy that could be safely applied to the skin of the dog. So to guard against the approach of this disease, your dogs should be examined carefully every week; this can be done by passing the hand over every portion of his body, and if the skin is rough or pimply to the feeling, the parasite is probably at work. Apply at once an ointment made of balsam of Peru and sulphur, each one ounce, with six ounces of lard. These should be thoroughly mixed without heating, and freely applied three or four times a day, and rubbed in gently. Continue this treatment for a week or so. In cases of long standing, the same treatment may be applied, but the dog should be thoroughly washed with warm water and castile soap to remove all dirt and scabs, that the ointment may penetrate as far as possible into the skin. If the disease does not yield to this treatment, sulphurous acid diluted in six times its bulk of water, may be freely applied once or twice in twenty-four hours, according to the severity of the case. Carbolic acid is sometimes used with good effect as far as killing the parasite is concerned, but its absorption into the system is apt to have some bad effect upon the dog's health. If it is used, three drams to one quart of water is about the right proportion, and when applied should not be allowed to remain more than two or three minutes, when it should be washed off with strong soapsuds. Among the many troubles to which puppies of all breeds are liable, that of diarrhoea is one of the most frequent. It may be set up—most often, perhaps, is—by worms; or, again, it may be due to the change of food when they leave the dam. But, whatever the originating cause is, the immediate cause is intestinal irritation, set up by foetid matter, which needs to be removed Now, the great mistake many people make in treating this complaint is m giving chalk mixtures, which in reality tend to increase rather than diminish the dysenteric symptoms It is far better to give a mild purge— say a good dose of sweet oil or a little castor oil, which will, as a rule, carry off the whole trouble. At the same time the cause must be inquired into, and, if it be due to worms, a proper dose of worm medicine must be administered, and a careful watch must always be kept afterwards for any sign of a reappearance of the parasites. If, however, the cause appears to be merely the food supply, this should be changed accordingly. Worms in young dogs is a very frequent ailment, and if your pups become affected, feed them all the sour milk they will eat. When kept clean and fed properly the trouble will scarcely become serious, and lobbered milk will surely bring forth the parasites. If the puppy is afflicted in large numbers, withhold the meal at night, and give him a pan of sour milk in the morning. Among the most common symptoms of worms are a hot, dry nose, unusual appetite, bloated abdomen, dry and staring coat, an offensive breath and a hacking cough. For worms in young puppies one of the very best remedies extant is Dr. Clayton's Vermifuge in soft capsules, and the liquid vermifuge or worm pills are effective in older dogs. We are glad to recommend the Clayton remedies for any of the many ailments of your dogs. You will find the list of remedies in Dr. Clayton's advertisement in this book. | |||||
