/

1

Canine !Jatfiologi> ;

OR,

A DESCRIPTION OF THE

DISEASES OF DOGS,

Nosologically Arranged, with their

CAUSES, SYMPTOMS, AND CURATIVE TREATMENT ;

AND A COPIOUS DETAIL OF

THE RABID MALADY:

PRECEDED BY

A SKETCH OF THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG,
&A<$ VawtitZ arilf (Slualttte* j

WITH

PRACTICAL DIRECTIONS ON THE BREEDING, REARING, AND SALUTARY
TREATMENT OF THESE ANIMALS.

THIRD EDITION,

REVISED, CORRECTED, AND IMPROVED.

By DELABERE BLAINE.

LONDON :

T & T BOOSEY, OLD BROAD STREET, ROYAL EXCHANGE ;
' W SIMPKIN & R. MARSHALL, STATIONERS' HALL
COURT, LUDGATE STREET.

1832.

^COMPTON & RITCHIE, PRINTERS, MIDDLE STREET, CLOTH FAIR, LONDON.

CONTENTS.

PART THE FIRST.
The Natural History of the Dog, p. 11.

Importance of the Dog, 11— his classification, 14— Synoptical view
of M. Fred. Cuvier, 16— his divisions into Matins, 18— Spaniels, 21
— Dogues, 26— Varieties resulting from these, 18-28— the Dog
an original and distinct species of his genus, 29-35— his qualities,
35— the Rationality of the Dog, 35-38.

PART THE SECOND.

The Breeding, Rearing, and Natural Treatment of the

Dog, p. 41.

The Reproductive System* generally, 41-Gestation, 44-Systematic
Breeding of Dogs, 48— the Rearing of Young Dogs, 62— the ge-
neral Treatment of Dogs as preventive of Disease, 66— Feeding,
66-Lodging, 74-Exercise, 77-Condition, 78-81 -Assistant
means of promoting Condition, as Alteratives, 81-Emetics, 84-
Purgatives, 86.

PART THE THIRD.
The Diseases of the Dog, p. 89.

General Treatment under Disease, 89-Comparative Effects of Me-
dicinal Articles on Dogs, 90-91-Professional Attendance on, 96-
Diseases divided into Classes, 97-

11 CONT

CLASS I.

Important Febrile Affections 97
Symptomatic Fever 97

Sub-Class I.

Inflammation of Mucous Mem-
branes.

Specific Catarrhal Disease, or
Distemper 97-122

Inflammation of the Mucous
Coats of the Intestines . . 123

of the Bladder 123

of the Air-Pas-

sages, or Cough 123

Sub-Class II.

Inflammation of the Brain,
or Phrenitis 124

Sub-Class III.

Inflammatory Affections of the
Tlwracic Viscera.

Inflammation of the Lungs,

or Pneumonia 124

Canine Asthma 126

Sub-Class IV.

Inflammatory Affections of the
Abdominal Viscera.

Inflammation of the Stomach,

or Gastritis 131

• of the Intestines,

or Enteritis 131

■ from Obstruction 132

Idiopathic 134

from morbid Bi-
liary Secretion 135

ENTS.

Inflammation of the Liver,
or Hepatitis 137

■ — — of the Spleen, or

Splenitis 139

of the Bladder,

or Cystitis 140

Sub-Class V.

Inflammation of Ligamentous
and Aponeurotic Expansions.

Rheumatism 140

CLASS II.

Spasmodic Diseases.

Epilepsy 144

Chorea 147

Spasm, or Cramp and Con-
vulsion 149

Paralysis 150

Locked Jaw, or Tetanus. ... 151

Spasmodic Colic 152

CLASS III.

Diseases of the Alimentary
Canal.

Gastritis — See Class I, Sub-
Class IF.
Enteritis — See Class I, Sub-
Class IF.
Diarrhoea, or Profuse Purging ! 55
Obstruction or Costiveness 159
Colic, Spasmodic — See Class
II.

Colic, Bilious — See Class I,

Sub-Class IF.

Intestinal Worms 1G0

Piles, or Haemorrhois 163

Anal Fistulae 163

CONTENTS.

ill

CLASS IV.
Morbid Collections of Fluid.

Dropsy, or Hydrops 164

of the Chest, or Hy-

drothorax 165

of the Belly, or As-
cites 166

of the Skin, or Ana-
sarca 168

CLASS V.

Diseases of Glands.

Canine Scirrhus and Cancer 170

Scirrhous Mammae 171

Bronchocele, or Goitre. ... 173

Scirrhous Testicles 174

Canine Cancer 174

Cancers of the Vaginae and

Uterus 175

Diseased Mesenteries, or

Tabies Mesentericus .... 176

CLASS VI.

Diseases of Bones.

Rickets, or Rachitis 177

Decayed Teeth 178

Anchylosis and Exostosis . . 179

CLASS VII.

Calcular Concretions.

Urinary Calculi 179

Vesical Calculi 180

CLASS VIII.
Poisons.
Mineral 181

Vegetable 186

Animal 190

Rabies, or Canine Mad-
ness 190-255

CLASS IX.

External and Local Inflamma-
tions.

Wounds Generally 256

Visceral Wounds 256

Wounds of Bloodvessels 256

Fistulous Wounds 257

Ulcerous Affections 258

Tumours 259

Polypus 260

Tumefied Feet 261

Hernial Tumours 261

CLASS X.

Diseases of the Eyes.

Ophthalmia (Idiopathic) . . 262

__ of Distemper . . 263

Cataract, or Opaque Lens. . 264
Amaurosis, or Gutta Serena 265

Dropsy of the Eyeball 265

Ulceration of the Eyelids . . 266

CLASS XL
Diseases of the Skin.

Mange, Chronic 266

— Acute 270

Canker within the Ear 276

of the External Ear 278

Tumefied Flap of the Ear. . 279

Erysipelas ^80

Vermin infesting the Skin. . 281

IV

CONTENTS.

CLASS XII.

Surgical Operations on Dogs.

Treatment of Fractures 282

of Dislocations. . 284

Castration 285

Spaying 286

Canine Obstetrics, or the as-
sistance required in diffi-
cult Puppings 287

Cropping 289

Rounding and Tailing 290

Worming 29 1

Acupuncturation 301

Bleeding 302

Blistering 303

Clystering 304

Bathing 305

Cutting of Claws, and Scal-
ing of Teeth 306

PREFACE

TO THE THIRD EDITION.

As no one, I believe, will attempt to dispute my claim to
being the father of canine pathology, it will be expected of
me, as its parent, from time to time to be doing something for
the child of my adoption. Not to disappoint such expecta-
tions, this edition will be found to present some important
alterations, improvements, and additions. The anecdotical
. portion, as not necessarily connected with the subject at
large, has given place to a more strict philosophical inquiry
into the animal himself, and to the introduction of many
diseases not noticed before. The matter of the work is now
divided into three parts. The first embraces the Natural
History of the Dog, with an Inquiry into his individual ori-
gin, and into the source of some of his prominent varieties.
The second part is devoted to a theoretical and practical
consideration of the System of Breeding and Rearing these
Animals, with their general Treatment, as conservative of
Health. The third part comprehends the Diseases of Dogs;
the alphabetical arrangement of which, in former editions,
has given place in this to such a methodical classification as,
while it renders it not less easy of reference to the amateur,
will be more acceptable to the professional reader, from the
relative view it will afford him of the various subjects thus
congenerously grouped. Not that what is now offered has
any pretensions to a strict nosological classification : on the
contra ly, it is evident that the work must yet be so framed

A

4 PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION.

as to be a vade mecum to as many non-medical as medical
readers; and a rigorous application of nosology would,
therefore, be too technical for the occasion. It may here-
after assume a still more systematic dress: at present, festi-
natio tarda est will probably apply; and until circum-
stances allow or call for it, attempting too much might
be found to be a preventive to the attaining of a little even.
As regards the work generally, if my exertions should tend
to alleviate the sufferings of an animal whose utility and
good qualities can never be too highly estimated, I shall
have accomplished my object : and here, probably, my ad-
dress ought to terminate ; but during the course of a long
life, the circumstances of having been seen so repeatedly
changing from one to the other of the seeming discordant
pursuits" of human and brute surgery ; of army life, both
military and medical ; and of private life, as the country
sportsmen, or the closeted author; have, I am aware, ex-
cited the curiosity of many, and subjected me to the tax of
great inconsistency of conduct, and vacillation of purpose
from others. Wishing, in common with the rest of man-
kind, to stand well with the world, and knowing that,
however I may not be able entirely to rid myself from these
imputations, I may yet, by detailing the principal circum-
stances which led to these constantly varying pursuits,
shew that they were less sought by than forced on me, and
that by such apologetical statement I may at once blunt
censure and satisfy curiosity ; with which intentions only I
am induced further to intrude by the following

PROFESSIONAL LIFE OF THE AUTHOR.

I was educated with my maternal grandfather, a dignitary of
the cathedral of St. David's; the bishop of the diocess becoming
my godfather, with an understanding that I was to be brought
up to the church, under his auspices. Unfortunately, the prin-
ciples of my father, as a dissenting divine, frustrated these pros-
pects ; and it was at length agreed between the two parents,
that I should be consigned to a less scholastic but more la-
borious profession, the ars medendi, which first aberration laid
the foundation of all the subsequent ones ; for of all professions,
that of a parish priest oifers the fewest temptations to deviate
from a direct course. In consequence of this agreement, I was,
at the age of fourteen, placed with an eminent practitioner in
Buckinghamshire ; and at twenty-one was entered a pupil at the
Borough Hospitals, under the direct guidance of the ingenious
Dr. Haighton, where I remained nearly three years, the last of
which was passed under the roof of this friend of my family;
and to whom, during my stay, it was my study to discharge
some of my obligations, by actively employing myself in assist-
ing him in his physiological experiments, and in myself making
many of those particular dissections, and the whole of the draw-
ings designed to illustrate the re-union of divided nerves, and
the nature of the interposed substance, that gained him the prize
medal of the Royal Institution ; and which further led to the
discovery of the division of the facial nerves as a cure for tic
douloureux. About this time the public attention became en-
gaged in forming a national college for the systematic study of
brute medicine. One professor (M. St. Bel) had been already
engaged; and there was yet wanting an assistant teacher of

a 2

6 PROFESSIONAL LIFE OF THE AUTHOR.

anatomy and demonstrator; which being offered me, I accepted,
and by so doing a second important aberration from purposed
intentions was committed ; but enthusiastically attached to ani-
mals as I was, as well as to natural history and comparative
anatomy, it was little to be wondered at, if a young man should
embrace a situation where his duties and his inclinations so well
accorded. It may also readily be supposed, that the time thus
passed would tend to divert my attention from my legitimate
profession of human medicine; and although, after I left the
Veterinary College, I resumed it for a twelvemonth in Sussex,
yet I was again influenced, by strong temptations held out, to
enter on a course of public teaching of the veterinary art; and
also to engage in the practice of it at Lewes, where I met with
much notice and encouragement. An improvident management
of my resources, however, forced me from hence ; and I once
more resumed human surgery in a regiment of mihtia, with
which I remained, until, at the recommendation of the late General
Gwynne, always a kind and zealous friend, I was appointed to
a surgeoncy in one of the troops of horse artillery, then stationed
at Woolwich, with which I remained nearly three years, extend-
ing my knowledge of human medicine by witnessing the judicious
management of the Woolwich Artillery Hospital, under the
direction of the late Dr. Rollo ; and as though tlie practice of
brute medicine was ever to mute itself with whatever other pur-
suits I might be engaged in, I was requested to add to my
duties the inspection of the extraordinary cases which might
occur among the invalid horses belonging to the establishment.
As may be supposed, my time spent here was neither idly,
unpleasantly, or nnprofitably employed; but my relations be-
coming urgent with me to leave the army, and wholly con-
fine myself to human medical practice near them, I left the
Artillery, and made my debut as a surgeon in the neigh-
bourhood of Queen Square, London. Even here, however, the
latent spark, which had smouldered but was not extinguished,
again shewed itself by the employment of the hours that my

PROFESSIONAL LIFE OF THE AUTHOR.

7

professional avocations left me in preparing and publishing
the Anatomy of the Horse, in folio monthly numbers, with botli
coloured and plain plates. Of this work, it is certainly not too
much to say, that it was a spirited undertaking : it was also
thought so worthy of encouragement by that excellent character
and great lover of this animal, George the Third, that he was
pleased personally to urge my continuance of it, giving me,
at the same time, permission to dedicate it to him. Settled as [
now appeared to be, even yet a new aberration awaited me, fate
herself seeming to have ordained that I should not remain long in
one situation ; for the death of a near relative investing me with a
considerable property, I relinquished my professional pursuits,
and retired into the country, where the expences of a sporting
establishment in a few years forced on me the necessity of again
adopting a new course of life. In consequence, I first accepted
a commission in the North Gloucester Regiment of Militia, and
in it, passed a campaign in Ireland during the rebellion; but
after two years wasted in this manner, prudence dictating that it
was doing nothing towards my future welfare, on the announce-
ment of the expedition to the Helder, I offered my services to
the Medical Board, which were accepted, and 1 was provision-
ally appointed surgeon to the second battalion of the 40th re-
giment, with which 1 immediately embarked for Holland. As
this corps particularly distinguished itself, and bore the brunt of
several actions, my experience in my profession received consi-
derable additions ; but neither my prospects nor interests seemed
to be much brightened by my services, although a public ac-
knowledgment of them by the regiment, coupled with a request
for my continuance with it, was formally made to the Medical
Board ; but which availed little, for the system of favoritism of
the surgeon-general of that time made him, at the instance of Ge-
neral Cameron, then embarking for the West Indies, order me to
accompany him, although but three weeks returned from Holland.
Indignant at such treatment, 1 refused to go ; and thus any claim
of mine for active service in several regiments was, in one mo-

8

PROFESSIONAL LIFE OF THE AUTHOR.

inent, cancelled. Some years after this, when in professional
attendance on the late excellent Duchess of York, her princely
consort admitted my active services on the Continent (for he had
often himself inspected my hospital regulations, with which he
always expressed himself as particularly well pleased), and tliat
they deserved a different treatment from the Medical Board, hut
over which he had no controul. After this throwing up of my
commission, I did not immediately turn my attention to any new
pursuit, but remained some time in suspense, at the instance of
my kind friend and patron Lord Craven, who also had' himself
left the 40 th regiment, with some expectation of obtaining the
command of a rifle corps, and in which he promised to procure
me a commission, in case his interest should fail to gain me the
surgeoncy of it. I was, however, to be again foiled, together
with his lordship, who, instead of his meditated appointment, was
promoted to the rank of a district general ; and I was conse-
quently once more left to pursue my own fortune. Being not
altogether destitute, I was in no hurry at that moment to risk a
new run of ill luck ; but, on the contrary, quietly retired into the
north of England, where my days were occupied in sketching,
shooting, or fishing, and my evenings in arranging my materials
for the First Edition of the Veterinary Outlines. But such a
plan of life did not long accord with my naturally active habits ;
and, moreover, it offered no prospect of future benefit and ad-
vancement. I began therefore again seriously to consider, to
what object I should next turn my attention. The practice of
human medicine naturally presented itself ; but it was unpleasant
to reflect, that 1 bad lost some years in my start, and that my
cotemporaries, from the advantage of early residence and local-
ity, had outstripped me in the race ; and that, the market being
already overstocked with human surgeons, I had numerous diffi-
culties to overcome, and additional time to waste, before I could
hope to get even into tolerable practice. I, however, removed to
London, where I some time lingered in uncertainty : but my Veteri-
nary Outlines, which I had in the mean time published, becoming

PROFESSIONAL LIFE OF THE AUTHOR.

9

known, together with the public remembrance of what little no-
toriety attached to my name as an early teacher at the Veterinary
College, almost insensibly, and certainly unexpectedly, drew me
into correspondences and practice on the diseases of horses,
dogs, and domestic animals in general, which, increasing daily,
at length determined me to devote all my future professional
energies to these subjects. In this almost unbeaten tract I might
hope to reap both fame and emolument ; and although it might
not appear so honourable a calling as that of human medicine, it
was, at least, a very useful one, and, under all the foregoing cir-
cumstances, the most prudent one. The resolve was followed by
a popular and extensive practice in the British metropolis, during
which I produced a successiou of veterinary publications, all of
which have received the meed of public approbation, by passing
through several editions, and by having been translated into
several continental languages. Firmly resolved no more to
deviate from this settled line of practice (which, although it was
not that it has ever been my wish that I had remained in,
yet has proved a remunerating one to me, and 1 hope not
altogether a useless one to the public), I remained engaged in it
for twenty years, although twice exposed, during that time, to
temptations of a profitable and flattering nature to translate my
professional services, first to India, and next to Russia. To
induce me to take the direction of a veterinary school in Peters-
burgh, Prince Gargarini was directed, when the crowned heads
were in England, to offer me the usual temptation of a title,
with a liberal pension. By declining these, I hope I somewhat
reclaimed a character for consistency, if not for prudence and
wish for aggrandizement. For myself I have never repented the
step ; the retirement I have some years enjoyed, is still em-
ployed in editing new editions of my former works, or collecting
materials for others connected with the improvement of the per-
sons and treatment of our domestic animals. Thus, though hap-
pily not called on by want, my energies, my competence, and

10

PROFESSIONAL LIFE OF THE AUTHOR.

my leisure, are yet devoted to the cause of humanity, aud to that
course which chance forced me into.

Little as this recital offers for boast or exultation, I shall,
without doubt, be taxed with egotism and vanity, by introducing
it. I have unquestionably personal motives in so doing ; but if
I know myself, they centre in the hope that thereby I may at
once satisfy all curiosity ; and that wherever I may be, I may
stand confessed to the world with regard to what I have been,
and with regard to what I am, and ever mean to be. We have
every one of us a sphere of action of our own : mine is a humble
and limited one ; but the more narrow its limits, the more ne-
cessary is it that it should not be clouded by any doubts or
obscurities.

PART THE FIRST.

THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG, AND HIS

VARIETIES.

THE importance of the dog in the scale of animated nature
admits of no dispute ; but, on the contrary, is forced on our
conviction by many striking proofs ; among which the wide range
of his geographical distribution, which exceeds that of almost any
other scion of the zoological tree, stands prominent1. Its weight,
indeed, is such as nearly to persuade us that no country is largely
blessed with Nature's gifts which does not possess the dog ; and
certainly none can deserve the title of civilized, which, owning him,
has not engaged him in a close domestication : on the contrary,
we have reason to believe that it was one of the earliest efforts of
associated man, to secure to himself and fellow men the friendship
and services of an animal whose manners, in his wild state even,
must have exhibited physical and intellectual powers which, in an
eminent degree, qualified him, when reclaimed, to become a
watchful and effective guard against the more predatory and
ferocious brutes around ; a powerful assistant and ally in that
further conquest which he (man) would be naturally led to medi-
tate over other animal races ; as well as a devoted and interesting

1 " Almost every nation of the earth, intertropical, temperate, and polar,
possesses its own peculiar variety of the dog ; the theatre of observation, there-
fore, is the world itself; and any thing like a description of the whole race
would require a much more intimate knowledge of the surface of the earth
than is at present obtained."— Griffith's Animal Kingdom.

12

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.

companion2. Indeed, his protection against tlie ferocity of other
animals could hardly be obtained by any other than this canine
compact : neither is it too much to assert, that but for this he
could never have extended his conquest over other brute races,
or, having effected it, it would have been utterly impossible to
have maintained it. In great truth, therefore, the subjugation
and domestication of the dog may be called the triumph of reason
over nature ; and, as observed by Baron Cuvier, it is the most
complete, singular, and useful conquest, man has ever made.
Viewed in these several relations, our inquiries concerning the
dog necessarily embrace, first, his natural history, properly so
called ; and, secondly, his artificial history, or the alterations
effected in him by his domestication with man.

The natural history of an animal is most satisfactorily com-
menced by inquiries into its direct origin ; and in this instance
it would be peculiarly gratifying to trace the source from
whence has been derived a race now so extensively diffused
among us ; and one that is become not more important by the
value of its services, than interesting by its amiable and com-
panionably qualities. But, unfortunately, we have to lament,
that around the descent of no quadruped does there hang so
much obscurity as about that of the dog ; and however reason
and analogy may lead us to conclude him an original animal ;
and however well convinced the majority may be that he is so,
yet the subject is so beset with difficulties and contradictory
appearances, that we cannot wonder at the doubts which exist
in the minds of others on the subject. Some eminent naturalists
have even doubted, whether the dog be not wholly a factitious

2 " The intelligence and moral qualities of the dog, which it possesses in
common with the rest of the class, though much greater in degree, form a sub-
ject perfectly impenetrable by our limited faculties: we may contemplate the
effect, but can by no means arrive at the cause ; we may speculate and conjec-
ture, but can never demonstrate." Loc. cit.—u It is the dog only which takes
delight in associating with us; and it is impossible for the naturalist, when tak-
ing a survey of the whole animal creation, not to feel a conviction, that this
friendship between two creatures so different from each other must be the re-
sult of the laws of Nature." — Bltrchell's Travels in Africa.

NATUHAL HISTORY OF THE DOtJ.

13

animal; one not acknowledged by tlie great architect of nature,
but altogether compounded from such spurious sources as the
intermixture of various nearly-allied animals. Others have al-
lowed him a more direct lineage, by confining his descent to one
among those which compose the genus in which he is placed :
thus, some have considered his parentage derived from the wolf,
some from the fox, others from the chacal or jackal, and a few
have regarded the hyena as his primogenitor. So infinitely
varied are the scions of this great tree, that among those who,
like myself, strongly advocate his claim to originality of forma-
tion, there are many of them who yet deem it impossible that
all of his varieties can have sprung from one root. They can-
not bring themselves to suppose, that even the powerful agencies
of climate, food, and domestication could have operated diver-
sities so monstrous and so multiplied ; but, on the contrary, they
maintain that he was originally formed in such corresponding
varieties as fitted him to inhabit the different countries in which
he was placed. I am as much as ever inclined to the opinion
that the dog, in his native character, is an original animal ; but
whether he descended from an individual type, or from types
fitted for different localities ; whether he may not by intermixture
with other members of his genus have also diversified his kinds,
I am not ready to assert, nor prepared to deny. But when wre
regard attentively the effects produced by the powerful agencies
already hinted at, particularly that resulting from climate, and
that brought about by man when he assumes to himself the di-
rection of the sexual intercourse, I cannot but incline to think,
that the varieties of this animal, numerous and disproportionate
as they are, might result from these united causes of themselves.
I am convinced that this is at present the less popular opinion ;
but as I will endeavour to examine it with candour, and will
equally state the arguments against it, as those for it, I cannot
mislead by such a course, even if my opinion could be supposed
to weigh materially : on the contrary, I shall further the cause
of truth by a discussion thus conducted ; and if a satisfactory

14

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.

conclusion cannot be drawn by a few moments thus spent, at least
it will not be uninteresting- to the admirer of the animal, who
may, perhaps, more readily afterwards draw his own inferences
therefrom.

In the zoological arrangement of the great naturalist, Sir
Charles Linne, the Dog, Cams familiaris, is the first species
of a genus which comprehends animals whose exterior forms and
habits are considerably varied, but whose generic characters bear
a close resemblance to each other. The animals included are,
the Wolf, Can. lupus; the Fox, Can. vulpes ; the Jackal, Can.
aureus, and the Hyaena, Can. hya>na3. The characters of the
genus are drawn from the number and the incisive formation of
the teeth. There are, in front, six pointed conical fore teeth
above and below ; the laterals being more lobated and longer
than the others. The molar or grinding teeth are furnished with
pointed prominences, and in the intermediate space between the
incisor and molar teeth placed on each side, above and below, is
found a solitary incurvate tush, from whence this tooth derives
its characteristic name of canine, wherever it is met with. The
specific characters, or those by which this great master distin-
guished the dog from the other members of the genus, are — the
head carinated or keel-shaped on the crown ; the lower lip hid
by the upper, indentated and naked at the sides; tongue
smooth ; five rows of whiskers on the upper lip ; nostrils turned
outward, into a crescent-shaped furrow ; upper margin of the
ears reflected and doubled posteriorly ; anterior margin three
lobed, with seven or eight hairy warts on the face ; teats ten,
six abdomimil, four pectoral ; feet subpalmated, toes furnished
with curved claws, not retractile.

Baron Cuvier excludes the hyaena from the genus Canis, but
retains the other members of the Linnaean arrangement. His
generic characters are - three false molars above, four below,

3 The hyena is not admitted among the canina; of modern naturalists. A more
close anatomical comparison has shewn that his organization required the for-
mation of a distinct niche for his reception, as will be further noticed.

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 15

and two tuberculous teeth behind each carnivorous one. The
first of these tuberculous teeth in the upper row is very large.
The upper carnivorous tooth has but a single small tubercle
within, but the lower one has its posterior point altogether tuber-
culous. Their tongue is soft. The fore feet have five toes, and

the hinder four."

"The specific characters of the domestic dog, Canis fami-
liaris, L., are— his curved tail, and his variations, ad infinitum,
as to size, form, colour, and the quality of the hair. The dog
is the most complete, the most remarkable, and the most useful
conquest ever made by man. Every species has become our
property ; each individual is altogether devoted to his master,
assumes his manners, knows and defends his property, and re-
mains attached to him until death; and all this proceeds neither
from want nor restraint, but solely from true gratitude and real
friendship. The swiftness, the strength, and the scent of the
dog, have created for man a powerful ally against other animals,
and were, perhaps, necessary to the. establishment of society. He
is the only animal which has followed man through every region
of the earth.

« Some naturalists think that the dog is a wolf, others a do-
mesticated jackal. The dogs, however, which have become wild
again in desert islands, do not resemble either of these species.
The wild dogs, and those belonging to barbarous people, such
as the inhabitants of New Holland, have straight ears, which
would lead us to the belief that the European races, which ap-
proximate the most to the original type, are our shepherd's dog
and our wolf-dog. But the comparison of crania points to a
closer approximation in the mastiff and Danish dog: after which
come the hound, the pointer, and the terrier, which do not differ
between themselves except in size and the proportions of the
limbs. The greyhound is more lank, and its frontal sinuses are
small, and its scent more feeble. The shepherd's dog and the
wolf-dog resume the straight ears of the wild dogs, but with a
greater development of the brain, which proceeds increasing, with a

16

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.

proportionate degree of intelligence, in the barbel and the spaniel.
The bull-dog, on the other hand, is remarkable for the shortness
and vigour of its jaws. The small chamber dogs, the pugs,
spaniels, shock dogs, &c, are the most degenerate productions,
and constitute the most striking marks of that power which man
exercises over nature.

" The dog is born with the eyes closed. He opens them the
tenth or twelfth day. His teeth begin to change in the fourth
month, and his growth terminates at two years of age. The
female goes with young sixty-three days, and brings forth from
six to a dozen young ones. The dog is old at five years, and
seldom lives more than twenty. The vigilance, the bark, the
singular mode of copulation of this animal, and his striking
susceptibility of a varied education, are universally known4."

The artificial history of the dog may with propriety commence
with the synopsis of the varieties into which he is branched out.
In the other species of the genus to which he belongs, this would
rather belong to their natural history ; but it must be considered,
that by far the greater number of the varieties "of the dog have
been the result of circumstances not contemplated by nature : on
the contrary, many of them, we know, have arisen from the
direct agency of man himself ; and the greater proportion are
wholly domesticated with him. The synoptical view of this
subject taken by that eminent zoologist M. Frederic Cuvier
(a younger brother of the Baron), being now very generally fol-
lowed by our best naturalists, will furnish me with an order of
description slightly varying from that pursued in the last edition,
but not, I believe, less demonstrative or interesting. Founded
on the construction of the various organs of the body, internal
as well as external, these illustrious brothers have reared their

4 This illustrious naturalist evinces some of the nationality which marked
Buffon in his reveries on the origin of the dog: nor can I agree with him that
the dog is old at five ; he is, on the contrary, then in his prime. And by limiting
the number of progeny to twelve, he is equally in error: I took myseb from a
pregnant setter, after her death, sixteen young ones, within a week of their
expected birth.

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.

17

systems on the most solid base ; employing principles wliich
must produce the best effects on zoology, by rescuing it from fabled
representation, traditionary account, or purposed exaggeration5.
The shape of the head, and the length of the jaws and muzzle,
have furnished him, as he conceives, with facilities in arranging
the dog varieties in the order of their approach to the parent
stock, which he does in three several groups. 1. Matins5 ;
2. Spaniels^ ; 3. Dogues.

5 It is true, that a general view of anatomical structure has been that wliich
has been pursued in the various systematic arrangements, from Aristotle to Lin-
naeus, who also framed his groupings on structural criteria. But as it was
principally founded on the existing peculiarities of the organs of circulation in
such animals as possessed a cardiac system, so it was too general, and by no
means sufficiently precise for the critical distinctions required by genera even,
and still less of species; as we have seen instanced in the introduction of the
hyena among the canina?. Zootomy is of little use whenever it is confined to
any single manifestation of life: structure and function are inseparable ; and
as the functional manifestations are numerous, so must the structural display
be extensive, or it will fall short of its ends. In the immense variety of ani-
mated forms which surround us, we are dazzled by the complexity which ap-
parently belongs to each, and are apt to shrink from the seeming arduous task
of further inquiry. But if we regard nature on the principles of true philoso-
phy, we shall find that a fundamental simplicity reigns throughout her works;
and provided we commence by an examination and comparison of the organi-
zation with each other; if we extend it to the development of organization and
function, as viewed in those in the next degree of complexity; progressing to
the highest link in the chain; the task will be rendered easy, and we shall be
no less surprised with the simplicity and unity of nature's laws, as displayed by
such an examination of the animal kingdom throughout, than by the progres-
sively increasing perfection in structure of its members as we advance. It is
the apparent uniformity and harmony observed throughout every page of
Nature's history, particularly as regards animal life, which embarrassed the
attempts of the early zoologists: the gradations of organization, when cur-
sorily or exteriorly viewed only, slide into each other with such lightly touched
shades, that it is not to be wondered at, if in the absence of the stronger mark-
ings and distinctive lines traced by comparative anatomy, the divisions proved
incorrect, or the groupings imperfect.

0 I do not think this a sufficiently precise term for this group, nor, indeed,
a correct one, according to the usual translation of the term mastiff. With-
out, however, here entering into the origin of this dog, the matins are none
of them properly mastiffs.

7 Spaniels, as derived from dogs of Spain, is evidently erroneous, when it
includes those of Newfoundland, Siberia, &c. If it bespeaks dogs with a
particular cOTering, il includes every variety, from the wiry hair of the northern

18

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.

1. MATINS.

" The anatomical character of this group is— the head more or
less elongated ; the parietal bones insensibly approaching each
other ; and the condyles of the lower jaw placed in a horizontal
line with the molar or upper cheek teeth."

Var. A — Dog of New Holland, Canis fam. Austr. Desmarest ;
Dinga, Shaw8,

Var. B— French Matin, Can. fam. lanarius, Lin.; Matin,
Buffon0.

dog and the silky coating of the small spaniel, to the closely adherent one of
the smooth terrier. If it is to class together dogs of scent, it should have
taken in all the former, but particularly the Irish greyhound, or boar-hound of
by-gone times, a dog of exquisite scent.

8 M. F. Cuvier finds the head of this half-reclaimed animal to resemble
that of the French matin, and his form to approximate to the shepherd's dog;
and hence he places it at the head of the list, as retaining most of the distinctive
characters of the wild and original stock.

9 A nationality not uncommon with the French has made their naturalists
attach wonderful importance to their matin, as the progenitor of most of our
large and valuable breeds. Pennant identifies it with the Irish greyhound,
which it somewhat resembles; but it is not so tall, nor is its hair so wiry. It is
very common in France as a cattle dog, and ageneral guard ; but in my own opi-
nion it is, at least, not the genuine source from whence we derive our greyhounds.
Still less is it connected in any way with either the bull-dog or the mastiff of
England ; but much more with the boar and wolf-hound. Sir William Clayton
observes, "The French matin is tall and slender for his size, and resembles a
half-bred greyhound." Mr. Wilson also says, "It appeared to me a kind of
lurcher; and if I were to analyse its characters, I would say it was an inter-
mediate between the shepherd's dog and the greyhound." It may be added,
that it is strong, courageous, and swift ; yet not deficient in the sense of smell,
and was originally of a fawn colour, though I believe- it is now Often varied.
Buffon's fanciful theories made this dog, which in its origin he considers a
native of temperate climates, to become the Danish dog when carried to the
north, and the greyhound when under the influence of the south. It is evident
he could not become the English greyhound by this principle ; and, indeed, we
have sufficient reason to believe we derive the greyhound from a very different
source. It is to be regretted that Mr. Griffith did not lend his powerful aid to
a more critical examination of the sources of these several varieties. Original
and valuable as are some of his elucidations, he is lamentably meagre here,
instead of a close investigation; he appears to conclude that the Moloss.an or
Albanian do>r, the French matin, the Irish greyhound, with the Danish dog,
and even the modern greyhound, are but ramifications of each other This »
settling the matter concisely, but certainly not satisfactorily. We know that

NATURAL HISTORY OK THE COG.

I!)

Var. 0 — Danish Dog, Can. f am. danicus, Desm ; Grand Danois,
Buffon".

In this division are also included the Dhole or wild dog of the
East. Indies, Can. Orieutalis ; a South American wolf-like va-
riety ; and the celebrated Albanian dog, which is one of great
size and strength ; his body covered with long silky fur; with a
bushy tail. This variety is supposed to have furnished the
Molossian dog.

Var. D — Greyhound, Can. grams, Lin.; Levrier, Buff. Ge-
neral characters : long head, slender limbs, deep chest, nar-
now waist, and great swiftness. It branches into the following
sub-varieties — a, Irish greyhound11 ; b, Scotch greyhound11 ;

the antients were jealous of the breeds of their dogs, and preserved them in
purity with care ; nor should we have received from them varieties so well
defined as we find them, had their inter-ramifications been thus diffused.

10 Danish Dog. Misconceptions arise, by either confounding this dog with the
Dalmatian, or otherwise from not considering the Dane in two distinct varieties :
1. The Great Dane, he Grand Danois, Buffon, which is considered as one of
the largest dogs known. Marco Paolo must have inflated those probably
which he describes as having seen of the size of asses. They are smooth
coated, and appear to have been of a light fawn colour ; but are now often
seen brindled, or broadly spotted, or patched with a dingy brown on the ori-
ginal ground. The dogs of Epirus, so famed for their strength and courage,
were of this kind. (Aristotle, lib. iii, c. 21. Pliny also notices them in terms
of admiration, lib. viii, c. 40.) It appears to have a near connexion with
the smooth varieties of the German boar-hound. 2. The Lesser Dane, Dal-
matian, or Coach Dog, he Braque de Bengal, Buffon, is a beautiful animal,
regularly spotted over his body with black or dark blue spots on a light ground.
In form he is between the hound and pointer, and without doubt might be cul-
tivated into the one or the other. Bewick is severe on Buffon, under the idea
of its incapacity of scenting game. But to give validity to his criticism, he
should have proved that it. wanted the faculty, which I make no doubt was
as inherent in him as in any hound whatever. It had not been taught the pur-
suit of game, and was therefore not impressed with the ardour. Had Bewick
confined his objection to the locality chosen by Buffon, that of Bengal, where
a-dog of his markings is not common, he might have had reason.

11 The Irish and Scotch greyhounds, Can. grains Hybernicus, Ray, et
Scoticus, Fleming, do not differ materially from each other, and both un-
questionably own the same origin, and are synonymous with the German boar-
hound and wolf-hound: as is well known, they are ronirli wire-haired dogs.
Such as I saw in Ireland were majestically large, and united considerable
speed with immense strength: they were of a light grey colour, with a mixture
of yellow or fawn-coloured tinting. A century back, the Irish wolf dog, it is
said, was nearly four feet high. The Marquis of Sligo is among the few who

B

20

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.

c, Russian greyhound12; d, Italian greyhound13; e, Turkish
greyhound14; to which should be appended the smooth or
modern greyhound, Lepor arias, Fleming15.

preserve this race, which he does at Westport, in the county of Mayo. The
Scottish greyhound, deer-dog, or ratche, is somewhat less in size than the
Irish ; at least such as I have seen more resemble a strong, coarse wire-haired
true greyhound ; but which, probably, depends on the deterioration of inter-
mixture : for it is said that a few yet exist in the Highlands of nearly the same
proportions with those of Ireland. Captain Brown, in his interesting Biogra-
phical Sketches of Dogs, informs us that Capt. Macdonell, of Glengarry, a
gentleman remarked for his attachment to whatever characterizes the sports
and customs of former times, keeps up this breed; an;l in order to preserve it
from degenerating by consanguineous origin, he crosses them both with the
blood-hound from Cuba, and the shepherd's dog of the Pyrenees ; which latter
is distinguished for its size, beauty, and doc.lity. Sir Walter Scott's cele-
brated dog Maida was of this breed, and is said to have been a most noble
animal. The boar-hound of Germany is not, however, of necessity a rough-
coated dog, for it is more than probable that he derives his origin from the
great Dane ; whereas the rough-coated may be presumed to have drawn his
from intermixture with some of the larger northern varieties, as the Siberian,
Esquimaux, &c. ; all of which are guarded with a thick curled coat.

12 The Russian greyhound is not unlike that of Scotland, and possesses
much agility. It remains to remark, that under whatever name this variety
passes, whether of boar-hound, or of Irish or Scotch greyhound, it is a dog
gifted with an excellent sense of scenting, and is equally brave, gentle, and
affectionate: when, therefore, naturalists take on themselves to attach certain
qualities to certain structural peculiarities only, as exquisite sensibility of
smell, inherent sagacity, and devoted attachment to one group only, they limit
nature within bounds she does not own.

13 The Italian greyhound is a pigmy variety, of elegant form, but timid,
sensitive, and tender in the extreme.

14 The Turkish greyhound is even smaller, hardly so slender, and is fre-
quently naked.

15 The modern or smooth greyhound is wholly a factitious animal, and ex-
hibits, in a wonderful manner, the power of cultivation. In early times this
dog hunted as well by scent as by sight; and with such qualifications he must
have proved very destructive to the larger kinds of game, as deer, wild goats,
foxes, &c. Such a dog was the gazehound, of whose extraordinary powers in
selecting and keeping his game in view we have many accounts. But as the
larger varieties of game became scarce, or was principally hunted by packs
of hounds, so the use of the greyhound became confined to the taking of the
hare. To do this, however, effectually, the arts of cultivation and selection
were called into practice, thereby to produce an increased celerity of motion,
by a corresponding alteration in the form of the machine. The head was
rendered flat and pointed, to offer less resistance to the wind, and to subtract
from its weight: the chest was considerably deepened, somewhat at the ex-
pense of its general circular capacity, but without wholly destroying its seg-

NATURAL HISTORY OP THE DOG.

21

2. SPANIELS.

Anatomical character : " The head very moderately elongated ;
the parietal bones do not approach each other above the temples,

mental flexure of rib; by which respiration could be increased, although both
weight and resistance were decreased. The abdomen became wonderfully
contracted, and its intestinal contents so devoid of all interstitial matter, as to
offer little obstruction to the momentum of the machine, and little obstacle to
the dilatations of the diaphragm. The extremities were at once fined and
greatly extended, and their angles rendered capable of great extension by
lengthening those portions which were principally concerned in propelling
the machine, and shortening those which operated more in support than
progression: thus it is with the greyhound, as with all animals of great
speed, that the knee and the hock are both placed by nature very near the
ground, dependant on the curtailment of the intervening portions. The mus-
cles of the back, loins, and thighs in the greyhound are singularly large; and
thus all these advantages of the bony mechanism can be assisted by an increase
of moving power. But, that this increase of velocity gained might not destroy
the equality between the pursuer and the pursued, which is an invariable law
in nature, it followed that the head becoming long and pointed, occasioned
such contraction of the frontal sinuses as to injure the sense of acute smell, and
to annul the power of following the game by scent; and the greyhound is
therefore now forced to trust to his vision alone, which at once brings him and
his prey more on a par with each other. This cranial alteration appears also
to have some effect on the faculties of this dog, by lessening the aptitude to
education, and confining the general intelligence ; but it does not do it in the
degree that some naturalists would imply. The descent of the modern grey-
hound is not distinctly traceable ; but it may reasonably be conjectured to be
derived from the smooth variety of the wolf or boar-hound, rendered fine by
transportation into warmer climates. Its name is said to be of Grecian origin :
the race is certainly a very diffused one, and although we have the merit of
having cultivated it to its utmost extent, as regards its celerity of motion, it is
by no means exclusively English. In the Levant it is very common. In
Turkey we have the authority of Mr. Dallaway for asserting that the grey-
hound is common, and that there they are large and white, with their legs and
tails fantastically stained with red. In Laconia they are, according to Mr.
Hobhouse, also large, and their hair long. The long-haired greyhound is
therefore by no means confined to northern climates ; neither are long external
coverings of hair among other domestic animals uncommon in the warmest
countries, as we see in the cats, rabbits, and goats of Angora ; but the hair so
seen, however long, possesses a silky fineness of texture, and does not retain
animal heat as does the thick, wiry hair of northern animals, with a matting
of wool at the roots. The greyhounds of the east, although delicately fine in
their limbs, have many of them long silk-like coats. The elegant animal called
the Persian greyhound, to the utmost lightness of form and smoothness of body
adds the peculiarity of having his ears, legs, and tail, befringed with very long
fine hair, like that of the setter or spaniel. In temperate climes, but parti-

Ji 2

22

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.

but diverge and swell out so as to eularge the forehead and the
cerebral cavity. This group includes the most useful and in-
telligent dogs."

Var. E — Spaniel, Can. fam. extrarins, Lin. The name of the
spaniel race is derived from its (supposed) original country,
Spain.

The sub-varieties are— a, The smaller spaniel, with a small
round head, the ears and tail covered with long hair ; b,
King Charles's spaniel, Cam. brevipiles, Lin.16; c, La Py-
rame, Buff.; d, The Maltese, Bichon, Buff.; e, The lion dog,
Can. leoninus, Lin. ; /, The Calabrian dog ; g, The hunting
spaniel or cocker1?, which yields the setter, Can. index,

cularly in England, where the cultivation of the greyhound is carried to the
highest perfection, he presents the most symmetric model of an animal formed
for great velocity.

For a more full account of this important variety of the canine race, I would
recommend the reader to a Treatise on Greyhounds, attributed to Sir Wnr
Clayton, a Baronet of sporting celebrity. In this elegant and classic produc-
tion will be found a fund of interesting and instructive matter relative to the
breeding, rearing, and treatment of these dogs. According to the modesty of
its author, it is besprinkled with " a few classical flowers ;" but the reader will
find it a gay parterre, where literary and sporting subjects change hands at
every turn.

16 King Charles II, it is known, was extremely fond of spaniels, two
varieties of which are seen in his several portraits, or in those of his fa-
vourites. One of these was small, of a black and white colour, with ears of an
extreme length ; the other was large and black, but the black was beautifully
relieved by tan markings, exactly similar to the markings of the black and tan
terrier: this breed the late Duke of Norfolk preserved with jealous care. That
amiable and excellent lady, the Princess Sophia of Gloucester, shewed me a
very line specimen presented to her by that nobleman, after receiving a pro-
mise, guaranteed by her royal brother, that she was not to breed from it in a
direct line. Another was shewn to me by the late Lady Castlereagh, received
after a similar restriction. Even the Duchess of York could not obtain one
but on the same terms, as she herself informed me.

17 No dog presents such endless varieties as the Spaniel; all, however,
admit of two common divisions, into land and water spaniels : the latter are
derived from the northern, the former from the eastern dogs. Land Spaniels
are all characterized by a long silky coat; and whether strong and muscular,
or slender and diminutive, they are equally elegant and interesting. They are
proverbially faithful ; and to the sportsman they are highly important, from
their keen scent and attachment to the pursuit of game.

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 23

Lin. is — Addenda, The Newfoundland dogW; The Alpine
spaniel20.

« The Setter is undoubtedly derived wholly from the spaniel, and not, as
has been supposed, from a mixture of spaniel and pointer Robert Dudley
Duke of Northumberland, is recorded as the first person who broke (to the net)
a setter (i. e. a spaniel), so called from its lying down before game until a net
was drawn over both dog and game. After this aptitude had been displayed, ,t
is natural to suppose that the breed would be continued, and future cultiva-
tions increased its size and powers. The setter retained the name of spaniel
until of late years ; and to this day he is caUed, in Ireland, the English spamel.
Gay calls him the « creeping spaniel ;" Thomson, also, has

How, in his mid-career, the spaniel struck

Stiff by the tainted gale, with open nose

Outslretch'd, &c.

The old English setter is now scarce, and has given place to a breed of less
docility and subjection, but of enlarged size and increased speed: these are
mostly red, and are of Irish origin. The term Index, by which the setter has
been known, it is evident is not more appropriate; indeed, it is less so than to

the pointer. .

w The Newfoundland dog, now so much cultivated among us, was, without
doubt, originally received from the country he derives his name from; but
whether he derives his original parentage from thence admits of much doubt;
indeed, I believe it admits of an absolute denial. In all probability he owns
a lineal descent from the large Spanish dog, introduced by the early dis-
coverers of the American continent, which, intermixing with the native breeds,
produced an increase of size and power among them. These would be en-
couraged by the natives, because the uses they made of them as beasts of
draught were thereby better fulfilled. Such, we have reason to believe, was
the first improvement made on the native dogs of these countries, which, as iar
as a factitious breed can continue its like, seems to have remained a standard
anion- them ever since, and is that which forms the smaller smooth aquatic
dog of Newfoundland. When the English settled themselves here, they, with-
out doubt, carried with them some of the largest and most powerful of the
water spaniel breed, to assist them in the hunting and shooting of wild fowl ;
and there is little reason to doubt but that this was the source from whence our
admired specimens of the large Newfoundland dog arose; the breeding of
which, however, was never carried to any great extent in that country. The
rigors of the climate, and the difficulty of procuring food for it during some
seasons of the year, were unfavourable to both the production of numbers and
to the full development of the frame. The splendid animal we now see lias
been greatly increased in size since its residence among us : we have culti-
vated it so as to make it now an English breed, while in Newfoundland it. is
at present so nearly extinct, that a gentleman relates, in No. 123 of the new
series of the Sporting Magazine, that he could not find a single dog of the
kind in St. John's. It is, therefore, a fallacy for naturalists to assert that the
dog we possess is the same with that which is " employed in their native
districts in place of the horse."
80 It appears to mc a complete misnomer to call this a spaniel. It is not

24

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOO.

Var. F — The Water Spaniel, Cants aquaticus, Lin.; chien
bay-bat, Buff.

Sub-varieties— a, small water spaniel, petit bay-bet, Buff. ; b,
chien griffon, a dog between the water spaniel and the shep-
herd's dog.

Var. G — The Hound, chien courant, Buff. ; Can. sagax, Lin.
Essentially this is the same as the blood-hound. The older
varieties of the hound were all designated by the term Talbot,
which term is, however, now often applied to the blood-hound,
he being, with the exception of an occasional pack of harriers
of the old growth, the only hound left with heavy limb and
long pendulous ears. The sub -varieties are — The stag-hound,
the fox-hound, the harrier, and the beagle. — Addenda: the
terrier1 in his varieties of rough Scotch terrier, black and

rough, or at least not shaggy, in its coat. It is too heavy for the purposes of
hunting, audi believe betrays no propensities of this kind; but it is in every
respect a mastiff', possessing all the qualities of our dog so called, and his
appearance likewise, with the exception, that the upper lip is less pendulous,
and the face altogether shorter. Mr. Griffiths has much curtailed its dimen-
sions when lie gives the height as two feet at the shoulders. There is extant
an engraving, made from a portrait taken by Mr. Edward Landseer, of one
which at a year old was six feet eight inches in length from the nose to the
end of the tail, and two feet seven inches in height at the shoulders, at which
time he must have had some inches to grow. I saw, some years ago, two of
these dogs, of size nearly equal to this, and of the usual colour, which is a
tawny, between red and yellow.

1 The Terrier. It is by no means easy to trace the origin of this useful
and interesting race, which is branched out into endless varieties. In The
Farrier and Naturalist, No. 10, it is said " that the terrier's name appears
to be derived from his entering holes in the earth after his game, and from the
minute description given of him in Oppian's poems, who lived in the days of
Severus, A.D. 194. It is certain that the breed has been long known in this
island, and so far appears to have been an original native. Linnaeus states it
-was first introduced on the continent, so late as the reign of Frederic the
First." I cannot, however, agree with what follows,— that it is probably the
vertagus or tumbler of Raii, and some other writers, which was, I belic\e, a
very different variety ; nor am I aware that any of the true terrier breed has
discovered the smallest propensity to this stratagem. The qualities of the
terrier are to the full as diversified as his form: he may be taught to do any
thing that dogs do, and to assist in the pursuit of every species of game ; but
his instinctive propensities are directed to the destruction of what is called
vermin, as badgers, polecats, rats, mice, &c. The rough terriers are usually
grey or white; the predominant colour of the smooth kind is jet black, vpih
elegant tan markings.

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE BOG.

25

tan terrier, bull terrier, with endless mixed breeds between
these varieties.

Var. H — The Pointer, Can. aviculuris, Lin. — As a sub-variety,
the text of Cuvier bas a Dalmatian pointer, braque de Ben-
gal, Buffon. I doubt the propriety of this enumeration, but I
do it with diffidence, from the weight of the authority. I am
not aware that any sporting dog, of the markings of the Dal-
matian which follows our carriages, is used in India. It is
true there is a small variety of pointer, spotted, brindled, or
pied in the colours of the Dalmatian; but I do not know
whether that has ever reached India ; still less likely is it to
be used as a sporting dog.

Var. I — Turnspit, Can. fam. vertagus, Lin.

Var. K — Shepherd's dog, Can. fam. domesticus, Lin. ; Le chien
de Berger, Buff.2

2 Notwithstanding the great variations in size met with in the pasture or
shepherd's dog, in different countries of the globe (for he is probably the most
extensively diffused of the race), yet he everywhere preserves some personal
characteristics, which mark Ins adherence to the original type in a greater
degree than in any other race over which man has so arbitrarily exercised his
dominion. One of these is, his quantity of covering, which is invariably
great, particularly about the neck. In temperate climates his coat is long and
shaggy ; in cold ones it is coarse, and crisped or waved in minute curls ; in
arid regions his hair is still long and shaggy, but fine. In Britain it is remark-
able that we have resemblances of all these varieties, as witnessed in the large
drovers' dogs which attend the beast markets; the true shepherd's dog of
South Britain, and the sagacious colly of North Britain. The ears are never
entirely pendant in any of the race; but in the British varieties, and many
others also, are half erected, or half pricked, as it is called. The colour is
also very generally grey, more or less dark. The natural tail of the British
breeds is bushy, somewhat pendant, and recurved, such as is seen in the
colly ; but in England a custom has so long prevailed of cutting off the stern,
that many of these dogs are now actually born with less than half a tail; which
serves to shew how even the bony structure also, in other instances the most
permanent of the whole, bends to circumstances arbitrarily imposed, and con-
tinued with regularity. The visage of the shepherd's dog is more or less
pointed; in the colly it is much so; but in the large drover's dog of South
Britain it is much less : this latter dog is remarkable for seldom trotting or
walking, but, on the contrary, he paces either fast or slow. The whole race
have the additamcntary toe, or dew-claw of the sportsman. Prom the colly, of
little more than twelve inches in height, to the Appenine of nearly three feet,
one common character prevails, of fidelity, indefatigable industry, and intel-

2(>

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.

Var. L — Wolf dog, Can. pomeranus, Lin.

Var. M — Siberian clog, Can. Sibericus, Lin.

Var. N — Esquimaux clog, Can. fam. borealis, Desmarest.

Var. O— The alco.

3. DOGUES.

Anat. Char. : " The muzzle more or less shortened ; the skull
high ; the frontal sinuses considerable ; the condyle of the lower
jaw extending above the line of the upper cheek teeth. The
cranium is smaller in this group than in the two previous, owing
to the formation of the head."

Var. P — Bull dog, Can. fam. molossns, Lin.; Le dogue, Buff.
Canis. pugn. prop.2 — Sub-variety, dog of Thibet.

ligcnce, with a deportment singularly grave throughout the race. The origin
of this dog is difficult to trace, particularly from the sources pointed out by the
naturalists of the last century ; yet if we direct our attention closely to the
subject, we shall detect a very near resemblance between him and some of
those specimens derived from Australia and high northern latitudes, but
which, it may be observed, differ among themselves; the dog used to prevent
the destructive attack of wolves on the rein-deer, and which drives them to the
fold, being, we are told, not the same with that used about the Mackenzie
river.

3 Linnseus seems to have fallen into much error in naming this Molossus;
but his error was less than that of Buffon, who considered the bull-dog to be
the parent of the mastiff, itself originating in the alteration which a temperate
climate had wrought on his universal progenitor, the shepherd's dog. In my
present opinion, for I once thought differently, the bull-dog is either imme-
diately derived from an accidentally sltmted variety of mastiff, which sup-
position the outward bending of his fore-arms, and general contortion of limbs,
as well as the projection of his lower jaw, would favour, by bespeaking a
ricketty constitution ; or otherwise he may have been mediately brought about,
and not improbably, according to the supposition of the late Sydenham Ed-
wards, who to much acquirement as a naturalist added a particular attach-
ment to this dog. He is of opinion that he is derived from an accidental or
designed mixture between the large mastiff and the pug-dog, which was then
known as the Dutch, or small mastiff; and which, it must be observed, is by
no means, in Holland, Germany, &c, the artificial animal we rear ; but, on
the contrary, as I have seen it there, is much larger and fiercer than our
degenerate race : and it must be allowed, that a progeny derived from it in
this form, by means of the mastiff, might soon be cultivated into the bull-dog.
That the origin of the bull-dog is wholly artificial is evident; for such a dog
«:ould not live in a slate of nature; and that he draws this artificial origin from

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.

27

Var. Q — The Mastiff, Can. fam. Anglicus, Lin. ; Le dogue de
fort race, Bull'.1

British cultivation, is equally so, from the degeneration which invariably takes
place when he is transported into distant countries. There is a brutal courage
about this dog, called forth on the slightest excitement, as an accidental noise,
&c, which particularly characterises the breed; and its frame is eminently
formed to retain the hold it takes of any thing, by the recession of its nostrils,
which do not thus interfere with respiration, as well as by the power with
which its masseter muscles can act on jaws whose place of seizure are so
little removed from the centre of motion. Mr. Griffith observes, " The in-
ternal changes which determine the external characters of this dog, consist in
a great development of the frontal sinuses, a development which elevates the
bones of the forehead above the nose, and which leads in the same direction the
cerebral cavity. But the most important change, and that perhaps which causes
all the others, although we cannot perceive the connexion, is the diminution of
the brain. The cerebral capacity of the bull-dog is sensibly smaller than in
any other race ; and it is, doubtless, to the decrease of the encephalon that
we must attribute its inferiority to all others in every thing relating to intel-
ligence. The bull-dog is scarcely capable of any education, and is fitted for
nothing- but combat and ferocity. A fifth toe is occasionally found, more or
less developed, on the hind feet of this race. This, like all other races far
removed from the primitive type, is difficult of reproduction; the males are
seldom amorous, and the females frequently miscarry. Their life, also, is
short, though their development is slow : they scarcely acquire maturity un-
der eighteen months, and at five or six years shew signs of decrepitude."

* Mr. Griffiths derives the mastiff from the bull-dog, which appears to me
most erroneous, the latter being a dog of much later date. The mastiff is a
straight-limbed dog, his lips are characteristically pendulous in a much greater
degree than the bull-dog, and he is never underhung, and seldom has dew-
claws, which are so common to some breeds of the bull-dog. His tail also is
longer, thicker, and less tapered, and seldom carried erect. Buffon forgot the
antiquity of this dog when he attributed its origin to the bull-dog and the Irish
greyhound ; nor is it likely, considering the known tendency in the bull-dog to
degenerate, that he would be so extensively diffused, and so readily preserve
in this wide diffusion his hereditary form and qualities. Wherever he is met
with, he is nearly the same, whether it be in the Alps, in Poland, Sweden,
Italy, Spain, or the Levant. As he extends into warmer countries, how-
c\ er, he becomes rather more slender; thus the mastiffs of Cuba, in the Zoo-
logical Gardens, approach the old Spanish pointer in figure. The breed of
mastiffs was, in "olden times," an important branch of British commerce;
and when this island was under the Roman yoke, these dogs were in such re-
quest, that an officer was appointed, under the name of Procurator Synegii, to
superintend the breeding and transmitting them to the Roman amphitheatre.
Straho tells us that these dogs have been trained to war, and were used by
the Gauls against their adversaries. As a guard, there is no dog whatever
that can supersede the mastiff; but unfortunately the beauty of the Newfound-
land dog has almost done this, and the change lias not been a fortunate one ou

28

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.

Var. R — The Pug Dog, le doguin, Buff.
Var. S — The Iceland Dog, Can. f am. Islandicus, Lin.
Var. T — Little Danish Dog, Can. f am. Islandicus, Lin.
Var. W — Bastard Pug, cliien roquet, Buff.
Var. V — Can. fam. Britannicus, Desmarest.
Var. X — Artois Dog, an extinct var. of the Can. fam. fricator of
Linnaeus.

Var. Y — Dog of Andalusia, sometimes called^ the dog of
Cayenne.

Var. Z — Barbary Dog, Can. fam. JEgyptius, Lin. ; chien Turc,
Buff. Of this dog there are two varieties, one quite naked, the
other with a mane.

The detail I have already entered into is of itself, I should

the score of trust. The mastiff is vigilant in the extreme, and no less cautious
than watchful : in prosecuting his duty, he is silent as a sentry ; and while
there is no danger he appears as monotonous and indifferent to all around him ;
and under such circumstances it is difficult to decide which of the two is most
like an automaton. But a suspicious footstep made with caution is instantly
heard, and as instantly but silently watched and attended to. An ill-looking per-
son is not molested, but is followed as far as the precincts of the guard extend ;
and so long as nothing is touched, the intruder is safe ; but no longer. Even then
he is seldom injured ; sometimes he is merely led out ; and unless resistance is
offered, few lacerations have been received from this formidable but generous
beast. What would I not have given to have seen the one which was found
standing over a robber who had broken into a yard at Islington ! The owner
was called up by the watchman, w ho informed him that, " by the bustle he
heard in his yard, something was going on wrong there." It was the brave
mastiff, who had siezed the thief, had thrown him down, and had been stand-
ing over him, it appeared, two or three hours : as long as the man remained
quiet, the dog did not even threaten ; but the moment he stirred only, a tre-
mendous growl informed him he had better remain still. There are not ninny
Newfoundland dogs which would have exhibited this forbearance; yet they are
also brave and generous, but being more uncertain, are very inferior as direct
guards for important trusts. The mastiff never sleeps on his post, the New-
foundland dog does ; lor he is a lively fro!icksome creature, who is much in
action, even when chained up; and therefore when night comes he sleeps.
The mastiff has been for ages employed as a guard ; and therefore, like the
watchman, during the day he sleeps, as a part of his nature and duty : neither
has he any pleasures to pursue ; but, like the shepherd's dog, all his propen-
sities merge within his business. I have somewhat dilated on this matter, be-
cause I think the threatened extinction of the mastiff is an unfortunate circum-
stance in commercial, rural, and domestic economy.

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.

29

hope, confirmatory of the originality of the dog-, as tending to
shew that he differs essentially from every other member of his
genus. In the specific differences quoted by the authorities
which have been noticed, there appears no mention of what may
be, with justice, called special characteristics, as never appear-
ing in any of the other species. The tail of the dog always takes
an arched direction, and it always likewise, I believe, inclines to
the left : whenever also any white is present about the body, the
tip of the tail is sure to be of the same colour. Of the caninae,
the dog alone has offered himself for domestication; and had there
not been insuperable objections to the others, the enterprize of
man would undoubtedly have attempted it. The bark of the dog
is certainly an additional trait in his character, but it must be
allowed to be not of much force, seeing that it is not invariably
attached to them : all wild dogs are more or less mute, and some
half-reclaimed ones howl only. The originality of the dog, there-
fore, ought not, I conceive, to be any longer considered as ques-
tionable. Nevertheless there are authorities of much weight, who
attribute to him either a mixed or a spurious derivation. Mr.
Wilson says, " Many well known varieties of the dog exhibit so
wolfish an aspect, that their descent from that species can
scarcely be a matter of doubt." Although this similarity in some
is true, as it is also that these two species have intermixed, and
have produced prolific offspring, yet when it is well known that
in a state of nature the utmost abhorrence to each other exists, I
cannot admit that such can be a frequent, although 1 am not able
to deny its being an occasional, source of some mixed breeds,
but to the perpetuity of which I should be very sceptical. The
real identity between the dog and wolf is farther contradicted by
the angular form of the bony assemblage of the head of the wolf ;
the auditory portions of his temporal bones are likewise placed
higher, and more anteriorly in the skull ; the orbitary fossas are
more inclined, and his teeth are longer, stronger, and present
some differences in form ; his cubitus is longer and more obliquely
placed than the dog's, and his tail is always pendulous.

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.

The fox differs essentially from the dog, in being a solitary
nocturnal animal, and in having a specific formation, to assist his
vision at night, in the linear direction of his pupil ; his teeth also
differ in direction ; and though the intermixture between him and
the dog has been forced, it has been an unnatural one ; nature
having in them, as in wolves, marked their want of identity by a
settled general aversion. The character of the fox has none of
the traits of the dog ; no efforts have been able to wholly reclaim
him : the suspicious watchfulness and the sudden treachery of
a predatory animal, never wholly leave him. He is also, to a cer-
tain degree, like the chacal, mephitic throughout his numerous
varieties, and which property is so purely vulpine, that it is not,
I believe, imparted to his bastard progeny. The modulations of
voice of the fox, throughout its variations, are totally unlike that
of the dog : also he whines continually. To the hyena as a parent
of any variety of the dog, although the notion is entertained by
Pallas as the origin of the mastiff, it may be objected as most un-
likely : the hyena is of a totally distinct genus, and the union, if
effected and productive, could not, by the usual laws of nature,
have become perpetuated. Guldenstaedt attributes some of our
dogs to the chacal or jackal, and details their proofs of identity5.
Pallas, too, is of a similar opinion ; and also asserts, that the
Kalmuc dogs are neither more nor less than jackals6, and the
remainder he appears to think derived from spurious sources?.

5 " Oderat anum altering ; coha;ret copula junctus."— Nov. Comment. Pe-
trop. vol. xx, p. 450, tab. xi.

6 Homini facillima; adsuescit nunquam, uti lupus et vulpes cieurati, infidi
aniini signa edens, lususve cruentans ; canes non fugit sed ardentur appctit,
cum lisque colludit, ut plane nullum sit dubiuin cum iisdem generaturum si
tentetur experimentum. Vocem desiderii caninse simillimam habet ; liomini
cauda eodem modo abblanditur, et in dorsum provolvi atque manibus dcinul-
ceri am at. Ipse quoque ululatus ejus, cum latratu canum ejulabundo mag-
num habet analogiam. Ergo dubium vix esse puto, hominis speciem, in
eadem cum lupo aureo climate naturaliter inquilinam, antiquitus hujus catulis
cicuratis domesticos sibi educasse canes, quorum naturalis instinctus jam ho-
mini, quem feri non multum timent, amicus, et in venationem pronus erat. —
Spicil. Zool. fasc. xi, p. 1, note.

7 Memoir sur la Variation des Aniinaux.— Acta Acad. Pelrop. 1780.

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 31

Mr. Wilson's opinion seems to lead to a supposition that the
chacal may be regarded as the true wild dog, and as such, the
true source probably of most of our domesticated dogs. Fortu-
nately for the claim of the dog to the honour of an original and
specitic formation, this theory, otherwise very specious from the
great similarity of structure between the two animals, loses its
principal force, as is indeed admitted by Mr. W., when we
reflect that this origin cannot apply to the wild dogs of New
Holland, nor to those of North and South America, where, not-
withstanding the assertions of Father Gili, Humboldt has clearly
proved the dog to have been known long before the first visits of
Europeans. In these countries, at least, we must look for another
origin for the dog ; which Pallas has supplied by deriving the
larger tribes, as the mastiff, &c. from the hyena, and the terrier
from the fox. Mr. Wilson has very successfully combated these
immediate origins ; but he is equally convinced with them that
some of our larger breeds are derived from the wolf.

As regards the identity of the dog with the jackal, there can,
I think, be but one opinion, when we consider the circumstances
of the limited geographical distribution of the latter animal. It
is well known that he is formed for warm regions only : in the
colder he never multiplies, with all the care man can bestow on
him ; and near the tropics no art can even keep him alive. He is
physically designed for a high temperature, and cannot be natu-
ralized by art, like many other animals, to a cold one : it would
be most irrational, therefore, to suppose that he would be chosen
as the progenitor of an animal so widely diffused, north, east,
west, and south, as the dog. There are also, if not great struc-
tural dissimilarities between the animals, yet some distinctive
marks of much weight. Like the fox, although it may in its own
country be sufficiently tamed to allow of being handled, it sub-
mits from fear ; but no kindness, however long continued, can
inspire confidence in it. It also emits the most offensive odour,
which it does not, like some of the mephites or skunks, lose under
domestication. The dog, therefore, may lay claim to a true ori-

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.

ginality of general character, which is sufficient for my present
purpose. But whether some of his endless varieties may or
may not have arisen either from his own intermixture with some
of the nearly allied species, or have resulted from intermixtures
between these allied species themselves, my limits will not allow
me to inquire further than by glancing at the agencies of climate
and domestication ; which if they have not themselves originated
these variations in size, form, and character, may yet be shewn
to be fully equal to account for the diffusion throughout the
world from one original type.

Both sacred and prophane history have united in deriving man
from Asia, where we also find some of the most valuable of his
domesticated animals, as goats, sheep, dogs, &c, still existing
in their primeval state. If man, therefore, found the means of
transporting himself over the face of the globe, it may be sup-
posed he would be accompanied by these his dependents ; and if
man himself owes his variations from what must have been his
original type to the interventions of climate, diversifications of
food, and altered habits, it is most rational to suppose similar
alterations might take place in the animals he fostered. But it might
be expected, as it is found to have happened, that among them the
varieties of form, colour, and properties, would be more nume-
rous and remarkable ; because, in addition to the effects of climate,
man assumed the direction of all their energies, the selection of
their food, and the regulation of their sexual intercourse. Even
climate alone is equal to produce wonderful changes on animal
bodies. In ourselves it begets the extremes of white and black in
the colour of our skins within the tropics ; while extra-tropical
shades ranging between, mark the degrees of heat and cold.
Most of the animals of high northern latitudes become of a lighter
hue, as winter approaches, from a similar principle of adaptation
with that which also increases the quantity of their clothing ; the
light colour preventing the natural heat of the body escaping by
the active radiation which occurs from bodies more darkly clad.
The alteration in the general texture of these coverings, by the

NATURAL HISTORY OP THE DOO.

33

effect of climate, is no less remarkable than that produced on their
colours. In the sterile and inhospitable regions, where ice and
snow hold a stern dominion, the quadrupeds are furnished with
a short fleecy tegument, which is rendered still warmer by
either a long and shaggy, or a short and crisp surtout of strong
hair. The feathers of alpine water fowl conceal an immense mass
of the warmest down underneath, while the land birds of these
regions are feathered down to the very claws. To further exem-
plify the effects of climate, observe how different are the clothings
of the thick-fleeced dog of Baffin's Bay and the naked dog of Bar-
bary ; the dense woolly covering of the European sheep, and the
thin hair of those inhabiting hot countries. Contrast the glossy
tunic of the Arabian stallion with the shaggy coat of the Shetland
pony ; and further, it may be observed, that where, for the pur-
poses of beauty, nature has bestowed on the beasts of arid climes
a long coat or covering, it is commonly observed to be one whose
thin and silky texture can neither absorb the solar ray3 nor con-
fine the animal heat : this may be seen in the lengthened fine hair
of the goats, cats, and rabbits of Angora, and other eastern
countries. Our domesticated animals are even under the in-
fluence of climate, and, as winter advances, they are seen to
change their thin fine hair for one of longer and thicker texture.
Our horses in autumn prepare for the coming season, and change
their fine summer coat for one thicker and longer ; but, under an
artificial climate produced by hot stables and extra clothing, by
losing the stimulus of necessity, they retain the same appearance
throughout the year. Neither are the coverings of the body the
only parts that are subject to the effect of climate ; the form and
bulk also are equally affected by its operations. By its powerful
agency, varieties the most disproportionate are produced. Com-
pare the eastern pigmy horse, scarcely thirty inches high, and
the diminutive ponies of Shetland ; compare these with the stately
coach and cart horses of England. Place together the gigantic
urus of Lithuania ; the monstrous bison of America, with his
shoulders surmounted by an enormous lump of flesh ; the mild

84

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.

zebu of Africa; the musk bull of Arctic regions; the European
ox, and the dwarf bull of India, not higher than a young Eng-
lish calf; having so done, the extremes of size and dissimilitudes
of form and character will leave us in astonishment at the num-
ber and variety of Nature's works. If we carry on the compari-
son to sheep and swine, we shall find the effects of climate as
apparent on them as on the horse and ox. In Africa, the sheep
are found swift, tall, gaunt, and even bold, with a pendulous
dewlap. In Turkey, they are seen with a fleshy rump entirely
disproportioned to the other parts. In Persia, this disproportion
is translated to the tail, which is said, in some instances, to weigh
fifteen or even twenty pounds. In Iceland, sheep are found with
three or more horns ; in Wallachia, with two only, but those are
long and spiral ; and in Kamtschatka they also have horns of an
enormous length, but without convolutions. In northern countries
the sheep are diminutive ; but in temperate climates they arrive
to a great size and weight. In swine, the variations, in size at
least, are equally disproportionate. In England the hog has at-
tained to the following extraordinary proportions : length, three
yards eight inches ; height, four feet and a half ; weight, seven
hundred pounds. In China, on the contrary, he measures from
eighteen to twenty inches in height, and in some parts of India he
is still smaller. In Piedmont, swine are black ; in Bavaria, red ;
and in Normandy, white : and, as a further proof of the effect
of locality on them, it is observed, that the breeds originally re-
moved to Cuba are become twice as large as those first taken
there. Need we, therefore, seek for a varied parentage for the
dog, although a specimen is shewn in the Dresden Museum, that
at its death, which occurred when it was two years old, measured
only five inches and a half in length, the precise extent from
the corner of the eye to the tip of the nose of the great Saxon
boar-bound. Man himself has varied from two feet to eight and
a half in his height.

Domestication is no less an important agent in the alterations
it produces on those animals, because it subjects them to have

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.

35

their food selected, their exertions forced or restricted, and
their temperature raised or diminished at the will of the owners.
Variations produced by these united means would offer to man
the temptation of perpetuating them, which he would do by re-
gulating the sexual intercourse, and propagating from such dupli-
cates only as approached a given form. In other instances an
accidental variation occurred, or a singular deformity was seized
on and propagated by future similar selections, until it became
permanent, and then it constituted a breed. To something of
this kind we owe the wry-legged terriers, so useful in the shooting
of rabbits. It is probable, also, that a crooked mastiff offered
the foundation for the bull-dog breed.

I have thus far principally treated of the form and varieties of
the dog : I would fain say something of his qualities also, that I
might thereby more effectually advocate his cause ; and that, by
exciting inquiry into his real character and virtues, I might
awaken a due consideration for him in the minds of those (of whom
there are but too many) who now regard him with indifference,
perhaps with contempt, or it may be with aversion. It is proba-
ble that such feelings arise, in many, less from the natural im-
pulses of the heart, than from a mistaken opinion of the actual
rank that these animals ought to hold, by their services, their en-
dearing qualities, and the entertainment they afford. If it were
customary to consider the higher orders of brute animals in gene-
ral not as mere machines, endowed with instinctive faculties only
for the mere preservation of their existence and extension of their
species ; but, on the contrary, if they were universally regarded in
their true light, as beings higldy intellectual, actuated by the noblest
passions, endued with memory and recollection, disposed to imita-
tion, profiting by experience, and acquiring skill from discipline
and instruction, then we might hope to see them properly estimated,
their importance acknowledged, and their treatment amended. The
properties here detailed are, in some degree, common to all ; but
in the dog they shine with a lustre that none but those who study
the animal can be aware of. We owe something also of the con-

30

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.

tempt in which dogs arc held to the figurative language derived
from eastern writings, both sacred and prophane. " You dog! "
is a common term of reproach used towards those, as well as by
those, who have not half the virtues of one; yet in uninformed-
and in unrellecting minds, this metaphoric sarcasm serves to be-
get contempt, both for the original and the portrait. Our oldest
writers, with whom every thing vile and base is doglike, are full
of this imagery. Even the sacred writings, abounding in the
sublimest precepts of humanity, have added their share of obloquy
and reproach, which sinks deep in many minds, and begets a tra-
ditional contempt and ill-will towards one of the most deserving
animals of the brute creation. To combat these popular sources of
inhumanity, I have before observed, no means seem so well calcu-
lated as to place the subject of our inquiry in his proper point of
view, which is not that of a mere instinctive machine, but that of
an intellectual being, and that of one who uses his mental and
bodily powers principally for the good of mankind.

For the rationality of the dog I am almost ashamed to contend,
the proofs are so numerous ; and yet there are those who deny it
hiin, in the face of the ablest philosophers and metaphysicians,
who have clearly allowed him this distinction ; but the extent
of his reasoning powers has occasioned great diversity of opinion
among them also. Much, however, if not all, of this discordance
has arisen for want of a precise idea of that inherent property we
name instinct, under which general term it has been too common
with writers to include the phenomena of reason. It is foreign to
my present purpose, if it were within the reach of my ability, to
enter on a metaphysical inquiry into the faculty of reason. It
will be sufficient if I attempt to analyse the property of instinct :
in doing which, if I should be enabled to prove that innumerable
actions performed by dogs are not at all referrible to this qua-
lity, I shall have compassed my object ; for if such actions are
not instinctive, they must be rational.

Instinct may be defined to be, that property in animals by
which such actions are performed as immediately tend to the pre-

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.

37

servation of themselves and the propagation of their species. It
is a principle that may be considered as inherent in the organiza-
tion of an animal body, by which, without instruction, de-
liberation, or experience, it is urged to do whatever is im-
mediately necessary for its self-preservation, and the conti-
nuance of the species. It develops itself (contrary to reason)
in full perfection as soon as it is wanted. The young chick,
the moment it is disencumbered of its shell, dexterously picks
up its food, and judiciously selects it from extraneous matter.
The indigent and blind puppy, immediately on its entry into
the world, searches out the mammillary processes that yield
its nutriment, and adapts the surfaces of its little mouth to ex-
haust the gland, with more dexterity than the most acute philoso-
pher aided by every mechanical principle could do. The opera-
tions of instinct being directed to the preservation of existence
and the continuance of the species, it was necessarily given per-
fect, or these ends would not have been answered ; but as its
operations seem confined wholly to these great ends, so it is very
limited in its scale of action, and admits of little, if any, improve-
ment. In domestic as well as in unreclaimed animals, such
actions as are directed to the essential laws of preservation and
propagation remain always alike: the same general aptitudes,
the same dexterity in catering for their food, excluding their
enemies, and fostering their young, were as apparent two thou-
sand years ago as at the present day. The instinctive princi-
ple, as a purely preservative one, was originally given to them
perfect ; it therefore required no extension, and it has received
none.

If this definition of instinct should be considered correct
(which the more I consider the matter the more I am convinced
that it is so), it will require but little observation on any of the
higher orders of animals around us, but of quadrupeds particu-
larly, and of these the dog more especially, to force conviction
on our minds, that innumerable actions are daily performed by
them, all of which are totally unconnected with either of these

c2

38

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.

great instinctive principles. It must be, therefore, self-evident,
that all such actions must be extra-instinctive, and the result of
rational operations of the brute mind. In the dog- these intel-
lectual phenomena present themselves in infinite variety, and the
impulses whereby they are directed seem equally diversified ; but
my limits will not allow me, in this edition, as in the last, to
bring forward illustrative anecdotes in proof of these positions ;
and they are the less necessary, as most of them have been
copied into various publications. A very excellent collection of
this nature has been made by Capt. Brown, and to the perusal of
which I would strongly recommend any sceptic on either the
utility, the virtue, or the intellectuality of the dog. He is con-
fiding, and obedient in the extreme. His bravery is well known,
and it is admirably set off by his mercy, which to a conquered or
to a lesser foe is often very remarkable. Most faithful and dis-
interested, no temptation can make him desert his master, or his
property especially entrusted to him. In the exercise of these
proofs of his fidelity, all danger is disregarded ; even the press-
ing calls of cold and hunger are not sufficient to make him aban-
don his duty ; and the pages of history are fraught with well-
authenticated accounts, where actual starvation has overtaken
him when thus employed. This is no exaggerated picture, but a
true portrait of the Dog as he is usually found, and the very few
instances of darker shadowing, universally frail as we are our-
selves, ought not to lessen our due appreciation of the mass.
Such being the case, can we treat an animal of his worth with too
much consideration and kindness ? Are we not as well bound
by duty as by interest, to foster him with care, to protect him
from harm, and to administer to his wants in sickness ; and yet
is he in general so treated? On the contrary, is he not neglected
by one half of mankind ; and by more than a half of the re-
mainder is he not despised and ill-treated ? Were it otherwise,
pages written in illustration of his history ; on the cultivation of
his varieties ; and the improvement of his talent, would be con-
sidered as honourable offerings to society : neither would the

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.

39

human surgeon, in turning aside from the higher duties of his
profession, to describe the numerous diseases, and to detail suc-
cessful methods of combating them in him, as well as in the
horse, be considered as having, in the smallest degree, compro-
mised either his professional or personal respectibility. It ill
accords with the boasted ' ' march of intellect," that the study
and improvement of any branch of philosophy should do other
than elevate the professor of it. "They manage these things
better in France." Justly convinced, that whatever is useful and
humane is honourable also, this enlightened nation encourages
brute medicine to the utmost, by the erection of colleges, the
appointment of professors, and the granting of diplomas to its
students, who then move in honourable competition and associ-
ation with the practitioners of the parent art.

PART THE SECOND.

THE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM ;

OR THE BREEDING AND REARING OF DOGS, THEORETICALLY AND
PRACTICALLY CONSIDERED: WITH THE GENERAL TREATMENT OF
THEM, BOTH AS PREVENTIVE AND CURATIVE OF DISEASE.

THE breeding and rearing of dog's are important considera-
tions, both to the rural economist and the sportsman : the sub-
ject is also intimately connected with their medical treatment ;
for there are particular diseases attendant on both mother and
offspring while in a state of mutual dependance on each other.
The reproduction of the animal form is brought about in dogs
by desires that are not constant, but which among the wild
breeds occur about once a year : in domesticated dogs, on the
contrary, as shelter and nourishment under the fostering care of
man are present at all times of the year, so the periods of their
osstrum, or heat, return at uncertain intervals of six, seven, or
eight months, as confinement or highly stimulating food may
hasten the sexual excitement1.

The heat or oestrum of bitches is the consequence of a sympa-
thetic action between all the organs concerned in generation,

1 It has been attempted to bring on the sexual appetency or heat in bitches
by stimulating injections, and it now and then succeeds: but as it is an un-
natural process, and as the constitutional sympathy cannot be supposed to be
so fully excited as to produce a general consent of parts, impregnation does
not always follow the intercourse, and, when it does, the progeny are some-
times ad'ected by it, proving weak and unhealthy. I once saw a litter thus
artificially urged into life, where every one was ricketty.

42

THE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM.

which at these times become more highly susceptible and vas-
cular, as is shewn by tumefaction of the external parts, and a
discharge from the vulva. There are likewise strong marks of
general excitement throughout the body; the plethoric and
irritable state of which is such, that those bitches that have been
before subject to fits, are now peculiarly Hable to them ; and con-
vulsions often appear at this time in those that have not before
been affected by them. It is evident, therefore, that the precau-
tions of cooling food, judicious exercise, and opening medicines,
are necessary at these periods, for the young and delicate parti-
cularly; and they are still more so for such bitches as are
intended to be debarred from the dog; for, in these latter cases,
their excitement remains long in action, when they are deprived
of the satiety of sexual intercourse.

Bitches should therefore be alloived to breed, nor is it good for
their health to preArent it ; for nature almost invariably punishes
extraordinary deviations from her estabHshed laws, of which the
reproductive system is one of the most important. Breeding,
therefore, is so much a healthy and necessary process, that
bitches prevented from it rarely remain unaffected by disease, and
more particularly those whose confined and luxurious lives espe-
cially require the aid of such outlets to the superabundance of
the system as are opened during the processes of breeding and
rearing of young. In such, barrenness is particularly hurtful,
and greatly assists in producing, sooner or later, enormous and
diseased collections of fat either universal or partial. The par-
tial collections frecpiently shew themselves by a swelling on
each side of the loins> the consequence of a deposit of adipose
substance around each ovaria. In other cases, particularly
where barrenness is occasional only, the mamm*, or milk glands,
become affected with small indurations; which are apt even-
tually to end in confirmed scirrhi or open ulcers. See Scirr-
hous Diseases of Glands, Class V. — A more immediate evil
likewise often awaits the preventing of the sexual intercourse,
which is, a troublesome accumulation of milk in the mammae, or
teats ; for the various organs of generation have such a sympa-

THE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM. 43

thetic connexion with each other, that when females are denied
the doo-, still, when the customary period of gestation or going
with young has passed, milk will nevertheless appear in the lac-
tiferous glands. This sometimes occurs to a very considerable
degree, and occasions much heat and distention. It is more
particularly observed in such females as have already had young
ones, and they invariably suffer most in the future privation. In
such cases, it is proper gently to press out the milk daily, winch
will greatly relieve the animal; the teats should also be fre-
quently bathed with a mixture of brandy and vinegar a little
weakened with water. Food should be given sparingly, and
that of a vegetable nature is best; strong exercise should also
be encouraged, and an occasional dose of physic will prove
useful. The author of an elegant Treatise on Greyhounds
(whose opinion, as an observant sportsman and breeder, ought to
have due weight), remarks, that where breeding has been always
prevented, he has never found any injurious effects whatever to
follow from it. It is undoubtedly true, and it accords with my
own experience, that the constitution having once been sub-
jected to the reproductive process, or, in other words, that it is
in those which have been once allowed to breed, that the
injurious consequences are most observed; in every instance
they are more liable to suffer from the future deprivation of it
than those in whom the constitutional sympathies have never
been fully excited throughout the generative system. It may
also be remarked, in answer to the above statement, that sport-
ing and other dogs accustomed to moderate feeding and regular
exercise (which are evidently those Sir W. C. draws his in-
ferences from), will bear this deprivation with much greater im-
punity than those that are more confined and altogether more
artificially treated. But as a law in the animal economy, and as
one applicable to the general state and constitution of the dog,
the reproduction of the species is a necessary, a natural, and,
consequently, a healthy process ; and the theory is borne out by
the fact for attentive observation extended to all the varieties oj
the species, will shew, that the suffering of bitches to breed, not

44

THE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM.

only tends to keep them in health, but that those which have
been allowed to bring up numerous litters, have more invariably
attained a great age than such as have been debarred the inter-
course. It may be added, that the same is observed in the
human, where the average of longevity among females is de-
cidedly in favour of the married, compared with the single.

Bitches in heat are very canning, and often elude all but the
greatest vigilance in their attempts to escape in search of a
mate ; and thus, for want of due caution, many frustrate the
hopes of their owners in the desired breed ; and many others
meet their death by becoming lined by a dog so extremely dis-
proportionate in size that the mothers are found unable to bring
forth. When, therefore, a bitch has so escaped, it will be pru-
dent immediately to follow her ; not only to prevent the . inter-
course altogether, but to guard against the brutal folly of boys
and others, who, when it has taken place, often throw cold
water over the animals, or tear them away from each other by
violence. I have seen the parts of the female actually suffer
inversion from this : other injurious consequences have also very
frequently followed^. To the dog, likewise, it is no less hurtful,
by fatally rupturing the bloodvessels of the parts3, or by other
lacerations.

Impregnation takes place sometimes at the first copulation, in
others not until the second, third, or fourth ; and in some cases I

a Brutal as is the practice of spaying in ordinary cases, it would be ad-
missible, in an instance where it was known that a very favourite and very
small bitch had copulated with a very large bony dog; for in such case, as
little risk would attend the operation of spaying, judiciously performed at a
proper time of the pregnancy, but extreme risk would be incurred by waiting
the natural time of bringing forth, so it would be very proper to have it done.
See Spaying, among the Operations, Class XII.

3 This retention of the male within the female parts after the act has been
apparently completed, arises from a peculiarity of structure in both. In the
male, the corpora cavernosa have two large lateral protuberances, which,
when distended with blood, effectually retain the penis within the vagina of the
female, till the venereal orgasm has entirely ceased. The clitoris of the fe-
male also partakes of a similar structure, and firmly retains the penis in coitu
by a protuberant ring, which then closes firmly on it. The same structure is
apparent in all the canine congeners.

THE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM.

45

have known, from decided proofs, that impregnation did not
ensue until the seventh warding. Dogs should be suffered, there-
fore, to remain together some days to insure prolific intercourse.
This protracted period, however, applies more particularly to
pampered and tender dogs ; those which five less artificially as
sporting and rural dogs, conceive usually at the second or third
warding. During gestation, dogs do not appear to suffer much
derangement of system ; some, however, appear to be listless
nauseated, and averse to particular foods; and most of them are
more thirsty at this than at other times. It is not easy to detect
whether bitches are in pup until the fourth or fifth week after
warding ; about which time the teats enlarge, the flanks fill, and
the belly assumes a fulness and rotundity unnatural to it at
others. Towards the seventh week, the belly becomes pendulous,
and the future increase is not so observable as the previous. In
the last week of pregnancy, the contents of the belly seem to in-
cline backwards, the vulva increases in size, and a slimy matter
(to soften and lubricate the parts) often issues. Pupping usually
comes on the sixty-second, sixty-third, or, at farthest, on the
sixty-fourth day. A quarter or half an hour, and sometimes a
longer time, intervenes between the expulsion of each foetus. 1
have known a solitary puppy appear on the seventieth day from
the last intercourse, and that in a case where superfcetation was
improbable. See Pupping. -During the pregnancy of bitches,
particular care should be taken to observe, and to remove, any
appearance of mange or other affections of the skin and surface : if
this be neglected, the progeny will be brought into the world with
an hereditary taint that no future endeavours can wholly eradicate.

Dogs are certainly capable of superfcetation ; that is, impreg-
nation may take place at more than one warding, and that by
distinct mates. The fact was long ago admitted by naturalists
and physiologists*; since which time numerous circumstances

,In the superfcetation of brutes, is there not reason to suppose that the
Jrm i confuted from each ovaria in succession ? or do the ova or germs
pVclt tnemselves indiscriminately from- both 7 The interestrng .xper.rnents
of Dr. Haighton, related in the PhUosofhical Transactions, 17OT, p. 1S»,

40 THE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM.

have fallen under the notice of sportsmen that confirm the matter.
I have, in several instances, seen whelps of the same litter with
appearances which bore evident marks of different origin, and
where the future disproportion in size, with all the distinctive
marks of varied species, clearly evinced that more than one male
was concerned in the process.

Antecedent i?npressions received have often cm effect on the
progeny. — Superfcetation is apt to be confouuded with, or its
phenomena are sometimes accounted for by, another process,
still more curious and inexplicable, but which is wholly dependent
on the mother ; where imprintings which have been received by
her mind previous to her sexual intercourse are conveyed to the
germs within her, so as to stamp one or more of them with cha-
racteristic traits of resemblance to the dog from which the im-
pression was taken, although of a totally different breed from the
real father of the progeny. In superfcetation, the size, form, &c.
of the additional progeny all fully betoken their origin. In these
instances of sympathetic deviation, the form, size, and character
are, in most, principally the mother's ; but the colour is usually
the favourite's, with, perhaps, a few characteristic blendings of ex-
ternal resemblance intermixed. It would appear that this mental
impression, which is perhaps usually raised at some period of
oestrum, always recurs at that period, and is so interwoven with
the organization even, as to become a stamp or mould for some
if not all of her future progeny ; the existence of which curious
anomaly in the reproductive or breeding system is confirmed by
acts of not unfrequent occurrence. I had a pug bitch whose
constant companion was a small and almost tvhite spaniel dog, of
Lord Rivers' breed, of which she was very fond. When it be-
came necessary to separate her, on account of her heat, from this
dog, and to confine her with one of her own kind, she pined ex-
cessively ; and notwithstanding her situation, it was some time

and by Mr. Cruickshanks, id. p. 197, tend to throw light on this curious sub-
ject. Superfcetation seems extended also to the human ; instances ol iliis un-
recorded in Blumenbach's Institutions of Physiology, and in White's work
on the Regular Gradation of the Human Race.

THE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM. 47

before she would admit of the attentions of the pug dog placed
with her. At length, however, she did so ; impregnation fol-
lowed, and at the usual period she brought forth five pug pup-
pies, one of which was elegantly white, and more slender than
the others. The spaniel was soon afterwards given away, but
the impression remained ; for at two subsequent litters (which
were all she had afterwards) she presented me withawfo'fc young
one, which the fanciers know to be a very rare occurrence5.

5 It is a curious circumstance, that each succeeding white puppy was less
slender in form than the preceding, though all were equally white ; which
shewed, as I have before stated, that this mental influence extends less per-
fectly to the individual form, than to its external characters, particularly of
colour ; and also that it lessens by time and absence. When, therefore, pups
of completely different forms and kinds proceed from one litter, superfceta-
tion has occurred, and not mental influence. The Rev. R. Lascelles, m his
Letters on Sporting, p. 250, relates a case of a greyhound bitch, entrusted to
the care of a servant, which whelped one perfect greyhound and six complete
curs • the curs were the likeness of the dog she domesticated with in common ;
the single one resembled the greyhound she was taken to during her heat.
There is little reason, therefore, to doubt that the bitch had been previously
lined by the cur, and the single greyhound pup was the effect of superfcetation.
I mention this to shew how easy this mistake between two different causes may
occur, and how they may be distinguished. I was not fortunate enough to
rear either of my white puppies: the late Lord Kelly offered me fifteen guineas
for one of them at three months old.

Lord Morton bred from a male quagga and a chesnut mare. The mare
was afterwards bred from by a black Arabian horse ; but still the progeny ex-
hibited, in colour and mane, a striking resemblance to the quagga. D. Giles,
Esq. had a sow of the black and white kind, which was bred from by a boar
of the wild breed, of a deep chesnut colour : the pigs produced by this inter-
course were duly mixed, the colour of the boar being in some very predomi-
nant. The sow was afterwards bred from by two of Mr. Western's boars,
and in both instances chesnut marks were prevalent in the litter, which, in
other instances, had never presented any appearance of the kind. Phil. Trans.
1821.— The former cases tend to confirm what I have before remarked, that
the mental influence excited on these occasions extends less to the internal or-
ganization than to the external characters of colour and covering. The fol-
lowing will, however, shew, that impressions from terror may sink so deep as
to affect the organization also of the progeny. In the Linnamn Society of
London is found an account, by Mr. Milne, of a pregnant cat, his own pro-
perty the end of whose tail was trodden on with so much violence, as, appa-
rently, to give the animal intense pain. When she kittened, five young ones
appeared, perfect in every other respect except the tail, which was, in each
one of them, distorted near the end, and enlarged into a cartilaginous knob.—
Lin. Trans.., vol. ix, p. 323.

48

THE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM.

The late Dr. Hugh Smith used to relate a similar instance
which occurred to a very favourite female setter that often fol-
lowed his carriage. On one occasion, when travelling in the
country, she became suddenly so enamoured of a mongrel that
followed her, that, to separate them, he was forced, or rather
his anger irritated him, to shoot the mongrel, and he then pro-
ceeded on his journey. The image of this sudden favourite, how-
ever, still haunted the bitch, and for some weeks after she pined
excessively, and obstinately refused intercourse with any other
dog. At length she admitted the caresses of a well-bred setter ;
but when she whelped, the Doctor was mortified with the sight of
a litter which he perceived bore evident marks (particularly in
colour) of the favoured cur, and they were accordingly destroyed.
The same also occurred in all her future puppings : invariably
the breed was tainted by the lasting impression made by the
mongrel. It is, therefore, evident, that to ensure a select breed,
too much care cannot be taken to render the choice of the male
agreeable to the female ; and also, that where a female of a very
valuable breed has been long habituated to any favourite male
companion, and which it is not intended she should be allowed to
breed by, that it is advisable to separate them even before the
oestrum or heat of the bitch comes on, which will prevent the
disappointment that might otherwise occur.

Like begets like, is the dog-breeder's axiom ; and when the
anomalies noticed do not interfere, the produce of a connexion
between dogs of a similar breed usually exhibits traits of indivi-
dual resemblance to each, united with the characteristic marks
common to the breed in general. Sportsmen incline to the
opinion, that the male pups are more strongly tinctured with the
external form of the father than of the mother, and vice versa ;
but though instances may occur to favour such conclusion, it is
not a uniform occurrence. When the parents are of different
breeds0, the varying outlines of each are usually softened and

6 When dogs of different breeds arc brought together, the progeny are said
to be a cross. Thus, pointers are sometimes crossed With foxhounds, to in-

THE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM.

49

blended in the progeny, in nearly equal proportions*. But this
division of parental character is not always equal : it sometimes
happens that the more notable characteristics of form, size, and
qualities, and even of sex, are principally derived from the male
parents. In others a stronger similitude to the mother is appa-
rent; and it now and then happens that these partialities seem to

crease their speed and ardour. The effect of these crosses is retained to the
seventh or eighth generation: among turf sportsmen it is supposed to exist, in
horses, to the twentieth successive descendant.

7 These hlendings of the individual character of each parent are illustrated
by hybridous animals: how easily traced, and yet how blended into a whole,
are the characters of the horse and ass, as observed in the hybrid mule ! These
hybridous productions also completely disprove the opinion some physmlog.sts
have formed, that the male parent, in the probative act, imparts nothing be-
yond the mere stimulus of life to the ovum or germ of the female; tor it
must he evident that the germ in the mare is naturally of the horse species;
and did such germ merely receive the vivifying principle by the sexual in-
tercourse, it would be indifferent to the future produce whether the father
were a horse or an ass.

"Some physiologists (and among them Sir E. Home) have supposed that
the ovum or germ, previous to impregnation, is of no sex, but is so formed as to
be equally fitted to become a male or female foetus, and that it is the process of
impregnation that marks the sex, and produces both male and female generative
organs. However this opinion may seem to be supported by facts, and although
instances do occur that give reason to suppose that the male parent has con-
siderable influence in determining the sex, yet others arise to prove the female
to be equally concerned in this matter. It is true that some dogs, some stallions,
and some bulls, are remarked for begetting a greater number of males than
females ; while others are the parents of more females than males. In the Phil.
Trans. 17S7, p. 344, mention is made of a gentleman who was the youngest of
forty sons, all produced in succession, from three different wives, by one father,
in Ireland. But it is, at the same time, equally notorious, that some bitches, let
them breed by what dog they will, yet still have a plurality of one sex. The
same occurs, in a much greater degree, among other domestic animals. Mr.
Knight remarks on the equal aptitude in the female in determining the sex :
" In several species of domesticated animals (I believe in all), particular
" females arc found to produce a majority of their offspring of the same sex;
" and I have proved repeatedly, that, by dividing a herd of thirty cows into
" three equal parts, I could calculate with confidence upon a large majority
" of females from one part, of males from another, and upon nearly an equal
" number of males and females from the remainder. I frequently endeavoured
" to change the habits by changing the male, but with success."— Phil. Trims.
1809, p. 397. In King's I. nuclei/ church are the effigies of seven successive
daughters born to a man by his first wife, and of seven soils born to him by a
second wife, in succession.

50

THE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM.

be confined to a part of the progeny only, or is divided between
the parents. This is sometimes observed when a breed is made
between a pointer and setter, in which case it has not unfre-
quently happened that a part of the litter has produced nearly
thorough-bred pointers, while the remainder have proved well-
bred setters.

Breeding back, as it is popularly called among sportsmen, is
not one of the least curious, nor one of the least important among
the phenomena which attend the reproductive system. If it were
not for the irregularities lately pointed out, which occasionally
occur by mental influence, we might be led to conclude that a
family character was originally imprinted on the generative
organs, or that the ova or germs of the future race were formed
after one common hereditary mould ; for it is often observed, not
only among dogs, but among other domestic animals, and even in
man also, that their progeny bear a greater resemblance to the
grandam or grandfather than to their immediate parents. It
is evident that this is more likely to happen where a common
character has been preserved during successive generations, or,
in turf language, where the blood has been kept -pure; which is
nothing more than an established variety, being acted on in its
successive generations by the owner, in the direction of the
sexual intercourse, the selection of food, discipline of qualities,
and regulation of habits.

That we may not, however, attribute principles to nature which
are, perhaps, much under the influence of art, it will be prudent
to recollect, that, in a philosophical point of view, we have no
such thing as a pure breed among any of our domestic animals.
Our most boasted specimens are either altogether degenerates^

9 A more close examination of the subject will shew not only that our most
highly prized animals are degenerates, but that many of them are monstrosities.
Degeneracy, among naturalists, is a departure from originality and a state of
nature ; thus, philosophically, wild animals only can be considered as perfect.
But man, to gratify his artificial wants, has cultivated forms and properties in
them, which, however they may prove beneficial to himself, render the animals
subjected to such alterations unfitted for the purposes they were originally

THE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM.

51

or produced from congenital varieties ; the native and original
types are mostly unknown to us. In tracing the natural history
of the dog, we must feel convinced that what we call breeds are
but varieties which have been generated by various causes, as
climate, peculiarity in food, restraint, and domestication. Man,
active in promoting his own benefit, has watched these gradual
alterations, and has improved and extended them by aiding the
causes that tend to their production, and by future care has per-
petuated and made them permanently his own.

Many of the varieties among dogs and other domestic animals

destined for. What would become of some of our cultivated breeds of dogs,
were they turned loose in a wild country? Could a pack of pugs hunt down
the antelope ; nay, could they even subsist in a state of nature? The high-bred
greyhound's speed and vision united would fail in the same circumstances; de-
prived, as he would find himself by cultivation, of the means of following his
prey through its various windings by scenting his course. The pointer might
stand, and his partners might back him, until they became together converted
into monuments of devotion to an artificial excellence which had converted
them into a group of mummies : the pursuits of their cultivated talent would
infallibly starve them.

As promoters of the ease and comforts of mankind, every one yields the
well-merited honours that are distributed among our enterprising cattle breed-
ers ; but the philosopher, retired from the world, and the naturalist, con-
templating his subject freed from extraneous bearings; they regard the
boasted excellencies of our domestic animals in general as monstrosities. The
majestic large breed of heavy cart horses, cultivated to their present stature by
the luxuriant nature of the herbage in this and some other countries, would
be ill calculated to save themselves from beasts of prey, by either flight or
active resistance : their immense weight would sink them in loose soils, that
their more agile originals wonld bound over with instinctive celerity ; and the
scanty herbage in nature's wilds would ill suffice their multiplied wants. With
the ox and sheep a constitutional obesity is encouraged, until the fat and mus-
cular parts are lotally disproportioned to the bony mass that is to support them,
which lessens, according to modern excellence, in an inverse proportion to its
necessities; and, as though the degeneration was not sulh'ciently pursued, in the
polled breeds those original marks of distinction and safety, the horns, also
yield to the sacrifice. Even the finest edibles among our garden bulbs, as the
carrot, parsnep, &c. &c. are monstrosities, enlarged at the expense of the stem
and other parts ; and the disproportionate magnitudeof our fruit is attributable
to the monstrosity of the pericarp. It is not attempted to argue that these are
not actual advantages to mankind, nor to detract from the merit that lias intro-
duced these acknowledged improvements ; if is merely suggested to show that
misconception and mis-appropriation of terms often arise according as the sub-
ject is viewed by the naturalist or the rural economist.

D

52 THE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM.

are the effect of monstrosity, or have arisen from some anomaly
in the reproductive or breeding process. When these accidental
varieties have exhibited a peculiar organization or form which
could be applied to any useful or novel purpose, the objects have
been reared and afterwards bred from; and when the singularity
has been observed in more than one of the same birth, it has been
easy to perpetuate it by breeding again from these congeners,
and confining the future intercourse to them. To these accidental
variations from general form and character among dogs we are
to attribute our most diminutive breeds, our pugs, bull-dogs,
wry-legged terriers, and some others10 : our general breeds are,
however, rather the effect of slow cultivation than of sudden and
extraordinary production.

It has been before observed, that every variety or breed has a ten-
dency to degenerate, or travel backwards to something like the ori-
ginal standard : this tendency is greatest in the accidental varieties
or breeds just hinted at, in which a few succeeding generations11

10 Among other domesticated animals, prominent instances present themselves
of accidental variety. The solidungular breed of swine, with their undivided
feet and the ancon or otter breed of sheep, described by Colonel Hum-
phries, in Phil. Trans, for 1813, part i, may be noticed in proof. These
sheep were derived from the accidental deformity of one American lamb, born
with leSs most disproportionately short to the rest of his body, which deformity,
added to great crookedness of the fore legs, rendered him unable either to
run or to break fences. . With these qualities it was determined to attempt a
breed of this kind; and, by confining the intercourse between him and his
future offspring, it succeeded, and the ancon or otter breed is now established.
The pure milk-white breeds which we witness now as permanent among ferrets,
rabbits, mice, &c. originally sprang from one accidental vanet, of each Man
himself is not exempt from this departure from estabhshed form ^ character^
as we witness in the Albino, who presents the same leucccth.op.c constitutional
characters in the deficiency of colouring matter, a similar i^*™!™
pupU, and consequently the same intolerance of light, » the
SLb. There have been, and still exist, six- ngered fann .es ; and 1
Lawrence informs us that the thick Hp, yet visible .n some noble Austi,
families, was introduced by the marriage of the Emperor Maximilian With
Mary of Burgundy. I have myself seen, in Sussex, a breed of taiUess cats

.. Lord Orford bred between a bull-dog and a greyhound: in seven de-
scents all traces of the cross were lost in form; but he conjectured that he
Z I gained an acquisition of courage and determination. Probably an acc-
dental deformity might have disappeared sooner.

THE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM. 53

is sufficient to destroy all appearances of variation from tlie
original ; but in breeds more nearly approaching the original,
as well as such as have been long established, it requires a much
longer time wholly to degenerate them. The tendency to resume
the original type is, however, inherent in all our domestic animals,
and in none more than the dog ; and judicious efforts employed to
counteract this property form a principal part of the art of suc-
cessful breeding in rural economy.

Notorious varieties or breeds are, therefore, the consequence of
our attempts at the improvement of such races of dogs, or of any
other domestic animals, as exhibited a constitutional tendency to
a particular form or character, the properties of which are either
known or expected to prove useful. Or they originate in the
adoption of any accidental variety that may spring up in the way
lately described. Or a breed may be established by any deter-
minate form or quality, within certain limits, being previously
fixed on ; after this individuals are selected, perhaps not exactly
similar, but each of which having distinct points of resemblance to
the desired form, conjointly, the full end may be gained in their
own union and that of their affinities. In this way the most sur-
prising alterations in the animal character have been, and still
may be, brought about ; and forms almost ideal have been, and
still may be, realized12. A breed or variety being adopted and
established, its permanency must depend on the care bestowed not
only in selecting proper individuals to propagate from, but also
in the adoption of such other circumstances as tend to preserve
the animals themselves in that state the nearest approaching to

12 Among the experienced fanciers of the small yellow and white spaniels,
which much resemble those known by the name of the Marlborough breed,
this is particularly exemplified. These elegant animals are very common
among the Spilalfields weavers ; and to such a perfection have they brought
the art of breeding them, that it is affirmed they can insure, almost to a cer-
tainty, the requisite quantity of colour, the length of coat, its texture, and its
disposition to cu:l or to remain straight. The Herefordshire ox can be bred
to a white or a half white face ; and the horns of some breeds can be insured
to an inch. The colour of the game cock is arbitrarily imposed by the handler
and feeder ; and the experienced pigeon-fancier can breed to a feather.

D 2

54

THE REPRODUCTIVE SYS'I EM.

what has been established as the standard. These circumstances
include choice of situation, proper food, due exercise, with judi-
cious restraint and discipline. The aids we should lend to per-
petuate a diminutive race would be, close confinement, artificial
heat13, and sparing food. Were our attempts directed to the
external covering, artificial warmth would render it thin and
fine ; while, on the contrary, exposure would thicken and pro-
bably lengthen it. If great size exists, and we wish to continue
or increase it, we should allow but one or two young to remain
in a fitter; we should not only feed the mother liberally, but it
would be proper early to accustom the young to eat of animal
food also : adding to all these, the free access of air, ample room,
and opportunity for full exercise, But, above all, the perma-
nency of a breed must depend on the judicious selection of in-
dividuals as parents, which, having the specified and definite
form in the greatest degree, are enabled in their progeny to
perpetuate the same. This care, when long continued, of con-
fining to particular races or breeds the means of continuing their
species, constitutes what is termed purity of blood, Immense
importance is attached to this purity of blood, or lineal descent,
amongst the breeders of almost every kind of domestic animal^.
The scientific sportsman acknowledges it, in its fullest degree, m

.3 The French are said to give their diminutive breeds spirituous liquors
When they are young, to stop their growth : if it has this effect, ,t ,s because
Irtificial hen, and a Quickened circulation produce premature development of
the frame, and thus promote an early pubertj.

14 The cart. taken by the Arabs in preserving the breeds of their horses
m0st rtmarkabl;. None but stallions of the finest form and pures O W arc
allowed access to their mares, which is never done but in the presence o a
Xiona, witness or public o^a^ £ the =

;:!,°:f;emony takes place when a breed is undertaken ^ «^«JJ
„ os, biKhly-prized dogs. In England, stalhons have been Bold for 10UO

bulls for SCO, and rams for th, The celebrated W sh,

Greyhound, called Snowball, lined bitches at three gu.neas each. Such

ation is purity of blood and regularity of des^m held in.

THE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM.

55

the genealogy of his clogs ; and experience teaches him that a
certain degree of perfection, once gained, can only be continued
by successive propagation from the blood or same stock.

In our selection of parents for multiplying a breed a variety
of circumstances should necessarily engage our attention ; as,
whether we are continuing a race already established, im-
proving a defective one, or altogether forming a new variety.
In either case, but particularly in the two latter, one or two
propagations are not sufficient to enable us to judge of the merits
or demerits of the products : anomalies may occur, monstrosi-
ties appear, or our dogs may breed back. It should likewise be
always present to us, that, in despite of all our care, and in face
of the most favourable opportunities for selection, still perfect speci-
mens to propagate from are unattainable ; and as, therefore, we
are necessarily to expect defects, it should be our care to well
examine that we do not select our male and female parents with
each the same faulty form or property; for, however perfect
they may be in other respects, they are, in such a case, totally
unfit to breed from together. We may, for instance, suppose
an otherwise eligible pair of pointers, of the purest blood, but
that each, from early and constant confinement, had contracted
long, weak, spreading phalanges or toes, instead of a round,
cat-like form of foot. By choosing a mate for each of these
whose feet were unusually small, round, and firm, we might
remedy this defect, and preserve their excellencies ; but it would
be only propagating deformity to breed from them together. We
can only expect to prove successful in rearing a superior race of
any domestic animal, when we make our selection of parents with
a careful reference to the merits and defects in each, by balancing
the one against the other, and by thus combining their different
properties. It is by inattention to these circumstances that so many
persons, after giving immense prices for animals of particular
stocks, have found themselves foiled in their attempts at rearing
any thing beyond mediocrity, which animals under the judicious
management of a Russell, a Coke, or an Ellman, among cattle,

56

THE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM.

or an Orford, a Meynell, a Rivers, or a Topham, among dogs,
would have produced unrivalled forms.

It is no less to he understood, that it is not the form only that
we can alter or bring into an hereditary line ; the aptitudes and
qualities may also be cultivated and made to descend in succession
equally with the external form. Temper, sagacity, and aptness
to receive instruction, are all hereditary, and are all equally to be
taken into the account by a breeder. Some breeds of pointers
require little breaking, but the first time they come on game they
exhibit the required properties with nearly the steadiness of an
old dog. A common fault is often committed by theoretical and
inexperienced breeders, which consists in cultivating a particular
quality, or propagating a particular point of form ; while, at the
same time, losing sight of the integrity of purpose, they deteriorate
the aggregate. In this way, fox-hounds may be bred to run nearly
as fast as greyhounds, but it is at the expense of their scent, their
hardihood, and, I suspect, of their sagacity also. For it cannot
be too strongly inculcated on the mind of every breeder, as an
established law in the animal economy, that an extraordinary de-
gree of excellence existing in any set of organs, whether it be
natural or acquired, is almost invariably accompanied with a pri-
vation of the usual quantity of it in some other is. This law
is fully exemplified in those animals where breeding is carried
to its greatest refinement; or, in other words, where cultiva-
tion in qualities or form, or both, weakens or destroys the in-
stinctive habits and original structure to such a degree as to
make the subjects of it inferior in their reproductive processes,
both as breeders and rearers of progeny; and which appears to
extend throughout all our very high bred animals : among the
feathered race it is peculiarly remarkable. The higher any ,m-
mal is bred, the more artificially he becomes placed with regard

- Without this compensating principle we might curate one race of^-
mills to the total extinction of another. It the gieynounu
Twe of following his game by scenting it, when his capabi hues of overtaking
by ability had been artificially increased to the wonderful perfects we now
find it/W breed of hares must inevitably have been destroyed.

THE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM.

57

to external circumstances, till at length he requires constant care
to obviate those contingencies that would be unheeded by others.

Breeding Li-aud-In. — Among tlie practical and systematic
breeders of all domestic animals, and among none more than
those sportsmen who devote themselves to the improvement of
the dog, a great diversity of opinion has always existed on the
subject of consanguineous breeding; or of that between near re-
lations, characterised by the term In-and-in. The conflicting
authorities on the subject are numerous, and the testimonies con-
tradictory ; and it is more than probable that they will remain
so, until a long course of experiment is undertaken by a body or
society of scientific and observant breeders on various domestic
animals, for the express purpose of arriving at the truth in this
particular. A few solitary or isolated facts can do little to set
the subject at rest : theory can only assist by philosophically di-
recting the inquiry aright : truth should be the ultimate object
of every pursuit, and, from whatever source it is obtained, it
should be embraced. I profess to have had little experience my-
self as a practical breeder, but I have endeavoured to profit by
the experience of others. I am by no means wedded to the in-
and-in system of breeding; and when I hear grave authorities
stating facts (the only sure guides to truth) against it, I am dis-
posed to waver; but renewed examination produces counter
statements, and I retrace my steps and become, as formerly, a
defender (but, I own, not so zealous one) of consanguineous
breeding. I will, however, endeavour to state the pro's and con's
fairly, and then leave the matter, where it should be left, with the
experimentalist.

The first argument that presents itself in favour of multiplica-
tion from near relationship is, that the early human and brute
races must of necessity have been produced from the nearest
affinities ; and it is unreasonable to suppose that nature would
have set out on a principle tending to the immediate deteriora-
tion of her works. This, however, has been called the mere argu-
ment of necessity, and is said to apply only to the precise period

58

THE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM.

when there was no other connexion possible. I admit that tliis
is an argument of necessity, viewed with reference only to pri-
mitive times; but it stands otherwise, when we reflect that, tor
ages after, consanguineous marriages were consummated among
nations of refinement, and to this day, among savage tribes par-
ticularly, their reigning families and chiefs confine themselves to
marriage among lineal kindred16; and yet in neither instance has
any degeneration been observed. From a parity of reasoning,
as we know that an insuperable bar has been placed against
propagation among the several genera, by an instinctive, aver-
sion, that the specific forms might not be lost in hybridous
productions ; so it does not appear to be straining analogy too
much to suppose that, had ill effects followed from consan-
guineous intercourse, something like this instinctive aversion
would be manifested here also". Neither does it appear, a priori,
easy to substantiate either moral or physiological reasons why

is The Egyptians are said to have allowed of the marriages of brothers to
sisters. The Athenians admitted the betrothing of brothers and sisters of the
half blood, if related by the father's side. The marriage of Abraham with his
sister assures us that it was practised among the Chaldeans; and it may be re-
marked, that, when this island was conquered by Ca>sar, a peculiar system of
cohabitation prevailed.-Uxores habent deni duodenique inter se communes,
et maxime fratres cum fratribus, parentesque cum liberis; sed si qui sunt ex
his nati, eorum habentur liberi, quo primum vurgo quasque deducta est.—

Paley'sNat. Hist.

" It may be argued, that such aversion is manifested in the political restric-
tions relative to consanguineous marriages among enlightened nations. That
such prohibitions were necessary from moral and political necessity is evident;
for, by extending the social compact to marriages without the family pale,
knowledge and the arts were extended, improved, and became a common
property ; wealth was diffused, communities were enlarged, and social inte-
rests joined those who before were in opposition to each other ; and, above
all, the demoralizing and depopulating effects of an early departure from
chastity, which unreserved family communication led to, was prevented. It
is however, clear, from history and from philosophical investigation, that such
aversion is neither instinctive nor necessary, but an acquired regulation of
passion, implanted by education, and made general by refinement. Sir W.
C_N observes that, according to Varro, this aversion has really occurred even
in animals — Equus matrem ut saliret adduci non posset, Dv Re Rmlica, lib.
■ ii, e. 5; but the ingenious Baronet candidly acknowledges that subsequent
experience has not justified the assertion.

THE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM.

59

breeding among lineal kindred should of necessity prove de-
teriorating to the future progeny, when no family departure
from the original type is apparent. The same organization, the
same constitutional sympathies, the same aptitudes, when not
defective, would tend, under union, to produce a perfect simili-
tude : but facts are infinitely more to our purpose than the most
specious arguments.

We are assured, that the Arab horses of high blood are
usually bred in-and-in; and we know that no people in existence
are equally observant of the purity of lineal descent among these
animals as they are ; and as these horses have maintained their
high character for ages, it forms a strong presumption in favour
of this system. Mr. Bakewell, whose name will ever rank high
as a breeder of cattle, reared his valuable stock wholly from
consanguinity: in fact, his important improvements were all
founded on this intercourse among kindred, or their affinities.
Mr. Meynell, who was no less celebrated as an experimentalist
in the breeding of sporting dogs, propagated the whole of his
celebrated fox hounds in this manner.

I have already stated, that numerous and powerful opponents
exist to the system of in-and-in breeding, whose opinions ought
to have their due influence when considering the question18. Sir
John Sebright, who has been long known as a practical breeder
and scientific experimentalist, has given us his opinions on the sub-
ject, in a Letter on The Art of Improving the Breeds of Do-
mestic Animals ; and as great importance is justly attributed to
his opinions, as there detailed, I shall, in candour, quote so much
as is necessary to shew the drift of his arguments. He says, "If
" a breed cannot be improved, or even continued in the degree
"■ of perfection at which it has already arrived, but by breeding
" from individuals, so selected as to correct each others defects,

18 The principal arguments, in my own mind, against tins mode of increase
are that hereditary diseases, which in some breeds are considerable, arc, by ibis
means, perpetuated and probably increased; and also, that when breeding by
relationship is a settled practice, the accidental defects are too upt to be passed
over unobserved.

00

THE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM.

" and by a judicious combination of their different properties (a
" position that I believe will not be denied), it follows that
" animals must degenerate by being long bred from the same
" family, without the intermixture of any other blood, or from
" being what is technically called bred in-and-in." Against
the contrary opinion, as held by Bakewell, the ingenious Baronet
thus reasons : — " No one can deny the ability of Mr. Bakewell
" in the art of which he may fairly be said to have been the
" inventor ; but the mystery with which he is well known to
" have carried on every part of his business, and the various
" means which he employed to mislead the public, induce me
" not to give that weight to his assertions, which I should do to
" his real opinion, could it have been ascertained." To Mr.
Meynell's opinion of the same tendency, he replies — " Mr. Mey-
" nell's fox-hounds are quoted as an instance of the success of
"this practice (i.e. the in-and-in ) ; but, on speaking to that
" gentleman upon the subject, I found that he did not attach the
meaning that 1 do to the term in-and-in. He said, that he
" frequently bred from the father and the daughter, and the
" mother and the son. This is not what I consider as breeding
" in-and-in ; for the daughter is only half of the same blood as
" the father, and will probably partake, in a great degree, of
" the properties of the mother."

Sir J. S. also, in another part of his letter, states some im-
portant facts on the matter in these words : ~" I have tried
« many experiments by breeding in-and-in upon dogs, fowls,
" and pigeons : the dogs became, from strong spaniels, weak
" and diminutive lap-dogs ; the fowls became long in the legs,
" small in the body, and bad breeders."

Sir W. C n, in his Treatise on Greyhounds, is also, in

some degree, unfavourable to breeding a-kin. He says, " II
" continued for some litters, a manifest inferiority of size, and a
" deficiency of bone, will soon be visible, as well as a want ol
" courage and bottom; though the beauty of the form, with the
« exception of the size, may not be diminished."

THE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM. Ol

Buffon argues on the same side:—" Ce qu'il y a de singulier,
" c'est qu'il semble que le modele du beau et du bon soit dis-
" perse par toute la terre, et que dans chaque climat il n'en reside
" qu'une portion qui degenere toujours, a moins qu'on ne la
« reunisse avec une autre portion prise au loin ; en sort que pour
" avoir de bon grain, de belles fleurs, &c. &c. il faut en en-
'« changer les grains et de ne jamais semer dans le meme terrein
« qui les a produits ; et de meme, pour avoir de beaux chevaux,
« de bons chiens, &c. &c. il faut donner aux femelles du pays des
"males etrangers, et reciproquement aux males du pays des
" femelles etrangeres ; sans cela les grains, les fleurs, les ani-
" maux degenerent, ou plutot prennent uni si fort teiuture du
" climat, que la matiere domine sur la forme, et semble l'aba-
" tardir, I'empreinte reste, mais defiguree par tous les traits, qui
" ne lui sont pas essentiels. En melant au contraire les races, et
«* surtout en les renouvelant toujours par les races etrangeres, la
" forme semble se perfectionner, et la nature se relever et donner
" tout ce qu'elle produit de meilleur." Buffon Hist. Nat. torn,
iv, p. 216.— Mr. Beckford, in his Thoughts on Hunting, appears
equally averse to consanguineous canine breeding. " A very fa-
« mous sportsman has told me, that he frequently breeds from
" brothers and sisters. As I should be very unwilling to urge
" any thing in opposition to such authority, you had better try
" it ; and if it succeeds in hounds, it is more, I believe, than it
" usually does in other animals."

It remains to add, that many practical breeders of inferior note
are averse to propagating in succession from near relationship
by blood, as brother and sister, father and daughter, &c. &c. ;
but many allow even the benefit of relationship in a more remote
degree. This is particularly the case with some rearers of game
fowls, who are favourable to breeding from the third remove,
which they call a nick. From all which discrepancy of opinion
may be gained, that the subject is at present somewhat pro-
blematical; and, that the opposition to it, if not altogether un-
founded, lias, nevertheless, not yet received such an accumulation

02

THE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM.

of striking and incontrovertible facts as to force conviction.
One thing it is but just to state, which is, that breeding in-and-in
among dogs, which is the point more immediately connected with
our present inquiry, seems to have more opponents than it has in
the multiplication of any other domestic race of animals. Whe-
ther it be, that dogs, from their habits of close intimacy with us,
aftbrd more opportunities of close observation ; or whether there
be really an inherent aptitude in them unfavourable to propaga-
tion from near affinities, is not agreed on generally; but the
prejudice deserves to be fully canvassed by a series of experi-
ments and observations, having for their object the truth, and
that only.

THE REARING OF YOUNG DOGS.

To procure the whelping of dogs in the spring is undoubtedly
desirable in kennels where many dogs are reared ; and in such it
is usual to encourage the season of heat in the females by liberal
feeding, &c, so that the young thus early produced may benefit
by the genial warmth of the summer, and expand their limbs by
exercise in the open air more freely. The number of young that
are brought forth at a birth varies from one to twelve : instances
have occurred where sixteen have been whelped, and I once re-
moved the same number from a dead setter : five, six, and seven,
are common numbers^. How many it is proper for the mother
to rear, must depend on circumstances : one that is very strong
and healthy may, with full feeding, bring up five : but when the
breed is valuable, and great size and strength are required, four,
or even three, are more proper : among the delicate breeds no
more should ever be allowed. If a foster mother is procured for
the supernumerary pups, she should, if possible, be of the same
breed with themselves ; for from the experience I have had in this
particular, I am strongly inclined to believe that the qualities

■9 Albertus relates his knowledge of a mastiff bitch, which littered the vast
number of fifty young ones at three consecutive parturitions; viz., nineteen
at the first, eighteen at the second, and thirteen at the last.

REARING OF YOUNG DOCS. 63

of a foster mother are, in some degree, transferred with the
milk; and when the breeds are distinct, this must be very pre-
judicial. I am also borne out in this opinion by the testimony
of other observant sportsmen2<>. Constitutional diseases may
be likewise gained by this means*. At times, some difficulty is
experienced in getting a foster parent to receive strange young :
in which case it is usual to sprinkle them with the milk of the
bitch they are to be put to : but when even this will not avail,
the removal of her own young will commonly excite the feelings
of maternity towards the stranger : the former plan is, however,
commonly sufficient, acting as it does on a similar principle with
that by which shepherds succeed, who when a ewe dies, take her
lamb, and, having found a ewe with a dead one, the dead
lamb's skin is stripped off by them, and sewed around the living
lamb, who is then received by the foster parent as her own.
Most animal instincts connected with the reproductive system
are conducted by means of smelling.

Puppies are bom blind, and remain so for many days ; their
ears are also impervious. Eyesight and hearing would have
been useless to animals so indigent, and which, in a state of
nature, were intended to remain buried the first weeks of their
existence in holes and dark caverns. These organs only deve- •
lope themselves when their owners begin to be sensible of their
wants : the lids unclose by degrees, and then exhibit a mem-
branaceous covering, or rather a thickened state of the conjunctive
tunic; but which gradually becoming absorbed, presents ulti-
mo The learned author of A Treatise on Greyhounds introduces some quo-
tations to shew that this effect had not escaped the attention of the antients.
Columella, lib. vii, c.12, has the following remarks on it:— "Nec nunquam eos
"quorum generosam volumus indolem conservare, patiemur alienee mitncis
"uberibuseducari, quoniam semper lac et spiritus maternus longe magis m-
« genii atque incrementa corporis augent." Similar observations occur in Xc-
nophon. de Venal. 987; Oppian. Venal, i, Wi-Cynosophium &c

> I was acquainted with a very fine child with diseased eyelids, who was the
only one thus affected out of a large family; she was likewise the only one put
out to nurse. The woman who suckled her had a large family also, and most
of her children have the same affection; and I have traced diseases m dogs,
and habits also, to the source of foster parentage.

64

REARING OF YOUNG DOGS.

mately a perfect eye. At this early age, the whole skin presents
a beautiful pink tinge, which disappears by degrees, and gives
place to a clear white in most parts of the body ; while the rctu-
mucosum of such parts as are intended to exhibit a dark hue, as
the roof of the mouth, paws, nose, &c, at the same time assumes
its intended colour. The upper milk or temporary teeth, both
cutting and grinding, appear first, and are tolerably complete at
a month old ; the others appear later, by which arrangement the
teats of the mother do not suffer : the milk teeth give place to the
permanent set at six or seven months. The testes do not descend
into the scrotum till the third, fourth, or fifth week, but they may
be felt a week previously within the abdomen, on each side of the
penis. Dogs are often born with supernumerary claws, among
sportsmen called dew claws : some of these have a corresponding
metacarpal or metatarsal bone, others are appendant only to the
integuments. In either case they should be taken off early.— See
Operations. n.

When many young of a litter are preserved, they should be
early accustomed to lap : milk which has been boiled and slightly
sweetened is proper ; when given raw it is apt to purge, and
sweetening it makes it more nearly resemble the mother's milk.
Meat, also, cut fine may be early given, as it will materially save
the mother, and benefit the progeny also: clean litter, free
access of air, and room for exercise, are essentials to their well
doing. Young dogs should be early accustomed to restraint,
with a chain and collar ; otherwise, when they are accidentally
tied up, it is apt to occasion great alarm: I have seen fits follow
this. Confinement, however, under any circumstance, should be
only occasional, and never long continued : thousands are ren-
dered weak, ricketty, and have their feet spread out into thin
narrow phalanges, by close and early confinement.

Young dogs are liable to several diseases that are peculiar to
this stage of their existence. One of the most fatal of these is of
a tabid nature, and appears principally confined to some breeds,
particularly to terriers, pugs, the smaller kinds of spaniels, and

REARING OP YOUNG DOGS.

65

others of the diminutive races ; and more especially to such as
live luxuriously, and are closely confined. Among these, certain
individuals at each littering present young, either already dis-
eased, or with such a tendency to it, that the complaint alluded
to soon makes its appearance, and with greater certainty when
they have to combat with bad air, confined situation, and want of
sufficient nutriment. — See Diseases of Glands, Class V.

Worms are very common in young dogs, perhaps few are
without them ; whenever, therefore, puppies have fits, irregular
bowels, violent and unnatural appetite, and a general unhealthy
appearance, worms may be suspected as the cause. — Rickets
also are very injurious to them sometimes, particularly among
the breeds that are closely confined, as in cities and large manu-
facturing towns. See Diseases of Bones, Class VI. Young
dogs are also liable to a peculiar spasmodic affection of the
bowels. I have seen it epidemic among them. See Spasmodic
Colic, Class II.

The age of dogs. — These animals do not, like horses and
cattle, present any exact criterion of their age ; nevertheless,
attention to the following appearances will assist us in deter-
mining the matter. At about four years, the front teeth lose
their points, and each of them presents a flattened surface, which
increases as the age advances ; they likewise lose their white-
ness. In dogs fed much on bones, and in those who "fetch and
carry? these teeth suffer very much, and are sometimes broken
out, while the dog is yet young. The holders, or tusks, are
also blunted by the same causes. At seven or eight, the hair
about the eyes becomes slightly grey. Gradually, likewise, a
greyish tint extends over the face ; but it is not till ten, eleven,
or twelve years, that the eyes lose their lustre : when become dim,
general decay proceeds rapidly, though the life of some dogs is
extended to fifteen, sixteen, or seventeen years ; and I have seen
a mother and son vigorous at twenty and twenty-one years old.
Although such instances as the latter must be considered as rare,
jet even these have been exceeded, if I might depend on my au-

GG

GENERAL TREATMENT.

thority; for I once saw a small French clog, which I was assured
had reached his twenty-fourth year, and which, at the time I saw
him, was still vigorous and lively. I am not aware that much
difference exists between the various breeds, as to the age they ar-
rive at : spaniels, however, I have observed are usually long lived ;
while terriers, on the contrary, I have seldom observed very old.
The usual life of the dog may be considered as ranging between
twelve aud fifteen years : domestication has tended, in some de-
gree, to curtail the period, but not so much as might be expected2,
considering the powerful operation of artificial habits.

THE GENERAL TREATMENT OF DOGS AS
PREVENTIVE OF DISEASE.

The prevention of disease, it is evident, is an important con-
sideration ; and, as such, it may with propriety precede the cure.
To guard against the loss of health, we must carefully regulate
the essential habits of life of the animals we domesticate. Thus,
with our dogs, we attend to their feeding, housing, cleanliness,
and exercise. We must also examine their condition, on which
both their ordinary health, and their capability for such services
as we require of them, will much depend.

The feeding of dogs.— This is necessarily an object of im-
portance, not only as regards the wants of the animal, but also as
respects the different quantities and qualities proper under dif-
ferent circumstances. A great error is committed when we feed
our dogs on one scale: such as giving the dog which has slept
through the day, the same quantity as is set before the pointer
that has been hunting incessantly four or five hours. In qua-

2 Buffon calculates the length of life in the dog from the time of his growth.
" La duree de la vie est dans le chicn, comme dans les autres auimaux, pro-
" portionelle au temps de I'accroissement ; il est environ deux ans a croitre, ils
" vit aussi sept fois deux ans."— Buffoti, Hist. Nat., torn, v, 223.

/Elian considers fourteen years as the natural period of life in dogs.— JElian,
De Nat. Animal., lib. iv, c. 41.

Some of the ancients have stated that a difference exists in the duration of
life between the sexes, but experience justifies no such distinction. Arnanus
<le Venatione, c. 32.

FEEDING OF DOGS.

lity, likewise, equal error is committed : the latter of these dogs
would digest, with readiness and benefit to his constitutional
wants, a pound or two of horse-flesh; but the former would be
injured by such treatment, and would be more appropriately fed
with meal or potatoes mixed with milk or pot-liquor. It is no
less curious than true, that the want of food and the excess of it
should both produce the same disease ; for it is very seldom that
a dog is badly fed for a considerable length of time, but that he
contracts mange ; and it is also as seldom that a dog is long
permitted to eat to excess, without becoming mangy also. How-
ever, if the same cleanliness and care were to be observed in
both cases, the lean dog would have the least of it, and his
mange woidd also prove much the most easy of cure3.

3 To feed judiciously, the physiology of digestion should be understood.
All the juices of the body, and indeed all the solids likewise, are furnished
from the blood. These juices are in a continual state of waste, and the solids
are in a continual state of wear; both of which (i. e. the waste and the wear)
take place in proportion to the exertion used. There must, therefore, exist
some means of recruiting this waste of the fluids, and some means of repairing
this wear of the solids. Nature has intended that these ends should be brought
about by food, consisting of solid and fluid substances; which, being masticated
and broken down into small masses by the teeth, and mixed wilh the saliva, are
rendered fit to be acted on when received into the stomach, where they meet with
a strong solvent agent, called gastric juice ; by mixing with which they become
animalized, and, in fact, wholly altered. In a complete pultaceous mass, called
chyme, it is passed into the bowels, where there are little vessels that strain
and suck up such fluid parts as are fitted for nourishing the body, and pass it
forwards in very minute streams into glands, called meseuter.c. These glands
empty their contents, then called chyle, into one common receptacle, from
wht nee the chylous fluid is poured into the heart to form blood. The blood,
therefore, is constantly recruited from this source ; and from this description it
will naturally suggest itself, that, when food is withheld, the blood must waste;
and when this is the case, the fluids of the body must naturally decrease, and
the solids must wear fast. On the contrary, when food is taken in too great
quantities, the blood will, in that case, become too rich, and be generated in
too large quantities; and, as the solids are limited in their growth, so some, or
all, the fluids of the body will be formed from (lie superabundant blood in too
large proportions. The moisture that goes to the skin will probably become
acrid, and form a disease called mange: the sebaceous glands of the ear,
instead of forming wax, will pour out blood or matter, then called canker; or
the unnecessary quantity "ill How to the teats, where, if it is not the time of
pregnancy, it will Conn a spurious secretion and induration. When these evils

E

68

Fl'.RDING OF DO(iS.

What is the best food for dogs ? An examination of tiiis
animal must end in determining that lie is neither wholly car-
nivorous, nor wholly herbivorous, but of a mixed kind ; intended
to take in as well vegetable as animal matter, and formed to
receive nourishment from either. He is furnished with sharp
cutting teeth for tearing flesh, and he has also tolerably broad
surfaces on other of his teeth, capable of grinding farinaceous
substances : his stomach and intestines likewise hold a middle
place between those of the carnivorous and herbivorous tribes.
At the same time, both his dental and his digestive organs
appear rather more adapted to the mastication and assimilation
of animal than vegetable matter; to which also his habits and
partialities evidently tend. He is by nature predacious, and
intended to live on other animals : the stronger he hunts in
troops, the weaker he conquers singly. Yet still it is clear that
his organs fit him, when necessary, for receiving nutriment from
vegetable matter also, and we likewise see that he voluntarily
seeks it, probably as a necessary mixture, to prevent that ten-
dency to putridity which too great a quantity of animal food
begets. It is a received opinion among many sportsmen, that
flesh-feeding injures the scent; but it cannot do it naturally;
foi the fox, one of the caninae, which is known to be by choice
wholly carnivorous, principally lives by the exquisite sensibility
of his olfactory organs. If the eating of flesh really have such
an effect on sporting dogs, it can only do so, when it has been
taken in such quantities as to vitiate the secretions of the body ;
and in this way the pituitary mucous secretions of the nasal
sinuses may themselves become somewhat tainted.

A mixture of both animal and vegetable substances is there-
fore the most proper general food for dogs, and that which best
agrees with the analogies of their nature ; but the proportions of
each are best determined by the exertions of the body. For, as

do not immediately succeed, the superabundant blood expends itself -in se-
creting an inordinate. quantity of the oily fluid called fat, the effects of which
are detailed under Excessive Fulness.

FEEDING 0T DOGS.

(>!)

animal food affords most nutriment, so, when the bodily exer-
tions are great, as in sporting dogs, then flesh is the best food.
On the contrary, when bulk without much nutriment is required,
as for such as are much confined and do little, then vegetable
matter is best adapted to their wants. This subject appears to
be one of very general iuterest ; for no questions have been more
frequently asked the author of these pages, than- -What kind of
food is the best for dogs, and what quantity of it ? It is difficult
to prescribe generally a precise quantity— some dogs require
even naturally more than others ; and, for the same reasons, it is
not easy to give general directions with regard to the quality
and kind also. If, however, the rationale of nutrition be at-
tended to, and the above principles kept in mind, the owners will
find no difficulty in deciding when one or the other kind is proper,
or when a mixture of both is to be preferred.

Many opinions prevail on the subject of horse-flesh as food
for dogs ; its qualities being as strenuously supported by some,
as they are condemned by others. The proper mode of con-
sidering the matter is to regard it as a strong and actively
nutritious food, very fit for dogs who undergo great exercise ; to
such it never proves hurtful: but where it is given to those who
have little exercise, it proves too nutritious, and is apt to pro-
duce a foul stinking coat and itching skin. Much diversity of
opinion prevails also as to whether it is better to be given raw or
dressed. In a state of nature, it is evident that dogs live on raw
meat, and there is no doubt that this best fits them for very
active exercise, and endues them with the most vigour and du-
rability. Raw flesh of every kind appears particularly to in-
crease the courage and ferocity ; and where these qualities are
requisite, this mode of feeding will undoubtedly tend to add to
them: such food may therefore be considered as proper for
sporting dogs, as greyhounds, foxhounds, and harriers, in
the height of the season of their employ : for pointers, setters,
and spaniels, in very hard and constant work, it is equally
good ; but with moderate work, I have found mixed food pre-

e 2

70

FEEDING OF DOGS.

ferable, obedience and sagacity being here more wanted than
ferocity. When, therefore, raw meat, as horse-flesh, can be pro-
cured sweet and fresh, it not only increases the animal ardour,
but it will go the farthest of any in point of economy, by nou-
rishing- most. When it is at all putrid, dressing considerably
restores it.

Carrots, parsneps, cabbages, and, indeed, all vegetable matter,
will feed dogs sufficiently well for the purposes of existence;
and if either milk or good pot-liquor be added, they will form a
nutritious diet. It is, however, prudent here to introduce one
very necessary caution, which is,— that the broth or liquor in
which salted meat has been boiled should never be used for this
purpose. Most dogs who have been confined on ship board
during a long voyage contract an obstinate species of mange,
wholly owing to their being fed on salt pot-liquor. This is not
sufficiently attended to among sportsmen ; and their servants are
very apt to give the liquor in which salt pork and bacon have
been boiled, with other brine, to the great injury of the animals.
Greaves, or the refuse of the matter from which tallow has been
pressed, is with many persons a favourite food, because it is a
convenient one ; and, when mixed with a sufficient quantity of
vegetable matter, it makes a hearty meal for large dogs, or such
as live without doors, and are subjected to much exercise. I
should, however, never make use of greaves myself, when any of
the before-mentioned articles could be procured. The inhabi-
tants of cities and great towns often find it extremely incon-
venient to find food for large dogs, particularly when there
are many to feed. The following plan is peculiarly adapted for
such situations ; and, by this means a wholesome, nutritious, and
cheap food may be conveniently obtained. It consnsts of the
tripe or paunches of sheep, which, being thoroughly cleaned, are
to be boiled half an hour, or forty minutes, in a moderate quan-
tity of water. When taken from the water, they should be hung
up to cool, and the boiling liquor they came out of should be
poured on bread raspings ; those of French bread are the best.

FEEDING OF DOGS.

71

The quantity of raspings should be so regulated, that, when
soaked and cold, the mess may be of the consistence of an ordi-
diuary pudding before boiling. The paunches being also cold,
but not before, should be cut into fine pieces, and mixed with the
soaked raspings : when raspings cannot be procured, meal or
biscuit may be substituted. The mixture, it is evident, may be
made to contain more or less animal matter, by increasing or
lessening the proportion of paunch, or other kinds of meat may
be substituted ; but the author is disposed to think that tripe is at
once nutritions and innocent, and tends little to make' a dog foul
and gross. When likewise it is intended or wished to make
the mixture more enticing, the offal or intestines of chickens and
other fowl may be obtained from the poulterers, and boiled with
the tripe. Of all substances in general use, except horse-flesh,
the entrails of chickens is that most eagerly sought after by dogs ;
and it is one which fattens them faster than any other. For the
convenience of persons resident in London, it should be noticed,
that the venders of ready dressed sheep heads sell the trimmings
as clogs' food, and they form an excellent one.

Sportsmen in the country who are averse to flesh-feeding, or
cannot always procure it, use various articles for the purpose :
it is likewise very often, in retired situations, a difficult matter
to find proper substances for this purpose. In some kennels a
mixture of meal and milk is used, aud dogs will thrive on it
during the season they do not hunt ; but when they are strongly
exercised, and hunt several days in the week, this food is hardly
sufficiently nutritious. All the meals of wheat, barley, oats, and
rye, are used for dog-food ; but it is no difficult matter at once to
decide, that wheat meal, when it can be procured, is to be pre-
ferred ; for it is much less likely to produce mange and a heated
skin than the others. Biscuits are in very common use: the
damaged sea-biscuit is often employed ; but of late, Smith's dog
bread has taken the lead with many good sportsmen, and is
good, being known to be a compound of the different meals.

72

FEEDING OF DOGS.

Barleymeal and oatmeal are very commonly used, and either is
sufficiently nutritious when mixed with milk or broth ; but they
have certainly some tendency to produce a red itclnng skin when
constantly used ; for which reason a portion of potatoes should
be mixed with them. Potatoes, even without meal, will be found
to form a good food for dogs which are not wanted for very active
exertion : they are cooling, and, when mixed with milk or butter-
milk, are sufficiently nutritious for all common purposes, and form
in this way an economical and wholesome food: if they are not
relished alone, a small proportion of greaves, or other fatty
matter, may be added, which will render them palatable.
When circumstances render it absolutely necessary to feed
principally on either barley or oat meal, the heating effects may
be also greatly obviated by mixing it with buttermilk. In all
cases likewise of eruptive affection, as mange, canker, &c, but-
termilk will be found to possess something of a curative as well
as preventive quality.

In the feeding of favourites much error is frequently com-
mitted ; for, their tastes being consulted, they are too apt to be
wholly fed on flesh, and this in great quantities too. In such
cases, although the evil is acknowledged, yet it is alleged that the
animals will not eat any other food ; it is, however, always in the
power of those who feed them, to bring them to live on vegetables
entirely even, if it be desired ; but it requires, in some cases,
considerable determination and perseverance. If the usual quan-
tity of meat a dog eats be minced extremely fine, and a small
portion of mashed potatoes be mixed with it, it will not be
possible for him to separate the animal from the vegetable por-
tion : if he refuses to eat the mixture, let it remain until hunger
obliges him to do it. At each meal, a very small additional
quantity of potatoes may be added ; and this practice, if persisted
in, will bring him at last to live almost wholly on potatoes, or any
other vegetable that may be selected . In a medical point of view,
a vegetable diet is often very important. In many cases a com-

FEEDING OF DOGS. 7*

plete change of food forms the very best alterative; and, in
others, it is a most excellent auxiliary to the curative treatment
which is to be adopted. The cases that require a change from an
animal to a vegetable diet are frequent: all eruptive diseases;
all fat and plethoric dogs ; all coughs, dependent on congestion or
repletion ; and various other inflammatory tendencies, render sucli
change essentially necessary to the health of the dog.

At what periods dogs ought to be fed, is frequently likewise
a matter of consideration and difference of opinion ; but is most
likely to be settled aright, by considering it on the principles
already touched on. In a state of nature, even a daily meal
among dogs must be very precarious ; for, in some situations,
vegetable food cannot be obtained, and then the hunting down of
other animals, or the meeting with the offal or refuse of what
may have been hunted by others, must be the principal support.
For this reason, Nature has kindly and wisely fitted a dog with a
stomach that digests his food, particularly of the animal kind,
very slowly ; so that a full meal of flesh is not digested in less
than twenty-four hours. Those, therefore, who feed their dogs
on animal matter never need to do it more than once a day ;
nor do dogs require to be fed oftener if meal be given, when the
quantity is sufficient. But it must be remembered that, under a
life of confinement and art, where all the functions are weakened,
as they must of necessity be in those dogs who are petted and
indulged, it is better to feed them in smaller quantities twice a
day. If fed once only, they become heavy and sleepy, and lose
much of their vivacity. This may elicit an observation, that
hard-worked dogs, as soon as fed, should be shut up, to encou-
rage sleep. Digestion goes on better sleeping than waking; and
more nutriment is obtained from the food in this way than when
an animal is suffered to run about after eating.

It may be also not improper to notice the unnecessary fear
that many persons encourage relative to the giving of bones to
dogs. Except from those of fish, or the legs and wings of
poultry, which break into splinters, and may choak, I never

74

HdUSING OF DOtiH.

remember having seen a dog injured by a bone ; but I have great
reason to think that the stomachs of these animals would be often
benefitted by the action of the bones : and also, that although the
teeth are thought to be broken by them (and now and then, though
but seldom, they may be), yet that the evil is more than counter-
balanced by the mechanical action of the bones cleaning away
the tartar, that otherwise accumulates around them. ]STo fear
need be entertained of their occasioning obstruction ; the power
of their gastric juices is equal to the total solution of the largest
bones they can take down. 1 have seen a pointer of my own
swallow the shank bone of a leg of mutton, which he was unable,
from its size and strength, to break. I am of opinion that bones
are a healthy addition to their food, and certainly, from their
soluble cpialities, they are very nutritive. The stomach of the
dog is as complete a digester of bones as the iron screwed pot ap-
paratus of Count Rumford.

THE HOUSING OF DOGS.
This subject will occupy but little of my time, as I would hope
there are not many persons who would be inhuman enough to
turn an unoffending and faithful animal out without shelter
during the cold and clamp of our nights4. Too many, however,
err on the other hand, by placing their dogs in close coufined

4 In charity, I would believe, that when persons turn their dog out to sleep
in the open air, they conclude him to be naturally a nocturnal animal, and
that therefore such exposure is natural to him; but they are totally in error :
and even had he been so in his aboriginal state, yet artificial habits and close
domestication have so altered his nature, as to render him unfitted to cope with
cold and moisture without pain and danger. The dog, however, really is not
by nature a nocturnal animal, like the fox, whose predacious habits in search of
fowls when at roost make night the especial season of his prowtings; and to
which end nature has furnished him with a structural peculiarity in his organs of
vision, totally different to that of the dog. The eye of the fox presents a pupil
like that of the cat, likewise a nocturnal animal, whose contractions are not.
circular, like those of the dog, or our own, but are linear, and capable of ex-
treme dilatation and contraction. The dog having no such apparatus, was
evidently intended to sleep during the night; and as in a state of nature he
could furnish himself with a cavern, surely his master ought to supply him with
some shelter: if with a kennel, let the opening incline to one side.

W ASHING OF DOGS.

75

boxes or houses, without sufficient ventilation. A wicker basket
is the best covering for most pet dogs, except Italian greyhounds
and the naked Barbary dog, which may be further protected by a
wooden house, or by a coverlet. Dogs sleeping without doors
should have the use of a kennel well closed from rain and wind ;
but, of course, open in front, provided such front is not opposed
to driving rain, snow, &c. I would not even mention such
minute matters, but that I know some well-meaning persons err
from want of thought more than from want of humanity. The
sportsman may assure himself, that the comfort of a sheltered and
even soft and warm bed of straw, are as necessary, not only to the
comfort but to the health also of his dog on his return from the
fatigues of the chase, as the feather-bed and its coverings are to
himself. The same stiffness, the same rheumatic pains, and inca-
pacity of ready motion, await the dog as his master, if these pro-
tections are not enjoyed by both. The kennels of our best
hunting establishments are usually excellently adapted to give
sufficient warmth with sufficient ventilation ; but it is of much
importance, where hounds sleep on benches, that no direct draught
of air be allowed to drive over them.

WASHING OF DOGS.
There are few sources more productive of disease to dogs
than a wanting of general cleanliness in the air they breathe, and
in the state of all those matters they are in communication with,
as their beds, &c, and particularly in the state of their hides.
Doo-s confined together in a close unventilated situation beget
coughs, which often end in permanent asthma : if young, they be-
come tabid; if adults, mangy or dropsical. The acrid fumes
from their own bodies, when in close confinement, and more par-
ticularly from their urine, stimulate the eyes, and produce
diseased eyelids. It is also assistant to health, that confined dogs
should have their hides rubbed every day with a hair cloth, or a
w isp of straw : this dislodges the furfuraceous matter of the skin,

7() WASHING OF DOGS.

and prevents its adhesion, which forms the first step to mange : it
also assists general circulation, and stands in the stead ot exercise.
This practice of rubbing would prove an excellent substitute tor
washing in many cases, particularly where water proves injurious,
which it sometimes does to delicate dogs.

Washing of dogs is, under some circumstances, a very ne-
cessary practice, and, when judiciously managed, is salutary
also : but, when otherwise, it is productive of more mischief than
persons are aware of. There is not a more fertile source of
disease to dogs, than suffering their coats to remain wet after
washing or bathing. In the first place, it subjects those who
are unused to it to colds, distemper, inflammations, or asthma ;
and in those to whom the practice is common, it is scarcely less
pernicious ; for, though it may not occasion immediate disease,
it nevertheless, in the end, frequently produces canker or mange.
It may be observed, as a proof of this, that dogs who often go
into the water are seldom without some affection of this kind.
Canker, particularly, is almost confined to dogs who swim much,
or who are washed often, without being properly dried after-
wards : it should, therefore, be most attentively observed, when
clogs are washed, that they are also carefully dried after it. Very
small dogs, for this purpose, may be wrapped up in a blanket :
large dogs, after being well rubbed, may be permitted to run into
a stable among clean straw, which is a very excellent means of
drying them, and, from its warmth, a very safe one. It should also
be remembered, that, in ascertaining the proper warmth of the
water for the washing of dogs, the heat, which appears trifling
to the hand of a servant always used to dabbling in suds, will
scald an animal unused to any thing but cold water. Washing
should not be repeated oftener than once a week, even with the
best care ; for it certainly promotes mange and canker. Rub-
bing the skin with a flannel and dry bran is better. In slight
rednesses of the skin, washing with common gin will often remove
them. In similar cases, yellow soap well rubbed in, and then

EXERCISE.

77

completely washed off, is also a good practice. But, however
hurtful a too frequent system of water washing may be to healthy
dogs, to diseased ones both hot and cold bathing are of the
greatest service. — See Bathing, Class XIV.

EXERCISE.

The want of due exercise is the cause of nearly one half of the
diseases of dogs ; and the ill effects of this deprivation are very
often heightened by inordinate feeding also. It should be re-
membered, that a dog is an animal of prey, destined, in a state
of nature, to hunt for his food, and to sacrifice to his appetite
lesser and weaker animals, whose exertions to escape must keep
him in a continual habit of most active exercise. Wild dogs,
therefore, probably do not get a regular and full meal twice in a
week : how great, therefore, must be the difference, when they
are either shut up in a warm room twenty-two out of twenty-
four hours; or are, perhaps, fastened by the necks for many
months together, without any other exercise than what the length
of their chain allows them ! In such cases, if they have plenty of
air, and are moderately fed, the want of exercise shews itself by
mange or canker: if the repletion does not escape by this outlet,
then the effects become apparent by an enormous increase of fat,
which usually ends in asthma and dropsy.

Nothing affords a stronger conviction of the necessity of
exercise to animals than their natural love of play, which was
given as a principal means of preserving health. In cities and
great towns, it is a very excellent plan to teach puppies to play
with a ball ; by which means they will exercise themselves very
well in wet weather, or when they cannot be taken out ; and,
when early taught it, will continue through life attached to the
exertion : such as will not amuse themselves in this way, may
yet all be taught to fetch and carry. A very mistaken opinion
prevails, that, because a dog is turned into a yard or court an
hour, or half an hour, that he exercises himself ; on the contrary,
in general he regards this as a punishment, and sits shivering at

78

EXERCISE.

the door the whole time. Dogs are more disposed to take
exercise in company than alone : emulation induces them to run
and frolic with each other ; it is prudent, therefore, to allow
every favourite a companion. For sporting dogs, constant ex-
ercise is also essentially necessary : when taken up for the
season, if they are close kennelled, it is very common, when they
are again wanted, to find them fat, out of wind, and easily
fatigued ; for not only is the habit of exertion lost, but the
muscles of the body have actually become lessened and weak-
ened by the inactivity. Exercise improves the wind, by taking
up the surrounding fat from the heart and chest ; thus allowing
the lungs to expand more freely. Fits are a very common con-
sequence of confinement without regular exercise ; and it is very
usual for a dog, particularly a sporting one, which has been
closely and long shut up, on gaining his liberty, to experience
a violent fit : the same also occurs to clogs after long voyages.

Exercise should, therefore, be allowed to every dog; and as
this should be done in proportion to his other habits, to lay
down any general rule on this head is nearly impossible : for
such as are very fat, it should not be violent, but it should be
long continued ; when too violent, it is apt to produce epilepsy
or asthma. Sporting dogs require gallops, to fit them for their
work, and to give them wind ; and, for this purpose, they should
be taught to follow a horse. Lesser dogs, and all who are at
other times confined, require at least two hours' exercise every
day. Whenever circumstances absolutely preclude exercise, the
only preventive to the evils threatened by the deprivation, is a
lessening of their food, and that it be principally composed of
vegetables : alterative medicines, as laxatives and emetics,
should also be administered.

CONDITION.

The term condition, as applied to dogs, is correspondent with
the same term as used among horses ; and is intended to cha-
racterise a healthy external appearance, united with a capability.

CONDITION. 7y

from full wind and perfect vigour, to go through all the exer-
cises required of them. It is, therefore, evident, that condition
is of material consequence to sportsmen : indeed, it is of in-
finitely more importance than is generally imagined. What
would be thought of the sporting character, who should enter
his horse for racing without any previous training? And how
much chance would he he presumed to have, even « to save his
distance," without this precaution? Is it not equally reasonable
to suppose that pointers, setters, spaniels, and, more than all,
oreyhounds, require training ; or, in other words, to be m full
condition also? It is notorious, that pointers, setters, and
spaniels, if they are what is termed foul in their coats, never
have their scent in perfection. It must be equally evident that,
unless they are " in wind," they cannot range with speed and
durability ; aud, without some previous training, it is impossible
they should be so. Those persons, therefore, who expect su-
perior exertion from their dogs in the field, would do well to
prepare them by a previous attention to their condition. In
greyhounds, intended either for matches, or for simple coursing,
.it is evident that this is absolutely necessary to insure success.
In simple coursing, they are pitted against • an animal very
nearly equal in speed to themselves, and always in condition by
its habits. If, therefore, a clog of acknowledged goodness is
beaten by a hare, especially at the beginning of the season, it is
ten to one but the condition of the dog is at fault. It is self-
evident that perfect condition must be more than equally im-
portant in coursing matches ; where a dog has two competitors
to beat, the hare and the other dog.

The manner of getting dogs into condition is- very simple,
and either consists in reducing the animal from too full and solt
a state, to one of firmness and less bulk; or it consists in raising
a lean and reduced dog to lustiness, hardness, and vigour. Some
sportsmen prefer the one state, and some the other, to begin
upon. If a dog is fat, his treatment must be entered on by
physic and sufficient exercise, but not by a privation of food ;

80

EXCESSIVE FATNESS.

and it must be particularly observed, that his doses of physic be
mild, but more in number. The exercise should be at first gra-
dual and slow, but long continued; and at last it should be
increased to nearly what he will be accustomed to when hunting.
If there is the least foulness (i. e. if the secretions of the skin
are impure) apparent in the habit, besides physic and exercise,
alteratives should be given also: these medicines immedi-
ately follow tbe subject of condition. Some sportsmen regularly
dress their dogs, before the hunting season, with sulphur, even
though no breaking out appears, and I by no means think the
practice a bad one. Others curry or brush their dogs, whether
any skin affection appears or not ; and, to greyhounds, it is a
very proper means of keeping up the equilibrium of the circula-
tion, and of promoting muscular elasticity. When a lean dog
is to be got into condition, less physic is necessary ; but good
flesh feeding, plenty of exercise, and a due administration of
alteratives, are principally to be resorted to : nevertheless, one
or two doses of very mild physic will here also promote the
condition, and even assist the accumulation of flesh.

EXCESSIVE FATNESS.
Among the various defects in condition, obesity, or an over-
loading of the adipose matter or fat of the body, is one of the
most common. A proper plumpness of appearance denotes
health ; but when the animal oil becomes inordinately dispro-
portionate to the other parts of the body, it proves a
source of numerous diseases. The natural tendency of dogs to
become fat is considerable, for any dog may be made so by mo-
derate feeding only, with little exercise. Provided the accumula-
tion has been quick, the dog may be reduced to his former state
without prejudice ; but, when a dog gradually accumulates much
fat from over-feeding and confinement, then the accumulation
itself becomes so completely a disease, that even exercise and
abstinence will not always wholly reduce him ; for the formation
of the adipose substance is so habitual a work of the constitution,

EXCESSIVE FATNESS. 81

that, however little food the animal takes, short of starvation,
that' little goes to the formation of animal oil. The truth of this
may he known by the notorious fact, that many fat dogs eat but
very little.

There are, therefore, two sources of obesity; one over-feeding;
the other, want of exercise : and when, as is very frequently the
case, both causes happen to meet, in the same subject, then the
accumulation is certain. When dogs are over-fed, whatever is
taken into the body, more than the general secretions require, is
either converted into fat, or forms some other unusual secretion ;
as a purulent flow from the ears in canker, or scabs on the skin
in mange. Exercise increases all the usual secretions ; hence,
under strong exercise, more nutriment is required: and thus, in
such cases, full feeding does not produce fat; but, even in full
exercise, provided some of the usual secretions are stopped,
though the others may be in full force, yet an inordinate quantity
of animal oil is apt to form: thus spayed bitches and cas-
trated dogs usually become fat, however they may work, because
in them the sexual secretions are inert.

Fat more readily accumulates in middle-aged and old dogs,
than in the young ; and the adeps of old dogs is more hurtful to
them than that of the young ; the reason of which appears to be,
that all aged animals have their fat placed more inwardly, while
in the younger ones it is found more upon the surface of the
body. A state of excessive fatness is an almost certain fore-
runner of asthma. It is also the parent of mange, canker, and
other eruptive diseases ; and not unfrequently it occasions epilepsy,
from the pressure it produces on the vessels of the head and
chest. I have also seen an excessive deposition of fat within
the chest, particularly around the heart and large vessels, which
has terminated by a rupture of one or the other of them.

ALTERATIVES.
These various states of want of condition require the use of
alteratives : there are also many states in which, although there

82

ALTERATIVES.

appears no very serious disease, yet a sufficient remove from
health exists to make some alteration in the constitution ne-
cessary. When this is the case, the end may, in general, he
attained hy these remedies. An actual disease may also exist,
whose removal can be best effected by a slow but uniform change,
to be wrought in the constitution by what are, from this cir-
cumstance, termed alteratives. Hence excessive fatness, chronic
coughs, fits, glandular swellings, mange, 8cc. &c. are best at-
tacked by these slow but sure means.

Various substances are used as alteratives ; as antimonials,
and the different ^preparations of mercury, iron, and tin. The
nitrate of potash ( nitre ), the supertartrate of potash ( cream of
tartar), aloes, salines, &c. &c. &c, are excellent alteratives.
Tartarized antimony ( emetic tartar) often proves a very useful
alterative in the chronic asthmatic cough to which dogs are
subject, given as an emetic once or twice a week, in doses of one
grain to three. Antimonial powder, or James's Powder, may
be also given with benefit as an alterative in similar cases.
Crude antimony- is often found useful in diseases of the skin;
but it is unfortunately very uncertain in its operation : that is,
some dogs will bear a considerable quantity, while others cannot
even take a small one without violent sickness : the usual dose is
from half a scruple to half a drachm. Nitrate of potash (nitre)
is a very useful alterative to dogs, for hot itching humours and
redness of the skin, in doses of four grains to ten. The super-
tartrate of potash (cream of tartar) may be also given as an
alterative with benefit, in larger doses, in the same cases : all
the preparations of mercury, though excellent alteratives, re-
quire great caution when frequently repeated, or regularly given ;
for dogs are easily salivated, and salivation produces very hurtful
effects on them.

Dogs, when fully salivated, lose their teeth very early, and
their breath continues offensive through life. The whole of the
feline tribe are also easily affected by mercury. I was requested
to inspect the very large lion that so long graced Pidcock's

ALTERATIVES.

83

Menagerie. It may be remembered by many, that this noble
animal's tongue constantly hung without bis mouth; which
arose from his having been injudiciously salivated, many years
before, by a mercurial preparation applied by the keeper for the
cure of mange. The submuriate of mercury (calomel) is, like-
wise, very irregular in its action on dogs ; I have seen eight
grains fail to open the bowels of even a small one, while, on
the contrary, I have been called to a pointer, fatally poisoned by
ten grains. It forms, however, a useful auxiliary to purgatives,
in doses of three or four grains ; and as it not unfrequently acts
on the stomach, so it may be used with advantage as an emetic
in some cases, particularly in conjunction with tartarized anti-
mony (tartar emetic). When, therefore, a purgative is brought
up again, in which calomel was a component part, it may be sus-
pected to arise from this source, and, if it is necessary to repeat
the purge, the mercurial should be omitted.

The various preparations of iron form excellent alteratives in
some cases of weakness, particularly of the stomach and bowels,
for which affections they act best when united with the aromatic
bitters. Sulphur is the alterative remedy in the most general
use of any ; but its properties in this respect are much over-
rated. It is a very common practice to put a roll of brimstone
into the pans from whence dogs drink their water ; the impreg-
nation of which, by means of the sulphur, is expected to keep
the animals in health : but so completely insoluble in water is
brimstone in this state, that a roll of it so kept would not lose
ten grains of its weight in ten years, nor would it become in the
least altered in its quality. Sulphur in powder, or flour of brim-
stone, as it is termed, is, however, more active ; but even in this
form it often passes through the bowels nearly unchanged : it
proves, in other instances, slightly . purgative. In one disease,
however, it seldom fails to do good, even unaccompanied by any
thing besides, which is the piles, to which complaint many dogs
are very subject. In conjunction with other alteratives of the
cooling, cleansing kind^ it proves also useful in mangy eruptions,

F

84 EMETICS.

canker, &C; and I am disposed to think, that one part of
supertartrate of potash (cream of tartar), with two parts of
sulphur, forms the best alterative that can be given in these
cases. Externally applied, the benefits of sulphur are much
more apparent, and are too well known to need enumeration.
Alteratives are, therefore, of almost universal application, as
they are both preventive and remedial ; they prevent the accu-
mulation of fat and other matters, as the milk in the teats of
bitches, foulness in the skin, congestions in the chest, &o. As
remedies, they are adapted to all diseases of long standing, by
their gradual action.

Emetics.

Among the various alteratives, none are more salutary to
dogs than emetics : vomition appears almost a natural act m
dogs ; at least it is one that they voluntarily excite, by eating
emetic vegetables, as the long wild grass, so hurtful to pastures.
Dogs, in common with all quadrupeds who eat animal matter,
are&subject to irregular digestion and a train of symptoms that
we denominate bilious. In the canine species these are par-
ticularly prevalent; and dogs appear to be instinctively tauglit
to relieve themselves from them by an emetic, which they
take more frequently, when they can procure it, than we are
aware of. It is evident, therefore, that such as are much con-
fined, and those which inhabit large cities, must suffer in their
health from the want of this usual evacuation. To remedy tins,
when circumstances wholly prevent their reaching the grass, or
other emetic vegetables, some of the dog-grass might be brought
to them, either gathered, or the roots of it might be placed in
pots for their use : in fact, it is sold in Covent Garden for the
express purpose. In default of this, a mild occasional vomit, ot
tartarised antimony (emetic tartar), or calomel, will become a very
proper method of imitating this natural evacuation of the dog;
and will tend much to keep such in health as are subjected to
heating food, confined air, and little exercise. Emetic tartar

EMETICS.

85

may be readily given as a ball ; or it will sometimes be volunta-
rily taken in a little milk or broth, or between small slices of
meat, or with butter ; in quantity from one grain to three : a very
large and strong dog might require four grains. Calomel also,
from a grain and a half to four grains, forms a very useful and
cleansing emetic, acting, as it usually does, upon both the stomach
and bowels. These articles may also be mixed in equal propor-
tions, and of the mixture from a grain and a half, as the smallest
dose, to four, five, or six grains as a full one, may be given with
benefit in any affection where both these intentions are to be
fulfilled : in pure febrile cases, it may be prudent to trust to the
tartarized antimony alone ; an antimonial emetic being peculiarly
called for in these cases by the power it possesses of lessening
the action of the heart and arteries. Common salt is also a
ready domestic puke for dogs ; the half of a small tea-spoonful
being sufficient for one of a diminutive size ; a tea-spoonful for a
larger ; and a tea-spoonful and a half for the largest : but it is
apt to act violently, and is, therefore, not to be recommended for
such as are tender or delicate ; many such having been destroyed
by it. Greater objections even may be made to Turpith mineral
and crude antimony ; to both of which, however, sportsmen are
apt to be very much attached, but without any good reason, for
both are very violent in their action : crude antimony is also un-
certain. No possible good cau be derived from these drastics,
except, Othello like, the poor dogs which take them are after-
wards to be loved " for the dangers they have passed." Many
are killed outright by them, and many more would share the
same fate, were it not that their poisonous emetic qualities are
such as often to cause them to be rejected by the stomach almost
immediately they are taken. It may be proper to observe, that
where calomel, or any of the heavy metallic substances are given
to dogs, it should not be done in liquids; for, by falling to the
bottom of the vessel, they escape being taken. Mixed up with
butter, or enclosed between two thin slices of meat, dogs may
often be deceived to take medicines without force, particularly

f2

86 LAXATIVES AND PURGATIVES.

when the matter mixed is tossed to them ; by which they catch
it without smelling it : for so keen is their scenting quality, that
otherwise, they will be very apt to detect the attempted decep-
tion ; and some will even be timid for a long time afterwards of
receiving any thing offered by the hands.

Laxatives and Purgatives.
These evacuants are both preventive and curative of disease :
they are valuable alteratives, and active immediate agents in
acute affections. By opening the bowels, we remove a. frequent
cause of irritation to the system; and a very considerable source
of skin affections also ; for whatever is taken up superfluously by
the system is apt to find itself an outlet there. We thereby like-
wise prevent pulmonary congestion, and deposits of fat. which
would obstruct the visceral functions. Laxatives are good pre-
ventives against that habitual costiveness common to dogs, and
all other carnivorous animals : such, therefore, as are flesh-fed
should have this tendency obviated by laxatives ; and the best
which offers itself is a portion of vegetable matter with their
flesh food : potatoes, or even greens, can always be procured,
and will answer the purpose. This is the more necessary, for
costiveness sometimes occasions fatal obstructions ; and a costive
habit brings on fistulee, and also affords encouragement to the
breeding of worms.— Medicinal laxatives are numerous. Epsom
salts (sulphate of magnesia), dose one drachm to two; castor oil,
two drachms to four ; syrup of buckthorn, the same quantity ;
will either of them answer this end, the quantities being increased
if those mentioned are not found sufficient : but as these direc-
tions are intended to meet the tender pet of the drawing-room, as
well as the strong inhabitant of the kennel, so it is prudent to
specify the minor dose : more may be added, but it is too late to
subtract when too much has been given.

Purgatives may be made by increasing the doses of any of the
laxatives. Jalap is not a bad purgative to dogs, hut it is uncer-
tain, some being little affected by it; rhubarb is equally so;

LAXATIVES AND PURGATIVES.

87

senna I have no experience of; gamboge is very drastic ; calomel
is an excellent auxiliary to other purgatives on some occasions ;
but given alone it is apt to deceive, by proving more emetic than
purgative : neither will the stomach or bowels bear a sufficient
quantity without producing much derangement in the system, as
violent vomiting, tenesmus, and sometimes sudden salivation.
Aloes form the safest general purge to dogs ; and such are the
peculiarities of the canine bowels, that while a man can take with
impunity as much calomel as would kill two large dogs, a mode-
rate sized dog will take a quantity of aloes sufficient to destroy
two stout men. The smallest dog can take fifteen or twenty
grains ; half a drachm is seldom too much, but the smaller dose
had better be tried first : medium sized dogs usually require a
drachm, and some large dogs have taken more than two drachms :
I have given three to a strong Newfoundland dog without ex-
traordinary active catharsis ; but, as before observed, dogs differ
much in their different habits, and it is therefore most prudent to
begin with a dose too small than one too large: hundreds of
dogs are every year destroyed by temei-ity in this particular.

The Mastiff Pug, or supposed origin of the Hull Dog, p. 26.

88

LAXATIVES AND PURGATIVES.

Whenever a purgative is given, let the dog have some vegetable
food, if possible, a day or two previously ; an active cathartic,
given soon after a full meal of flesh or bones, might destroy by
hurrying the undigested food into the intestines, where it might
form such an impacted and obstructing mass as could not be
overcome. Likewise, when a purgative has been given, it is
prudent to place before the dog some broth, milk, &c, to assist
purgation. Let me warn sportsmen who are putting their dogs
through a course of physic, for hunting, or coursing purposes, to
be aware, that it is not the inordinate strength of the dose which
does good ; on the contrary, violent physic defeats its own pur-
pose : it is a mild and repeated emptying of the bowels which
unloads the system at large, and at once strengthens the solids
and purifies the fluids.

PART THE THIRD.

THE DISEASES OF DOGS.
GENERAL TREATMENT OF DOGS UNDER DISEASE.

I SHALL commence the subject with making some observa-
tions on the diseases of dogs generally ; and with offering some
practical directions applicable to the principal of them. The
dog I have already shewn to be partially an omnivorous animal.
Man is decidedly omnivorous, and, as might be expected, a great
likeness exists between their organs of assimilation, which extends
itself into their diseases also, the human and canine maladies
running a remarkable parallel together. This similarity of dis-
ease does not, however, equally extend to all the domestic ani-
mals around us. The sequine and human diseases have numerous
dissimilarities ; the bovine still move, and consequently the dis-
eases of the dog must be studied distinctly from the other
branches of veterinary inquiry : to which circumstance we must
attribute the lamentable state of canine pathology until now.
The human practitioner, from this striking similitude of disease,
might often safely and beneficially prescribe for the dog, while
the veterinarian is precluded by the specialities alluded to. Un-
fortunately, however, the one has often thought the matter be-
neath him, while the other found it above him ; and thus between
the two, the poor dog has been too often neglected. The time
is, however, hastening, when this valuable servant of man will
find auccour in his hour of need : these pages, I believe, have
done something for him : he has a warm and able friend in the

90

GENERAL TREATMENT

humane and ingenious Mr. Youatt (see the end of this article).
Nor will the medical treatment of the dog hereafter fail to form a
part of the course of instruction in the St. Pancras Institution.

It is likewise no less true than curious, that not only do the
maladies of the canine race very nearly resemble those of the hu-
man species, in cause, appearance, and effect ; but the similarity
is extended to the number and variety of them also, as may be
seen by a reference to the nosological catalogue, where many
complaints will be found that have no existence among other do-
mestic animals. These affinities will, however, cease to excite
wonder when we consider that, in addition to the complexity of
structure in dogs, their complete domestication has subjected
them to lives wholly artificial, and, in many instances, to habits
the most unhealthy. It is not, however, in every case, that these
analogies would enable the human practitioner to judge of or
prescribe for the diseases of the dog : on the contrary, in many
instances, the most acute physician and the most able veterina-
rian would be equally at a loss without a previous acquaintance
with canine pathology. Among other sources of difficulty to
both, the canine specific diseases may be quoted, which are nei-
ther met with in the human, or the ordinary veterinary practice :
another important deviation from the line of both practices arises
fr om the very different effects that some of the remedies employed
by both would have when administered to the dog. Fifteen
grains of emetic tartar would probably destroy any dog; five
hundred could be given to a horse without injury.

Ten grains of calomel, though a full dose, is by no means a de-
structive one to a human subject ; yet I have seen a large pointer
killed by this quantity, which had been ordered by an eminent
surgeon : even three or four grains will often puke violently, and
twice the quantity will often fail to purge : twenty times the
quantity would fail to do one or the other in the horse. On
the other hand, three drachms of aloes, which would probably
prove fatal to nine human persons out of ten, might be taken by
some large dogs with impunity. A dog could take, without any

OF DOGS UNDER DISEASE.

91

derangement, a dose of opium which would destroy a man ; on
the contrary, the quantity of nux vomica, or cro wfig, that would de-
stroy the largest dog, would fail to destroy a man. A very small
quantity of oil of turpentine will kill a dog ; when in human prac-
tice, a considerable dose is frequently given as a vermifuge1.
Between the effects produced by many medicinal articles on the
stomachs of other domestic animals, and that of the dog, a still
more marked distinction, or, at least, a more universal one,
exists. Without knowing better, one might be misled by the
accounts we read, and hear from sportsmen, of the monstrous
doses they give of some medicines : the fact is, the stomach re-
jects it at once,— a dog is soon vomited, and thus is not de-
stroyed ; give him half the quantity, and it would kill, because it
might not be immediately rejected. It will therefore be evident,
that neither the human physician nor the veterinary practi-
tioner can be equal to a successful medical practice on dogs,
without much attention to the subject, and much experience in it.
It adds to our difficulty in collecting the diagnostic signs of dis-
ease, that our patient, like the human infant, cannot speak : with
dogs, nothing but very long habit of observation of these appear-
ances in a vast number of cases, united with a natural quickness

i The critic should beware sometimes when he wields the lash, for fear the
stroke may recoil. When this work first appeared, and was reviewed, great
surprise was expressed, because I had made so palpable an omission, as not
to insert oil of turpentine as a vermifuge for the dog. Perhaps the reviewer
was the same gentleman noticed by Mr. Youatt, in The Veterinarian, No. 13,
p. 11, who gave one or two drachms of it to a stout spaniel for tape-worm,
which destroyed him instantly. In a late sporting work of great volume, we
find it also recommended to give half a pint of linseed oil and two drachms of
oil of turpentine as a " sovereign remedy" for worms. It would be no easy
matter to get the quantity down, and the quality of the turpentine would in
all probability kill : the same work recommends, as a cure for fits, from two to
eight grains of tartar emetic. Very few dogs would survive the taking of the
larger dose. I saw a large and valuable dog destroyed by ten grains, given
at the instance of a veterinary surgeon even. It is much to be regretted, that
gentlemen and authors are so ready to offer medical instructions on matters
they know nothing about. There is certainly no more reason why the most,
finished sportsmen should be able to prescribe for the diseases of horses or
dogs, than that their valets who attend on them, or the barber who shaves them*
should understand their diseases.

92

GENERAL TREATMENT

of perception, can enable the practitioner, in very many cases, to
arrive at a just conclusion. The symptomatology of canine dis-
ease is necessarily diffused through the manifestations of the indi-
vidual ailment. As in the human, and other brute subjects, wii
regard the state of the circulation by the pulse2, and by the ratio
of respiration. We examine into the state of the excretions
when in our power, and we attentively examine by the eye, and
the touch, every part of the body ; by which we often gain much
information that the fears or the patience of the animal might
conceal. We ought also to examine the eyes and tongue, the one,
as indicatory of both inflammation and hepatic effusion, and the
other, of affection of the alimentary canal: nothing is to be done
without experience, and a professed and particular attention to
the subject. When, also, the existing disease has been ascer-
tained, and the appropriate treatment has been determined on,
still another difficulty often presents itself ; which is, how to ad-
minister the remedy. Now and then, dogs prove very refractory,
and no small degree of force is necessary to get any medicine
down. In general cases, however, a slight degree of dexterity

2 The pulse of the dog may be felt by the heart, and at various points of
both the fore and hind legs, but particularly at the inner side of the protuberant
callosity of the carpus or knee. The range of pulsation between a very large
and a very small dog is not less than 20; thus, if 100 be taken as the usual
number of the first, and 120 for the latter, whatever is found to much exceed
this, may be usually laid to the account of an inflammatory state. It must, how-
ever, be observed, that from the greater irritability of lesser animals compared
with the larger, and the extreme quickness of their circulation, the motions of
the heart and arteries do not present such exact criteria of health and disease
as they do in the horse and other large animals. Nevertheless, the action of the
heart, and the pulsations of the larger arteries, may be felt with propriety in
many cases, and will serve as some guide to ascertain the degree of excitement.
The pulsations will not only be increased in quickness, but they will present a
vibratory feel in violent inflammatory affections. In inflammations of the lungs
they will be very quick and small, but will increase in fulness as the blood flows
dining bleeding. Something like the same will occur, but not in an equal de-
gree, in inflammations of the stomach and bowels also. As the pulsatory mo-
tions, therefore, are not so distinct in the dog as they are in larger animals, so,
in general, the state of the breathing, which, in most cases, is regulated by the
circulation, may be principally attended to as a mark of greater or less inflam-
matory action. When a dog, therefore, pants violently, his circulation, or in
other words his pulse, may be considered as quickened.

OF DOGS UNDER DISEASE.

will accomplish the purpose, the particulars of which are detailed
below3.

Dags under disease are very tender animals, and require very
great attention and care to insure their recovery : it is, however,
too common with many persons to neglect them under these cir-
cumstances; and if they are placed in a cold room, or an out-
house, with stale or broken victuals and water placed before
them, it is frequently all the attention they experience : unless,
perhaps, to all this maybe added, something of doubtful effi-
cacy as a remedy. But when we consider how very tender many
of these animals are rendered by confinement and artificial habits,
it will be clear that, under sickness, they must require peculiar
care and attention. Warmth seems particularly congenial to
the feelings of sick dogs, and is often of more consequence to

3 The best method of administering remedies—Place the dog upright on
his hind legs, between the knees of a seated person, with his back inwards (a
very small dog may be taken altogether into the lap). Apply a napkin round
his shoulders? bringing it forwards over the fore legs, by winch they become
secured from resisting. The mouth being now forced open by the pressure of
the fore finger and thumb upon the lips of the upper jaw, the medicine can bo
conveniently introduced with the other hand, and passed sufhciently far into the
throat to insure its not being returned. The mouth should now be closed and
it should be kept so, until the matter given has been seen to pass down. When
the animal is too strong to be managed by one person, another assistant is re-
quisite to hold open the mouth; which, if the subject is very refractory, is best
effected by a strong piece of tape applied behind the holders or fangs of each

jaT'he difference between giving liquid and solid medicines is not considerable
A ball or bolus should be passed completely over the root ot the tongue, and
dexterously pushed some way backwards and downwards. When a liquid
remedy is given, if the quantity is more than can be swallowed at one effort, it
should be removed from the mouth between each deglutition, or the dog may
be strangled. The head should also be completely secured, and a little ele-
vated to prevent the liquid remedy from again running out. Balls of a soft
consistence, and those composed of nauseous ingredients, should be wrapped in
silver or other thin paper, and greased, or they may occasion so much disgust
as to be returned. Medicines wholly without taste, as mercurials, antimonials,
&c may be frequently given in the food; but sometimes a considerable incon-
venience attends this, which is, that if the deception is discovered by the dog,
he will obstinately refuse his food for some time afterwards. The purging
salts may also be sometimes given in food, being mistaken by the animal for the
sapid effect produced by common salt.

94

GENERAL TREATMENT

their recovery than is imagined : many of their diseases degene-
rate into convulsions when they themselves are exposed to cold.
Cleanliness of every kind, and a change of their litter or bed par-
ticularly, is very grateful to them in many cases of putridity, as
in distemper, &c. Complaints purely inflammatory, it is evident,
must be treated by abstinence ; but, in all others, the weakness
present must be combated by nutritious aliment.

It is not sufficient, as is often imagined, that food, particularly
of the common kind, be merely placed before a sick dog. In
many such cases, the appetite wholly fails ; and, if even the ani-
mal could eat, the stomach would not at this time digest hard
meat, or any of the common matters usually given to dogs. In
these instances, nourishment is best received from strong broths,
gravy, jelly, or gruel ; or, perhaps, best of all, from thick gruel
and a strong animal jelly, mixed ; for I have always remarked,
that no simple liquid will afford equal nutriment with one
thickened with flour or other meal. Sick dogs are also very fan-
ciful, and often require enticing to eat, by the same arts we use
towards children. Fresh meat of any kind, but very lightly
broiled, will sometimes tempt them. At others, pork in particu-
lar is highly relished ; while, in some cases, raw meat alone will
be taken4. But in almost all cases, if the slightest inclination for
food remains, horse-flesh, lightly dressed, will be found irresisti-
ble, so great is their preference for this food. The extreme
fickleness of their appetite, when sick, makes it necessary that
every kind of edible should be tried, as that which is voluntarily
taken will always digest more readily than that which is forcibly
given ; still bearing in mind, that as support is essential, parti-
cularly in all illnesses of long continuance, so, when food is ob-
stinately refused, nourishment should be forced down. In cases
requiring active cordials, ale may be mixed with gruel or gravy :
wine is seldom advisable, from its disposition to inflame the

4 Sir Astley Cooper instituted a course of experiments to determine the de-
gree of solubility, by digestion, in various meats within the stomach of dogs ;
when the result was greatly in favour of the digestible properties of bacon and
pork.

OP DOGS UNDER DISEASE. ^5

bowels. I have, however, now and then used it with benefit in
highly putrid cases of distemper ; in which instances forced-meat
balls also prove both nutritious and cordial.

The intensity of mental feeling in the dog is at all times great,
but under disease it appears doubled ; and although it may, to
a superficial observer, look like an affectation of tenderness, it is
a very necessary caution to observe, that at these times their,
minds should be soothed by every means in the power of those
around them. Harshness of manner and unkind treatment, in
many instances, very evidently aggravate their complaints : under
some diseases, their irritability of mind is particularly apparent;
of which distemper is a very prominent example. I have several
times witnessed an angry word spoken to an healthy dog produce
instant convulsions in a distempered one who happened to be near;
and the tits that come on spontaneously in distemper, almost
instantly leave the dog by soothing notice, so open are they to
mental impressions. Joy and surprise will also often prove equally
injurious to them when they are very weak.

Even among those who conceive themselves minutely acquainted
with dogs (and who probably are so with the sporting kinds, and
with such as lead more natural lives in the open air of the country,
with the advantages of moderate feeding and due exercise) there
will be many who will regard these extreme cautions as unneces-
sary. The number and variety of the diseases quoted will also
probably excite their surprise ; and, unaware of the existence
even of many of them, they will be apt to consider the diversity
of symptomatic appearances described, the cautions insisted on,
and the minuteness of detail in the medical treatment, as, in a
great degree, superfluous : but a little further inquiry will satisfy
such, that no animals can differ more widely than the dogs they
are accustomed to, and those that are born, bred, and perhaps
constantly reside in cities, towns, or other close situations.
These instructions are necessarily confined to no one meridian :
as well as the more healthy country animal, they embrace also the
pet, and pampered favourite, that is perhaps immured, twenty-
three out of the twenty-four hours, in a hot drawing or bed-room,

PROFESSIONAL ATTENDANCE, &c.

breathing the same confined air, eating the same luxurious food,
and exercising in the same easy carriage, with his owner. A life
so wholly artificial alters the mental and bodily properties to such
a degree, of such as are subjected to it, that their constitutional
tendency to disease is almost as great as that of those they belong
to : under disease their irritability is nearly equal, the diversi-
ties of their symptoms alike numerous ; and, consequently, they
require every portion of that caution and attention I have pre-
scribed to insure their recovery.

PROFESSIONAL ATTENDANCE AND ADVICE FOR DOGS.

I presume I hardly need to further inform the proprietors of
dogs, that no written instructions can meet every case ; the va-
riations in disease, the anomalies attending the symptoms ac-
companying it, and the impropriety of giving even the most
accredited remedies in particular cases, all require the judgment
of a medical practitioner. Neither, I presume, is it necessary,
after what has been observed on the peculiarities of the canine
constitution, to insist much on the little certainty of deriving be-
nefit from even professional attendance, unless such professional
attendant should have made the diseases of dogs an object of par-
ticular inquiry. Fortunately for the race, Mr. Youatt, who first
studied under me, and who has since far outstripped his master,
offers a ready acquirement of canine pathology, by making his
Public Lectures at his own Theatre, as well as at the London
University, embrace the diseases of Dogs, to which subject it is
well known he has for many years successfully given his attention.
His humane endeavours are, therefore, directed to qualify future
veterinarians for this unique practice, as well as to fill up the
present gap, by lending his professional aid to the animal
himself, cither by personal attendance, or written consultation ;
and I should fail in my duty to the cause of humanity, to the
possessors of clogs, and to Mr. Youatt also, if I did not strongly
recommend application to be made to him, wherever interest is
excited with regard to the health of any domestic animal what-

INFLAMMATORY AFFECTIONS.

1)7

ever, but of the subject of my present pleading (the dog) in par-
ticular. Mr. Youatt's residence in the metropolis, I need hardly
state, is in Nassau Street, Middlesex Hospital.

CLASS I.

Phlegmasia, or important Inflammatory Affections.

Idiopathic or Primary Fever is not very apparent in the dog,
although our present knowledge will not allow us to deny its
occasional existence. We are, however, certain, that if it ever
does exist in its simple and uncombined state, it does not often
remain so ; but is usually, in its early stage, translated to some
individual organ, or set of organs, and then runs its course as
symptomatic fever, which is by no means uncommon in the dog :
on the contrary, prominent instances are offered us in the fever
of distemper, and in the fever of rabies ; in both of which there
is evidently, throughout the system generally, a state of dif-
fused inflammatory action : and although both of these partake
of the nature of specific affections, yet the anomalous symptoms
of each are such as to render it difficult to fix their original seat
of attack, or to establish their true characters.

Sub-Class I.
Inflammation of Mucous Membranes.

SPECIFIC CATARRHAL DISEASE, OR DISTEMPER.

The Distemper, as characterizing an individual disease, though
a very absurd and indefinite term, is become so conventional,
that it is not easy to rid our descriptions of it. It is thought to
have gained this name from the same source that we derived the
disease itself, the French ; with whom it is called La Maladie.
It is, however, possible that it was called distemper alter the

98 SPECIFIC CATARRHAL DISEASE, OR DISTEMPER.

epidemic catarrh of horses, which being a common complaint
long known by that name, and in some respects not unlike it,
might readily occasion it to be so called. This scourge to the
canine race, now so general, does not appear to have been known
a century ago5 ; and throughout the European continent it was,
until lately, described rather as an occasional epidemic which
visits the different countries every three or four years, than as a
settled constitutional guest among dogs, like the glanders of
horses, or the measles or hooping cough in the human6. Our
continental neighbours appear to have transmitted it to Eng-
land : and here also it seems first to have appeared rather under
the type of an accidental epidemic, but which is now be-
come, by some morbid combinations, a permanent disease, to
which every individual of the canine race has a strong inherent
liability. That we imported it, is evident from the circumstance,
that the earliest notices we have of it in English sporting works

5 In opposition to this late appearance of the distemper, it has been con-
jectured that it was not unknown to the ancients, and was called the Angina,
being one of three diseases to which dogs, according to them, were liable ;
Madness and Podagra forming the other two. But an attentive examination
of the symptoms, as detailed by Aristotle, .Elian, and such other ancient
authors as have left us their observations on the canine race, will clearly shew
that the distemper, as it is known among us, was unknown to them. Their
angina appears to have been an accidental epidemic, which confined iis
attacks almost wholly to the throat, producing in us imposthumes, like quinsy
in the human; but the grand characteristic, of primary and continued dis-
charge from the nasal mucous membranes, is wholly unnoticed.— See JElian
deNal. Animal, lib. iv, c. 40; Aristotle Hid. Animal, lib. viii, c. 22, &c. &c.

6 In the Grand Encyclopedic MUhodique the disease is thus described:
"II c'est jette, il y a quelque annees, une inaladie epideinique sur les chiens
''dans toute l'Europe; il en est inort une grand partie sans que Ton put
"trouver de remede au mal."— Livraison LIX Chasses. In the Diet. Vet.
of H. D'Arboval, we also read, "Selon quelques personnes, il n'y a pas
long-temps que l'on connait cette maladie en Europe, et ce serait seulement
vers le milieu du siecle dormir qu'elle s'y serait manifested ; quelque auteurs
pretendcut memo qu'elle a ete importee d'Angleterre en Fi ance en 176!);
cependant on se rappelle qu'au mois de Mars 1714, on l'a vue regner comme
epizootiquement dans nos provinces meridionales, avec complication d'angiiie
gangriineuse. Peut-etre a-t-on confondu, et est-ce en Angleterre qu'elle
s'est introduite vers le milieu du siecle dernier, apres y avoir ete apportee
du continent, on elle aurait pu exister depuis bien plus long-temps? C'est du
moins cc qu' Edouurd Jenncr semble laisser cntrevoir."

SPECIFIC CATARRHAL DISEASE, OR DISTEMPER. 9Q

are subsequent to its announcement in the pages of similar con-
tinental publications ; and though a few among their writers
affect to attribute it to British origin, the best informed think
otherwise. It is a disease of the most protean character, as-
suming such different appearances, and exhibiting such anoma-
lous symptoms, as to render it extremely difficult to define ; and
until, by a long and diversified series of experiences, we have
been able to separate its true pathognomonic from its occasional
symptomatic phenomena, it is in vain to expect it. The few
writers who have noticed it among ourselves offer full proof how
little is really known of it? : and with our neighbours, the French,
the discordances in opinion relative to it, are more than equal to
our own ; numerous as have been the individuals among them
who have made an object of inquiry. Mon6. Hurtrel D'Arboval,
the best veterinary gleaner the continental field produces, bears
me out in this assertion8. Notwithstanding the fixed and per-

7 Dr. Darwin, it is true, characterized it as a debilitating patarrh ; but
it is evident he took a very superficial view of its whole nature and conse-
quences, when he considered the only treatment necessary, was, that the air
should be allowed to p:iss freely over the ulcerated surfaces of the nose. If
the schneiderian membranes were the sole seat of the disease, there might be
some shew of pathological reasoning in this; but as an early participation is
made either with the lungs, the intestines, or the brain, from which it derives
some of its strongest characters, so it is evident the rationale of Dr. Darwin
falls to the ground. The further absurdity of directing that distempered dogs
should be allowed to drink from a stream, that the contagious mucus of the
nostrils, having escaped one passage, may not again enter another, and thus
re-poison the dog, also proves his erroneous vjews of it. The philanthropy
of Dr. Jenner induced him to turn his attention to the same subject, in hopes
to ward off its consequences by vaccination; in consequence of which he has
drawn an outline (in vol. 1 of Med. and Ckirurg. Tracts) of a disease which
is, as well observed by Mr. Youatt, " made up of distemper and rabies, and
unlike both."

8 " Plusieurs auteurs 1'ont en outre consk'cree comme upe espece de gourme,
romme une maladie depuratoirc, comme le resultat d'une crise salutaire qui
debarrasse la nature, et on I'a comparee a. la gourine des solip&des, et a IS pe-
tite-verole de Pcspece humaine. On a memo cssaye l'inoculation pour la rendi e
■plus bunigne, et des mldccins, entre autres Sacco, out 6te, jpsqu'a avancer
qu'en inoculant la vaccine on empechc le djevelpppement de I'afFection, s'ap-
puyant a eel egard surcequ'elle affecte plus particulieremept le jeunes cliiens.
sur ce que les cliiens ages en ont Ote atteints dans leur jeunesse, sur ce qu'elle

C

100 SPECIFIC CATARRHAL DISEASE, OR DISTEMPER.

manent character the disease has now assumed, it still occasion-
ally rages in an epidemical form ; probably it is rather more
prevalent in the spring and autumn, but it is to be met with at
other seasons also. It is likewise endemial, and attacks the dogs
of a particular district, leaving others comparatively free. When
it shews itself as an epidemic, its versatility of character in dif-
ferent seasons is often remarkable. I have seen it accompanied
with marked biliary affection in every dog attacked that season :
many of the cases of that period had also a pustular eruption. 1
have seen it also make its appearance, in a few instances during
one particular period, by a phlegmonous tumour of some part
of the body, but principally of the head. In the summer of 1805,
many of the distempered subjects were attacked with a peculiar
and painful spasmodic colic, which neither constipated nor re-
laxed the bowels ; but after continuing acute two or three days,
usually terminated fatally. In the few cases which ended favour-
ably, active purgatives of calomel and aloes appeared beneficial.
It may also be remarked, that this is not occasional only, but

ou se manifeste qu'une seule fois dans les meme individus, et sur se que ceux
qui ne I'ont pas en peuvent la contracter parcequ'elle est contng.cuse ; maisil
ne taut pas en eonclure qu'elle soil particuliere aux jom.es chiens. On 1 a
anssi compare au croup des enfans, sans indiquer les rapports qui peuvent ou
not, exister entre res deux etats maladifs. Arquinet a reconnu a malad.e des
chiens a Pisenaa nu moins de Juillet 1787. et il ee pla.gnait alors des grand
rava.es qu'elle faissait aux environs depuis une vingtame d'.nnee s Cha
Zt l'a ue tres repandue aux environs de Paris dans les annees 1799 et
S Assez generalement commune a Lyon et aux environs, die y a reyne
pendant les etes 1818 et 1819 sur un grand nombre de sujets, et 1 on s est as-
sure a cette epoque, que la chaleur de 1'atmosphere lu, ava.t commun que
uTc'aractere de maUgnite rare. On la traite freouemment aux ecoles veten-
n-,ires '■ — Did Vet. H. D"1 Arboval, art. Muladie.

„ d.e last edition of tins work, I expressed a doubt whether the other
species of the canine genus were liable to this disease The above author,
however, asserts, but without stating his authority, that it has been seen ,n the
a™ e wolf, and the fox: the cat certainly is occasionally subject to a vxru-
£ coryza ; but I am not aware that the affection bears the other specific cha-
racter*of the complaint, as its obstinate and fatal diarrhea, and hab.Lt, to
be translated to the nervous system, and its contagious nature. Neither an. I at
all aware that it has ever been seen in the fox : there is a vulpine mange with-
out doubt; but whether a s/urijir catarrh exists also, is not, I bel.eve, known
among us.

SPECIFIC CATARRHAL DISEASE, OR DISTEMPER. 101

that whenever distemper rages as an epidemic, it commonly as-
sumes some particular characteristic type, without its usual ver-
satility. One year shall be remarkable for the harassing' and ob-
stinate diarrhoea that appears ; another for the more than usual
tendency to epilepsy and spasm ; while in a third, a malignant
putrid type will sweep off most of those affected.

Causes. — Constitutional liability may be reckoned as a princi-
pal among these ; and it is so inherent in the canine constitution,
that very few escape it altogether, the predisposition alone being
itself sufficient to generate it, although it is probably more fre-
quently assisted by some occasional cause, as cold, &c. Conta-
gion is another fruitful source of it ; and however a few persons
may doubt the contagious nature of distemper, those who have
taken the pains to examine the matter, are as convinced of it as
the force of facts can make them. Dogs living out of doors
principally, and which are thereby rendered healthy and hardy,
will sometimes bear up against the predisposition for a long
period, and some as long as they live ; but such even, if they
become exposed either to the effluvia, or to the contact of the
morbid secretions on a mucous or an ulcerated surface, very
seldom escape it. In many cases, the slightest application of it,
or even being exposed to the air impregnated with the exhalations
from a distempered dog for a few minutes, is sufficient for the
purpose. As it is communicable by the contact of the diseased
catarrhal secretion, it may be supposed that purposed inoculation
readily introduces it into the system, and such is the fact. Ne-
vertheless, at times the constitution is not open to receive the
contagion, and not only will inoculation fail to produce it, but
also constant communication, and every other means whereby it
might be supposed communicable. At some future time, how-
ever, the disease will be readily produced in the same dog, by
apparently less active agencies. The occasional causes are nu-
merous: whatever tends to produce debility in the system is a
grand one ; thus distemper frecpiently follows other diseases, as
pneumonic attacks : the confinement and treatment which bad

o 2

102 SPECIFIC CATARRHAL DISEASE, OR DISTEMPER.

mange requires is observed to produce it also ; and the tabid and
ricketty very rarely escape it in its severest form10. Cold acci-
dentally applied, as washing without drying afterwards, or throw-
ing a puppy or young dog into the water, has often brought it
on ; forcing such a one to sleep exposed, does the same. Sudden
haemorrhages, and an immediate change from a full to a low
diet, or an unusual day's fatigue, are each of them causes that I
have seen produce distemper11.

The period of its attack follows the same uncertainty as marks
its other phenomena. I have known it to affect puppies of a few
weeks old, where it might be supposed that the constitutional
predisposition alone could have produced it : this occurs parti-
cularly to the diminutive breeds, as pugs, very small spaniels,
pigmy terriers, Italian greyhounds, and other minute varieties ;
in which cases it is almost invariably fatal. It more commonly,
however, makes its appearance between six and twelve months :
among country dogs it is protracted to the period of 'full growth
often ; but no age is exempt from it, and it is not uncommon to
see it in three, four, or five year old dogs, with which it usually
proves extremely severe. Neither is its attack confined to once ;
it will now and then appear not only a second, but a third time

10 Mr. Youatt observes the same also. " When (he says) I see a puppy with
man«re, and that peculiar disease in which the skin becomes corrugated, and
more" especially if it be a spaniel, and pot-bellied or ricketty, I generally say I
can cure the mange, but that the dog will soon after die of distemper: and it
so happens in three cases out of torn."— Veterinarian, No. 26, p. 76.

i' The French entertain an opinion, that feeding dogs on animal food is pro-
ductive of distemper. At the Parisian Veterinary School the whelps of a bite*
were divided; one half were fed on raw meat, and the other half on soup and
, eo-etables. Of the first division each contracted the distemper ; of the latter
one only became affected, and that slightly ; which circumstance was thought
confirmatory of the opinion ; but it is not difficult to prove that tins concha ,
is neither consistent with reason nor fact. We know dogs to be naturall, a, -
nivorous ; and it is not reasonable to suppose, that feeding them after the method
which nature pointed out would render them more obnoxious to disease It »
likewise in direct contradiction to fact, because nothing so tends to keep off
distemper as flesh feeding and high condition. I have invariably observed
that the fattest puppies bore up longest against the disease, and weathered it
best when it did arrive.

SPECIFIC CATARRHAL DISEASE, OR DISTEMPER. 103

even, an instance of which fell under my own notice, where
I was assured by a lady of great respectability that a very
favourite dog, then very ill of the disease, had been twice before
distempered with the same, with intervals of two years be-
tween each attack, the first of which was, if my memory serves
me aright, in France, the second in India, and at last the cruel
complaint carried off this faithful companion of an affectionate
mistress in England. The dogs used in rural economy, and
yard dogs, are not treated by it with equal virulence ; but
wherever man has interfered in forcing an artificial breed, and in
maintaining and perfecting a degree of forced excellence, there
the disease is always severe. It is thus that it is so fatal to
high bred hounds, pointers, setters, and spaniels ; and to terriers
and greyhounds it is even more so. Mr. Youatt observes, that
few dogs imported into this country as exotics do well with it ;
thus the greater part of the northern dogs brought by Captain
Parry were carried off by it within a twelvemonth. Some
breeds possess an hereditary tendency to have it worse than
others of the same kind : litter after litter of some sporting
strains will hardly yield more than one or two survivors. In
such case, I would advise the breeder to cross the race, or to
altogether try a new one.

Symptoms. — These are marked throughout with such variety,
that it is not easy to set before the reader any strictly diagnostic
sign or signs : even the nasal defluxion, so common to the com-
plaint, does not always appear, until the distemper has made
some progress ; and sometimes also in the midst of its most fatal
course it is arrested. Nevertheless there are certain symptoms
of distemper usually present in most of its cases. One of the
earliest of these is a short, dry, husky cough, which is followed
by a lessening of the appetite, of the flesh, strength, and spirits :
the coat also begins to stare, and the eyes to wink in a full
light, as though painfully affected by it: they also, if observed
in the morning, exhibit the remains of a little hardened mucus,
which may be seen adhering to the inner corner of each, while a

104 SPECIFIC CATARRHAL DISEASE, OR DISTEMPER.

general cloudiness of the cornea steals over its surface : the nose
also is bedewed with a watery discharge, greater or less, as the
membranous linings of the orbits and nasal cavities are more or
less inflamed ; in which state it may sometimes remain for two
or three weeks without much alteration ; it eventually, however,
increases, and changes from a limpid watery fluid to a muco-
purulent discharge, which flows down the face from the inner
corner of each eye ; and, as the disease becomes more intense,
it frequently glues up the lids during the night, and blinds the
dog, until his efforts have opened them. The nasal discharge,
which is first thin and watery, becomes muco-purulent, and next
one of direct pus, by which his nose is no less closed up each
morning, by the viscid exudation, than his eyes. As the intensity
of the mucous inflammation extends, the cough also, which was
at first a slight huskiness of expiratory effort only (or perhaps
hardly existed at all, for in some cases but little cough attends
the early stages), increases to a distressing, harsh-sounding, and
frequent attempt at forcing something up from the throat, by an
effort that appears compounded of coughing and vomiting. To
these appearances are usually added, wasting, weakness, listless-
ness, and lessening of the appetite also.

Thus far the symptoms detailed bespeak a true catarrhal affec-
tion, in the popular and usual acceptation of the term; by which
is understood, an inflammation of the air-passages productive of
defluxion. But as the true etymology of catarrh extends to in-
flammation of the mucous surfaces of the body generally, and as
distemper deserves the full extent of signification, we shall now
have to follow it as it extends itself over the one or the other of
these mucous surfaces principally ; or as it diffuses itself uni-
versally through the whole : dependent on which election, are
the various types which the future progress of the disease
assumes.

The transmission of the affection to the brain or its meninges,
we are led to suppose takes place, not only by the epileptic
symptoms of some cases, or the chorea and paralysis of others ;

SPECIFIC CATARRHAL DISEASE, OR DISTEMPER. 105

but even more certainly by tbe morbid appearances which pre-
sent themselves after death. HoAvever, whether this occurs by
continuity of substance, or by metastasis, we are not aware;
although analogically it may be supposed to be by the former,
in which case the inflammation may shape its course from the
orbitary fossas, or it may follow the more likely track of the
pituitary sinuses. It is not, however, unlikely, that in some few
cases a true metastasis does occur ; for we • occasionally have a
very sudden attack of epilepsy, without any of those premonitory
symptoms which usually predict, with malign certainty, the
distempered fits ; and there is more reason to conclude this, for
a single fit, not followed up by another, particularly when it
appears early in the complaint, is often not injurious ; and there-
fore we may suppose it the consequence of a sudden metastasis,
which as quickly returns to its original seat. In the ophthalmia
and acute founder of horses, and in the gout of the human sub-
ject, these rapid transitions of disease are not uncommon.

Our knowledge of cerebral affections is very confined ; but we
have reason to suppose that the nature of morbid attacks on the
sensorium and its dependencies, are varied like those of other
organs. Probably also much may depend on the immediate
portion affected, as whether it be the cerebral substance or its
matrices : nor is^ it, therefore, unreasonable to conclude, that to
this it is owing that the nervous affections which accompany the
disease are of such different complexions. The early listlessness,
the general prostration of strength apparent in all, unquestion-
ably spring from the want of due administration of healthy
nervous energy ; but the phenomena that are here hinted at, are
the consequence of a morbid energy, that is sometimes partial ;
in which case it is possible that the spinal brain is principally
affected : sometimes it is total, when we may conclude that the
cranial brain is the seat of attack. Under this view, we are not
surprised to observe in some distempered cases, that the nervous
weakness is confined to the loins and hinder extremities ; and,
while the dog is strong and active in his fore parts, the debility

10() SPECIFIC CATARRHAL DISEASE, OR DISTEMPER.

of the hinder makes him totter, aiid almost drag the remaindei
of his body after him. Again, at other times, this paralytic
affection is more universal, and affects all the limbs, and occa-
sionally the head likewise ; when the poor brute reels about as
though he were drunk. Neither of these paralytic states, pro-
vided they are not followed up by more active symptoms, are of
necessity or certainty fatal, but, on the contrary, often prove
temporary only. In some cases, the nervous affection, instead
of being paralytic, is one of true chorea, or St. Vitus's dance :
a convulsive twitching attacks sometimes the head, sometimes
one limb, less frequently is it universal from the first, but it
often becomes so, doubling up the animal into the most extra-
ordinary contortions. If these spasms increase in intensity,
they will affect him as well when he lies down as when he
stands, and asleep as well as awake: in this case he dies a
miserable death from sensorial and muscular exhaustion. This
affection, how ever* is likewise not necessarily fatal in itself; for
although it may accompany the complaint throughout, it will
often slowly disappear : but unfortunately it is too apt to end in
fatal convulsions ; and when it does not do this, it sometimes
continues through life.— See Chorea, Class II.

The symptomatic epilepsy of distemper, or Jits, may often be
predicted with tolerable certainty, one, two, or three days before
they come on ; when, if judicious means are resorted to, they
may be often averted ; but, having once occurred, and the first
fit being followed up by another within two or three days, it is
Very sddom indeed that any hope is left. The precursory
symptoms are such as betoken a highly increased, though morbid
energy in the sensorium From an emaciated, weak, and spirit-
less state, the dog becomes cheerful and alert; his dim and
watery, or purulent eyes, become clear, and sparkle with anima
tion ; and if attentively viewed, the pupil towards its bottom
presents an internal reddening of a fiery aspect; the nasal dis-
charge, likewise, frequently either lessens, or is wholly sus-
pended, and a momentary check to the accompanying diarrhoea

SPECIFIC CATARRHAL DISEASE^ OR DISTEMPEli. 107

occurs sometimes also. How far these latter circumstances are
in any way concerned in producing the epilepsy may be with
some a matter of doubt; but the sudden cessation of these
morbid discharges can be readily accounted for by the increase
of the nervous power, which gives, for a time, new life to the
diseased parts: and this view appears most, correct, for as the
symptomatic tokens of morbid energy precede the stoppage of
the discharge, or are at least coeval with it, it would be placing
effect before cause to conclude otherwise. It is worthy of re-
mark, that the more active symptoms of the epileptic attack are
often likewise preceded by a series of spasmodic irritations,
which commence at the seat of sensation : thus it is very com-
mon for a day, sometimes for two or three days previously, to
observe a convulsive twitching of the eyelids, or of the lips or
lace, which increases to a quivering of the lower jaw, such as we
often witness in dogs eagerly watching the food preparing for
them, or when expecting any wished for object, as the going out
of the sportsman who has been harnessing for the field in Sep-
tember. Here again the symptoms are identified with excite-
ment of the nervous energy. These spasmodic irritations, how-
ever trifling at first, soon increase to a direct convulsive champ-
ing of the whole mouth, as though something unpleasant in it
was attempted to be got rid of: during this action, the poor
animal stands distressed, though somewhat unconscious. The
sensorial excitability is now arrived at such a height as to be
readily acted on by trifling accidental circumstances ; thus an
angry word spoken to the dog, a sharp rebuke to another, or the
sHit of one in a tit, will be often sufficient to bring one on him
also. It is by an observance of this effect that we are likewise
able to understand why fondling or encouraging a dog under
these primary attacks, will shorten the duration, and sometimes
stop the fit altogether ; and also we learn why the sudden sti-
mulus brought on by dashing cold water in the face will often
do the same; which practice should always therefore be resorted
to on these occasions. When the epileptic fits, however, have

108 SPECIFIC CATARRHAL DISEASE, OR DISTEMPER.

gained their full hold on the dog, these means usually fail. A
partial or total mental alienation now takes place : when total,
the poor brute is often perfectly phrenitic ; lie waters and
dungs unconsciously, he tears up the ground, bites every thing
around him, and not unfrequently himself also. When the fit is
over, he shakes himself, and looks and acts as usual, unless the
attacks have been very violent and long continued, when they
leave him greatly exhausted and dispirited. The second, third,
or fourth day from the first appearance of these violent fits,
particularly when they recur every hour or two, commonly
closes the scene, the animal being worn down by the additional
strength and increased frequency of each succeeding spasm. Tt
is during one of these fits, that a dog is apt to be sacrificed under
a suspicion of madness; but the suddenness of the seizure ought
to inform the looker-on of the total impossibility of its being
rabies, which is always, in the worst cases, marked with some
recollection, some knowledge, and which never exhibits the
indiscriminate fury which characterizes epilepsy. See Rabies,
Class VIII. In another form of epileptic fit, the dog is seen
to walk round and round, his steps usually directed to one side
only, with measured and solemn pace, but in general wholly
unconscious to every thing around. This is not a very frequent
form of the nervous affection ; but I have seen several instances
of it, all of which proved fatal. Query, may not this be con-
sidered as a partial attack on the brain, principally directed to
one side of it ?

Pneumonia, or inflammation of the lungs, is also another st ate
which the specific catarrhal disease assumes, which it may be
supposed to do, bypassing through the larynx into the bronchia;
the attack on which is shewn by symptoms of quickened breath-
ing, with a short and more sonorous cough : if the inflammation
extends, and direct pneumonia is the consequence, unless it be
very timely put a stop to, it will carry the dog off— See Pneu-
monia, Class I, Sub-Class III ; where the symptoms and treat-
ment are detailed.

SPECIFIC CATARRHAL DISEASE, OR DISTEMPER. 101)

The abdominal viscera, but more particularly the intestines,
are oftentimes also very violently attacked in distemper. As
regards the boivels, they are now and then affected very early in
the complaint; but when the catarrhal affection is fully de-
veloped, with its usual marks of lassitude, thirst, disinclination
for food, shivering, and creeping to the fire, or to some shel-
tered corner, with great discharge from the nose and eyes, it is
then more usual for the intestines to become the subject of
attack. Dogs brought up very hardily, and exposed much to
the open air, and to a high and dry atmosphere, may escape
diarrhoea altogether ; but of the very young and delicate breeds,
and indeed of all such as are more artificially treated, and are
confined in cities and towns, the majority have first, diarrhoea,
or simple excitement of the muscular contractions of the bowels,
which hurries on the contents in liquid and unassimilated dis-
charges of the aliment ; and next follows the more serious affec-
tion of the intestinal mucous membranes, when the discharges
change to a brown or lead-coloured mucus ; and in these cases,
when real feces are evacuated, blood usually accompanies them,
or it follows them in a few distinct drops. These appearances
betoken an ulcerative state of the intestinal canal, and much
danger is present : when more mucus and blood is passed than
fecal matter, and the fetor is extreme, the case may be considered
hopeless.

The pustular and yellow appearances of distemper. — Pro-
tracted cases of distemper are sometimes accompanied by a
pustular eruption, which extends over the surface of the chest
and belly, and peels off in scales : but this iutegumental deter-
mination seldom affords any relief, and such cases almost in-
variably terminate fatally. This state is also sometimes accom-
panied with an hepatic affection of a very fatal character, which
has been called among sportsmen the yellow disease, from its
tinging every part of the surface of the body with a yellow hue ;
the urine also is of a deep yellow, the consequence of some
morbid translation of the inflammation to the secreting vessels of

110 SPECIFIC CATARRHAL DISEASE, OR DISTEMPER.

the liver. Mr. Youatt has found this state most frequent in the
hound and greyhound; he also has observed it particularly
where there is little catarrhal exudation from the nose, which I
believe is the case, although I have also seen it accompanied by
a profuse discharge ; but it has then been in instances where the
disease has run its course, under what I shall next proceed to
notice.

Tlie virulent and putrid type of distemper, which I have ob-
served more common to hot weather than to any other season'
although occurring at all times also, is a sequel to either the
catarrhal, pneumonic, or hepatic states ; and often itself rages as
an epidemic form of the disease, assuming all the characteristics
of typhus, gravior, or malignant fever. These cases are accom-
panied by great debility, rapid emaciation, and total loss of ap-
petite ; the pituitary discharge is great, very foetid and bloody ;
bespeaking extensive ulceration of the nasal membranes, which
sometimes is such as to occasion haemorrhage from the part :
while excoriation of the lips and cheeks follows the contact of the
sanies which pours from the eyes, and even the ears also, in
some cases: the gums bleed, the tongue is covered with a dark
crust, sometimes is ulcerated, and the whole body emits a pecu-
liar cadaverous smell. Stools are frequently passing, which re-
semble a mixture of mucus, blood, and putrid bile; and the
wretched animal trails out a miserable existence, commensurate
with the severity of his complaint, his own strength, or the
means made use of to combat it: thus in some cases it lasts a
few days, and in others it is protracted to two or three weeks
even, before he finally sinks.

Post-mortem appearances.— These, as may be supposed, vary
with the quantum of attack made on individual parts of the body.
The morbid anatomy of the head, if we commence with the
pituitary membrane, betrays, in every instance, diseased appear-
ances, and mostly the whole extent of it, from the nasal fossa? to
the frontal sinuses : the aathmoid cells and turbinated cavities are
in the first stages very highly injected, in the next suffused with

SPECIFIC CATARRHAL DISEASE, OR DISTEMPER. HI

pus, and in the last ulcerated; the degrees of which are how-
ever not always in the exact ratio of the symptomatic appear-
ances • but nevertheless correspond in some degree thereto.
Within the cranium, when violent epileptic fits have accom-
panied the disease, the membranes of the brain are usually found
highly charged witli blood; and when these have continued an
unusual length of time, 1 have thought 1 discovered some soften-
ing of the cerebral substance itself. Mr. Youatt has found the
base of the brain highly injected, and there is often an increase
of the serous fluid. The spinal brain presents also phenomena
in its morbid anatomy worthy of notice: when the paraplegia,
or paralytic weakness of the hinder extremities, has been a
marked feature of the complaint, the sheath of the spinal rope
has been found more highly vascular, and suffused with an
undue quantity of serum. T am also disposed to believe, from
my own observations, that the tendency to universal paralysis
often draws its origin from a morbid increase of the fluid of the
ventricles of the cranial brain.

The morbid appearances in the thoracic viscera, in pneumonic
cases, are often considerable, from their commencement in the
larynx, along the trachea, and throughout its bronchial ramifica-
tions, which present inflammatory marks, and muco-purulent
secretion in abundance. When pneumonia has been very active,
coagulable lymph is sometimes found to be thrown out into the
air-cells, congesting the lungs; at others, suppuration takes
place, and minute, or in some cases larger, vomicae are found.
Less frequently adhesions are met with between the costal and
pulmonic pleurae, which occur in protracted cases ; but serous
effusion is not uncommon. The heart 1 have found gorged with
blood in some of these cases, the pericardium inflamed, and its
fluid increased in quantity.

The diseased marks of the abdominal viscera vary as follow :
the stomach is not often much altered; sometimes, however, the
villous surface is somewhat injected, particularly towards the
pyloric extremity. The intestines usually bear their full pro-

112 SPECIFIC CATARRHAL DISEASE, OR DISTEMPER.

portion of morbid characters, being often inflamed throughout,
and occasionally are contracted in portions, particularly the
ileum ; while the colon is often beset with dark patches, and the
rectum with ulcerated spots, when the diarrhoea has been violent
and long continued12. The rest of the chylopoietic viscera, in
bad cases, partake more or less of the morbid influence, particu-
larly the liver, which I have sometimes seen much paler than
natural, softer in texture also, and, as it were, macerated: in
other cases I have seen it grumous, surcharged with blood, with
its biliary duct and sac engorged with an hepatic secretion, as
foetid and decomposed as the matter of the stools themselves : in
fact, the animal mass throughout, in the malignant cases 1 have
noticed, presents a state of complete putrid solution.

Prognosis. — To form a decisive opinion of the result of any
distempered case, and at almost any period of the complaint, is
very difficult ; and I would strongly recommend the veterinary
practitioner never to speak confidently with regard to either a
fortunate or unfortunate result, however flattering or however
adverse the appearances may be. Very young dogs seldom live,
puppies of a few weeks old almost never : the difference in these
respects, however, between dogs brought up in a state of hardi-
hood, and those petted and artificially treated, as well as between
those living in the country and those residing in cities, is very
great, and should influence the prognostic much. I have already
shewn that different varieties have it worse than others, and that
some breeds of the same variety possess a particular aptitude to
fall under its attacks. The appearance of one fit very early in
the complaint is not alarming ; but if it be more advanced, it is
truly so ; and when followed up by a second and a third, the

12 Mr. Youatt observes on the state of the intestines, " that if they have been
chiefly attacked, we have intense inflammation of the mucous membrane, and,
generally speaking, the -small intestines are almost filled with worms. If the
dog has gradually wasted away, we have contraction of the whole canal,
including even the stomach, and sometimes considerable enlargement of the
mesenteric glands." The value of these remarks, in a practical point of view,
I need not point out

SPECIFIC CATARRHAL DISEASE, OR DISTEMPER.

case is nearly hopeless. When the eyes soon after its appear-
ance betray a great impatience of light, and look red within, the
dog will have it severely, and the extreme quantity of nasal
discharge which follows will be apt to wear him down ; if it
becomes bloody, it will be still more likely to do so. When the
catarrh degenerates into pneumonia, if it is at all intense, it is
not often successfully combated. The diarrhoea commonly at-
tendant on the complaint is very apt to prove so obstinate as to
reduce the animal strength beyond the powers of the constitution
to restore, even without the weight of the specific disease attached
to it : when therefore the diarrhoea continues to resist medical
aid, and is attended with tenesmus and bloody purulent stools,
it will generally prove fatal. The breaking out of a pustular
eruption, and a yellow tinge pervading the surface of the body,
are usually precursors of death. The spasmodic twitchings
which sometimes accompany the complaint, if constant and vio-
lent, expend the vital energies fast, and usually end fatally : this
event may be almost certainly predicted, if the animal loses flesh
fast under them ; but let them be as violent as they may, and
indeed whatever other unfavourable appearances may occur, if
the dog continues to gain flesh, the chances are that he will
recover.

The treatment of distemper will necessarily vary considerably,
according to the mode in which the attack is made, as well as
the age, constitution, &c. of the object of it. It is somewhat
singular, that while the very best practitioners so often fail in
their treatment of the complaint, we seldom meet with a sports-
man or breeder of dogs, but who, according to his own account,
can readily cure it, " being in possession of what he fondly
flatters himself to be an infallible remedy for it." 1 once thought
a remedy of my own discovery almost so: but though it re-
mains a valuable one, it is far from infallible, and I suspect
most of these are much farther from such a character : it hap-
pens however with these gentlemen, that, under the exhibition of
some medicine (having met with two or three successful cases

114 SPECIFIC CATARRHAL DISEASE, OR DISTEMPER.

which would perhaps have done well without any thing) such
has been afterwards considered as the grand specific. But con-
tinued experience leads us to a conclusion, that although many
different remedies are useful, according as one or other form of
the disease prevails ; yet that there is not, and I believe cannot
be, a specific for this protean disorder. As most cases of dis-
temper commence by cough or slight defluxion from the nose and
eyes, with a failing in the ordinary appetite and spirits, and a
gradual losing of flesh, an emetic is the first remedy ; it clears
the stomach and bowels, and sympathetically lessens the in-
flammatory action going on. Should the pulse or the state of
breathing, or the violence of the cough, indicate any determina-
tion to the lungs, bleed by all means, to the amount of from three
ounces to five or six, according to size, age, &c, particularly if
the dog be in good case and moderately strong. The bowels
should also be opened by a laxative; but if it is not found ne-
cessary to bleed, then substitute a mild purge for the laxative ;
unless the dog is either very young, the breed very tender, or
there is much emaciation ; in that case merely open the bowels
by the laxative.

As an emetic, either tartarized antimony (emetic tartar) or
calomel may be used ; sometimes one and sometimes the other
are to be preferred : when there is any disposition to purging
already observed, give the tartar emetic only, in the form and
quantity directed under Emetics (p. 84). In other cases, let
the puke be made of equal parts of calomel and tartarized an-
timony, from half a grain to a grain and a half of each ; or even
two grains of each will not be too much for a full grown dog
of the largest breeds. Mr. Youatt, with much judgment, prefers
this form of vomit, on the grounds that it proves a laxative as
well as a puke ; and, as before observed, if there is not already
any tendency to looseness, it is the preferable one. The articles
used on these occasions by sportsmen, as Turpith mineral and
crude antimony, are highly objectionable, on grounds stated in
the general directions relative to emetics (p. 85). Salt also

SPECIFIC CATARRHAL DISEASE, OR DISTEMPER. 115

should only be used for the purpose when the articles already
prescribed are not within reach. The early insertion of a seton
should depend on circumstances: if that state of impatience of
light noticed in the symptoms presents itself, and the pupils look
red within, and the cough is harsh, dry, and frequent ; by all
means insert one as soon as possible ; but if, on the contrary,
the discharge is become purulent and profuse ; and particularly
if the dog be not strong, but is losing flesh daily, by no means
do so ; the indiscriminate use of setons in distemper is calcu-
lated to do much harm. The same may be said oi purgatives,
of which 1 would again remark, that while the dog is full,
and his inflammatory symptoms run high, two or three moderate
purges are proper ; forms of which may be seen at p. 86. Cos-
tiveness must, in all cases, be avoided ; but it is best combated
by laxatives, except in the very early stages, when, as observed,
a purgative is admissible and highly proper ; for unloading the
bowels, like unloading the stomach, will tend greatly to lessen
irritation, and reduce the inflammatory action of the heart and
arteries ; but at the same time that, under these views, they are
valuable agents, we must not lose sight of the diarrhoea which is
so fatal a symptom of the disease, and which too free a use of
them might tend to bring on. These primary depleting means
having been carried into effect, proceed with the following : —

Antimonial powder 2, 3, or 4 grains

Nitrate of potash (nitre) 5, 10, or 15 grains

Powdered ipecacuanha 2, 3, or 4 grains.

Make into a ball with the minor, medium, or major quantities,
according to the size and age of the dog, and give two or three
times a day, as the symptoms are more or less urgent ; diminish-
ing the quantities if they occasion sickness. When the cough
is very distressing, by which pneumonic symptoms may be ap-
prehended, add to each dose of these medicines from half
a grain to a grain of digitalis (foxglove). Should nothing-
new in the symptoms occur, it would be prudent every third or
fourth day to repeat the emetic, and to keep the bowels open

ii

116 SPECIFIC CATARRHAL DISEASE, OR DISTEMPER.

also ; but now more than ever avoid active purgation13. Should
the disease take on still more active symptoms of pneumonia, or
inflammation of the lungs, which will be known by the quick la-
borious breathing, the head being elevated, and the dog remain-
ing in a sitting position instead of lying down, however fatigued ;
then follow the directions given under the head pneumonia, Class I,
Sub-Class III.

Diarrhoea, or looseness, is one of the most obstinate and fatal
accompaniments that attends distemper : it sometimes commences
with it, and is then suffered to go unchecked, from a supposition
that the complaint may be thus carried off ; but it should never
be allowed to go unrestrained for more than two days ; and not
even that time, if the disease be at all advanced, or the dog at
all emaciated ; otherwise he will be speedily brought so low as to
be past recovery. In very young dogs, worms will often greatly
aggravate the diarrhoea, and the malign symptoms in general. If
any such appearances occur, or any suspicions arise that such is
the case, treat as ordered under the head Worms, Class III ; and
then proceed with the most effective means of combating the flux,
as detailed under Diarrhoea, Class III.

The epileptic fits of distemper are the most formidable of
all the various types under which the disease rages. It occasion-
ally commences by a fit, which should be instantly attacked by an
active emetic, and that should be followed by a purgative ; in

13 It was in this stage of the complaint that I used to experience such bene-
ficial effects from the distemper remedy first brought forward by me. That it
acted, in many cases, as a specific, is most ecu-tain; for without any sensible
effect the disease was suddenly arrested, and this so frequently, that I placed
unlimited confidence in its general efficacy. I have now no longer any interest
in the remedy, or connexion with the vender of it; and I make no doubt
that when I had, I was too zealous in my faith in it: but I can with truth
assert, that if I now had one hundred dogs in the distemper, I should not th.uk I
did them justice if I did not try it on every one. When it is beneficial, the effect
is immediate: one dose has often cured ; but when no amendment is observed
from two or three consecutive daily doses, I should not recommend any further
trial • for it will not benefit that case. When it does good, it acts so promptly,
that it occasions surprise, and has been thus lauded to the skies : where it does
not, it naturally disappoints, after so much praise, and is then by the other party
blackened to the shades.

SPECIFIC CATARRHAL DISEASE, OR DISTEMPER. 117

which case it often happens that no more appear14. But when a
fit occurs in a more advanced stage of the disease, another will
be almost sure to follow, unless such an impression can be made
as to cause a counteraction. If a close observation is carried on,
the symptoms noted will enable the treatment to take the start of
the attack. First give an active emetic, and then follow that up
by a brisk purgative. Mr. Youatt recommends a full dose of calo-
mel united with opium : insert a seton in the neck, smearing the
tape with blistering ointment. Should repeated attacks succeed,
give the following to a medium sized dog every two hours, and
half the quantity to a small one, in a spoonful of ale: —

jEther ■. 1 drachm

Tincture of opium half a drachm

Camphor 6 grains

Spirit of hartshorn 1 drachm.

Place the patient in a very warm bath, and retain him there
twenty minutes, keeping him also both warm and moist some
hours afterwards, by means of wrapping in flannel and placing
before a fire : avoid irritation, force nourishment, and endeavour
to shorten every fit, by sprinkling cold water in the face, and
likewise by soothing language and manner, which have often the
happiest effect in lessening the force and duration of the convul-
sion. If these means should fortunately succeed, continue to keep
the animal quiet both in mind and person, and particularly refrain
from allowing active exercise, which is very apt to bring on
a recurrence of the fits. See more on this subject in the article
Epilepsy, Class II.

The chorea of distemper is hardly less to be dreaded than the
epilepsy ; for if it is not so immediately fatal, it yet frequently
leaves the dog helpless and useless for life. As soon, therefore, as

I have observed that one, or even two, violent fits appearing thus early in
the complaint, are not always followed by others, nor by any greater severity
of symptoms than usual. Is such a fit at all similar to what sometimes precedes
eruptive human complaints 1

h2

118 SPECIFIC CATARRHAL DISEASE, OR DISTEMPER.

there is any appearance of spasmodic twitchings, if the dog be not
much emaciated, or the nasal discharge very great, insert a seton ;
stimulate the spine every day ; push a cordial tonic plan of medi-
cines ; with liberal feeding, and an occasional warm bath. See
Chorea, Class II.

The debilitating stage of distemper.- -I left off the continuous
treatment of the disease, after I had pursued it to its sequel as a
phlegmonous affection. Active catarrhal inflammation leaves it
when the purulent secretion is fully established ; that is, when
pus flows abundantly from the nose and eyes ; after which, what-
ever fever remains is of the symptomatic and often hectic type,
unless active pneumonic or hepatic affection supervene. It hap-
pens, that when I had pursued the treatment of the disease thus
far, it was convenient to stop, and introduce such occasional
states as are apt to intervene between the first and second stages ;
as pneumonia, diarrhoea, epilepsy, chorea, &c. These being no-
ticed, I shall now return, and continue the treatment of the true
muco-purulent catarrhal affection ; which having been attacked, as
directed, by depletion and such other means as tend to combat the
acute inflammatory state, must now be as actively pursued by
other means ; or a direct asthenic state, or one of diminished
vital action, will take place of that where there had been too much.
The means hinted at, are the judicious and liberal use of tomes'*
and which may with propriety be varied to meet the different
complexions that the disease is still likely to assume. One
of these is the continued discharge from the nose and eyes, with
harassing cough, debility, and emaciation; which state I have

i* Among these tonics, none are more ^^^^^0^
most nutritious and tempting W^j^J^gL HX
quently, but not in cloying quantities. When the nature u|
Lnaf may yet be often tempted by ^.^ ^^Z food,
accustomed to : but when even enticement fads to excite the t
then the dog must be forced with rich ^^^n^Z^

may

ach, dui in Buiiuiui ---1 - -

also be forced down, even if liquid nutriment is returned.

SPECIFIC CATARRHAL DISEASE, OR DISTEMPER. H9

found to be most advantageously treated by what, in old fashioned

language, might be called a pectoral tonic16.

Gum myrrh, powdered 2 drachms

Chamomile flowers, ditto 3 drachms

Gum Benjamin ditto H drachm

Balsam of Peru H drachm

Camphor 1 scruple.

Mix with conserve of roses into twelve, nine, or six balls, accord-
ing to the size of the dog, and give one every four or six hours.
Should the purulent flow become foetid and bloody, add to the
medicinal mass, cascarilla bark two drachms, powdered opium
three grains ; or if the expense be not objected to, of the quinine
a scruple. I profess not myself to have made use of cantharides
or Spanish flies, as a means of checking the inordinate catarrhal
discharge ; but I would strongly recommend that a trial should
be made of them, when it did not appear to give way to the usual
treatment : it may be done after the following manner : —

Cantharides, finely powdered 4 grains

Gumarabic ditto 1 drachm

Opium ditto 1 £rain

Chamomile flowers ditto 1 draclmi.

Make into twelve, nine, or six balls, and give one night and

i6 There is a fashion in our medical opinions, as well as in others. Mr.
Youatt doubts the efficacy of gum resins and balsams ; and such is my reli-
ance on his judgment, that had he said he was convinced of their inefficacy
from his own experience, I should, notwithstanding the benefit I may fancy
I have seen attend their use, have even doubted myself; but when he ob-
serves, " that they are beginning to get into disrepute in the practice of human
medicine," and when he appears to give this as the principal grounds of his
objection to them, I must still maintain my opinion of their worth. Neither
would their inertness in man necessarily prove them so in the diseases of the
dog : we should fail to excite vomition in ourselves by any moderate quantity of
calomel; or to excite sleep in the dog by any doseof opium. Buttheseingredients
are most active in both these instances to the adverse subjects. I would, there-
fore, recommend them to the trial of the practitioner ; and as long as they appear
to d'o good, to continue them, but no longer. One thing in their favour is, that
for years the compound tincture of Benjamin, known as the Friar's balsam,
was a medicine in high repute in some kennels, where nothing beside ever was
given. It formed also a nostrum of public sale and estimation, from experi-
ence in its efficacy.

120 SPECIFIC CATARRHAL DISEASE, OR DISTEMPER.

morning, pushing it to three times a-day, if no amendment takes
place.

The malignant type of the disease will be found very difficult
to contend with ; it is not, however, altogether hopeless, but it
can be only successfully combated by prompt and unwearied at-
tention. I would recommend the following for trial : —

Powdered catechu H drachm

Quinine 1 scruple

Powdered opium 3 grains

Powdered ginger 1 drachm.

Mix with conserve of roses into eight, six, or four balls, and
give one three times a-day, if the case appears desperate. This
form is peculiarly adapted to those cases combined with obsti-
nate diarrhoea, in which, while we are checking that by common
astringents, we are losing ground by the hectic fever; but by
using this we are fulfilling both intentions at the same time. It
is also evident that we must vary our curative endeavours to pre-
vent the septic or putrid tendency : if, therefore, the above should
disagree or seem to fail in arresting the disease, either of the
following mixtures may be tried ; beginning with the first, and
changing it for the second if it should produce purging, or not sit
easy on the stomach, or if benefit does not follow its administra-
tion. Under either of these circumstances, the second may also
be afterwards changed for the third. Should the price of the
quinine be objected to in the prescription for the balls, substitute
carbonate of iron, two drachms : if in the liquid mixture, supply
its place by two drachms of each of the Peruvian and cascarilla
barks : but if humanity be consulted, it will say, try the quinine.

Acetated water of ammonia ( Minder er us' s spirit) 4 ounces

„ . . 1 scruple

Quinine , ,r

r 1 drachm

Tincture of opium

^ i j * i .... 2 drachms :
Powdered catechu

Or

y''> . 2 ounces

\ east

^ . c , , 2 ounces

Decoction of bark

„ , j i .2 drachms

Powdered catechu " .

Powdered opium giains.

SPECIFIC CATARRHAL DISEASE, OR DISTEMPER. 121

Or, . .,

Spirit of nitrous ffither llalt an ounce

Camphor half a drachm

Aromatic confection 2 drachms

Chamomile infusion 4 ounces

Powdered catechu 2 drachms.

Give of either, one, two, three, or four table spoonfuls, according
to the size of the dog, every three or four hours : and if the
diarrhoea should be thought any bar to the administration, in-
crease the opiate to forty drops with each dose, but continue the
medicine, if possible, alone ; if not, alternate it with the reme-
dies detailed under Diarrhoea, Class HI. If, however, every
remedy only increases the alvine flux, then all but astringents
must be discontinued ; for every other means must give place to
attempts at restraining this most fatal state, even to the conti-
nuance of the antiseptic and astringent plans together, if they be
found wholly incompatible with the state of the bowels.

Cleanliness is very desirable in every stage of distemper, but
in the putrid type it is essentially necessary, as well to the reco-
very, as to the comfort of the animal : the free access of pure air
is also indispensable, and the removal of every thing likely to har-
bour putrid exhalations is highly proper : the litter should be
constantly changed, or, if any other bedding be used, it should
be washed and dried, or replaced by other. The apartment,
kennel, &c, should be cleansed of the putrid effluvia by the use of
either the chloride of soda, or lime, according to the directions
accompanying those valuable disinfectants ; and which, either of
them, particularly the latter, is able to do to admiration : the for-
mer is also even more useful in another point of view. I have
noticed the phagedenic ulcers which are apt to break out over
the face, nose, mouth, &c. : and of the malignant tumours which
form in the submaxillary glands, and sometimes in the parotid
also ; or, in other words, that break out at the side of the head,
and in the angle of the jaws. These take on often a gangrenous
appearance, spread over the face, offer a most offensive putrid

i-** SPECIFIC CATARRHAL DISEASE, OR DISTEMPER.

discharge, and by their irritation greatly aggravate the dangers
and sufferings of the animal. These ulcerations, even when
extending fast, by being bathed with a solution of the chloride of
soda properly diluted, are in most cases brought into a healing
state, and in all are deprived of their malignancy, prevented from
multiplying, and rendered inoffensive.

I have hitherto offered no directions on the subject of the oph-
thalmia, which is so liable, in this virulent kind of distemper, to
attack either one or both eyes with such an intensity of inflam-
mation, that abscess forms on the surface of the cornea, usually
about the centre of the pupil ; the ulceration of which sometimes
makes its way through the coats, lets out the aqueous humour,
and substitutes around its edges fungoid masses : in fact, such
apparent havock takes place, that all hope of recovery would
seem at an end : yet, surprising as it may seem, this apparently
irreparable disorganization is so completely removed, and the
true organization so restored, that no traces of the injury remain
afterwards. — See Ophthalmia, Class X.

Vaccination and inoculation with the matter of distemper
have been both practised, one for the -prevention, the other for
the mitigation of the disease. Vaccination so performed, is a
proof of the gullibility of the public, and readiness to believe wliat
is wished, particularly when it comes from a popular source, and
where it would be unfashionable to disbelieve. My early expe-
riments convinced me of its total inefficacy as a preventive of
distemper ; but so positive were the assertions to the contrary,
that I spoke diffidently. Dr. Jenner had lent his name to the
error, and I make no doubt he believed what he asserted ; but
he had not waited the proof. Vaccination, it is now sufficiently
ascertained, neither exempts dogs from the distemper, nor does
it appear at all to mitigate its severity ; for I have seen a suffi-
cient number of dogs which had been vaccinated afterwards die
of distemper. Inoculation with the matter of distemper is equally
ineffectual in mitigating the complaint, even when it is borrowed

INFLAMMATION OF THE AIR-PASSAGES, OR COUGH. 123

from the mildest forms: on the contrary, many dogs, which have
taken the disease by inoculation, have had it with peculiar seve-
rity, and others have sunk under it.

INFLAMMATION OF THE MUCOUS COATS OF THE

INTESTINES.

Dysentery, as an idiopathic affection in dogs, is very rare ;
but an irritation productive of morbid and inordinate mucous dis-
charge is produced by various causes. A principal one is the
consequence of long-continued diarrhoea common to distemper,
as so lately shewn.— See also Diarrhoea, Class III. Another is
the result of bilious inflammation.— See Enteritis, Class I, Sub-
Class IV. A third cause is the introduction of poisons. — See
Class VIII. Super-purgation will bring it on, as noticed with
Enteritis and Diarrhoea: the presence of worms will likewise
occasion it. — See Worms, Class IV.

Inflammation of the Mucous Coats of the Bladder.— See
Cystitis, Class I, Sub-Class IV.

INFLAMMATION OF THE AIR-PASSAGES, OR COUGH.

Idiopathic catarrh will sometimes attack dogs, producing the
same symptoms as a common cold usually does with us ; as de-
fluxion from the nose and eyes, with cough and slight symptoms
of fever. The treatment proper will be an emetic ; mild doses of
antimonial powder (from two grains to five), moderate feeding,
open bowels, and no exposure to wet or cold.

Symptomatic coughs are of several kinds, as that of distem-
per, of asthma, of pneumonia or inflamed lungs, and of worms.—
See these several affections in the Index.

124 INFLAMMATIONS OF THE DRAIN AND LUNGS.

Sub-Class II.

INFLAMMATION OF THE BRAIN (PHRENITIS).

Symptomatic phrenitis only is found in the canine catalogue ;
but of this there are some varieties, dependent principally on the
diseases which they are accompaniments to. The epilepsy of dis-
temper is an instance of cerebral inflammation, known as well by
post-mortem examinations as by the consequences : at the same
time it may be urged, that the phrenitic symptoms are seldom of
sufficiently long continuance to assure us that the inflammatory
state is not conjoined with some other irritations : I shall leave
this to the judgment of those who are disposed to study the de-
scription of distemper. — Rabies in a few instances produces some
decisive violence, and some mental alienation in the dog, as we
know by his attack on men and brutes that he has been acquainted
with, and also by the morbid appearances which present them-
selves after death. — The epilepsy attendant on ivorms, and that
which attacks dogs after long confinement, are probably com-
pounded of a spasmodic attack on the sensorium and of determi-
nation of blood to it : in both cases there are some phrenitic symp-
toms occasionally present.— See these several subjects in the body
of the work.

Sub-Class III.
hiflammatory Affections of the Thoracic Viscera.

PNEUMONIA, OR INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS.

Pneumonia is not an unfrequent complaint among dogs, and
in some years it rages in an epidemic form, when it destroys num-
bers ; in other cases it may be directly traced to the action of
cold on the body. I have seen it brought on, in a great number
of instances, by the cruel practice of clipping or shearing rough
dogs in cold weather. Throwing dogs into the water, and after-
wards neglecting to dry them, is also not an uncommon cause :

PNEUMONIA, OR INFLAMMATION OP THE LUNGS. l25
shutting a dog out for the night houseless ; in fact, any unusual
exposure to cold may occasion it. In many instances it is
brought on by distemper. The epidemic pneumonia has usually
proved rapid in its progress, and very fatal : at all times also
it is to be dreaded, for in most instances it arrives at such a
height, before it attracts sufficient notice, as to baffle all attempts
at reducing the inflammation. During one of the periods m
which it raged in an epidemic form (a warm mild spring), few ot
those attacked survived beyond the third day ; about which time
most of them were suffocated by the serous effusion poured into
the chest. This, though a frequent mode of its termination, in
general cases, is not the only fatal one ; for I have seen it also de-
stroy by congestion within the substance of the lungs. It yields,
however, to a prompt and judicious treatment, sufficiently often
to make every effort worth the trial. Inflammation of the lungs
shews itself by a quick laborious respiration ; the heart beats m a
very rapid but oppressed manner. The head is held up to enable
the do- to breathe more freely ; he also prefers sitting to lying
down/for the same reasons; which circumstances alone are diag-
nostic of the disease. Considerable moisture distils from the
nose • which, like the ears and paws, is in general extremely
and unnaturally cold. A short quick cough is often present, but

not invariably so.

The care should be begun by bleeding, and that very largely ;
but it must be particularly remembered, that it ought only to be
attempted early in the complaint : if it is performed after the se-
cond day, the dog commonly dies under the operation. This
circumstance should never be forgotten by a practitioner who
may happen to be called in, the recollection of which may save
him much mortification and disgrace. The first bleeding, if
early attempted, may prove useful, provided it is a full and co-
pious one. For method and quantity, see Operations. The whole
chest should likewise be immediately blistered between the fore
legs, and behind the elbows, first removing the hair, and finish-
ing by covering the parts with a cloth carefully secured. If blis-

•L^° CANINE ASTHMA.

tering ointment is not at hand, oil of turpentine with flour of
mustard, well rubbed in, and repeated at intervals of two or three
hours, will do nearly as well. Give a purgative, throw up a

clyster also, and in two hours commence with the following : —

Powdered foxglove (digitalis) 12 grains"

Tartar emetic 3 grains

Nitre 1 drachm.

Mix, and divide into six, nine, or twelve powders, or form

into balls, and give one every two or three hours : but if there

should be much cough present, then substitute the following : —

Tincture of foxglove 1 drachm

Tartarized antimony (tartar emetic) 3 grains

Nitrated potash (nitre) 1 drachm

Oxyme] 2 ounces.

Give from a tea to a dessert-spoonful of this mixture every two

or three hours : should either of these medicines act as a vomit,
moderate the dose. It is peculiarly requisite also to keep the
dog in a cool temperature, and, provided his skin is screened from
the access of cold, it is no matter how cool the air he breathes
may be. If amendment should not be apparent in four hours,
the bleeding may be repeated, and the blistering likewise. But
if, in spite of these renewed applications, the nose and mouth
continue intensely cold, the head remains elevated, and the mo-
tion of the heart indistinct, a fatal termination may be expected.

CANINE ASTHMA.

Whatever difference there may be between the human asthma,
considered as a spasmodic aflection, aggravated by paroxysms,
and that of our present subject, which I consider as more
allied to morbid alteration resulting from slow inflammation, yet
in its leading symptoms it so nearly resembles that type of the
disease called the aerial or dry human asthma, as to allow of the

7 In the administration of digitalis, the pulse should be frequently examined : it is de-
sirable that this active remedy should he administered vigorously until the pulse is found
to intermit ; alter which time, it should be less actively pursued, for fear of carrying the
enervating effect too far.

127

CANINE ASTHMA.

application of this popular term. The inhabitants o country
owns and villages can for. no just idea of the prevalence and
destructive nature of this disease in cities
bourhoods, where it is a most common complaint. It derives Us
origin from the artificial mode of life forced on pet and fancy
do°s, whose close confinement, and over feeding, lead to an ex-
traordinary accumulation of fat: and according to the degree m
which these predisposing causes have been applied, the disease
appears earlier or later in life. In some it comes on at three or
four years old: in others, rather less «^*^Jr*
not appear until seven or eight: but, sooner or later, most dog ,
confined in close situations, deprived of exercise, and fed with
- heating and luxurious food, become subjected to it, and as cer-
tainlv have their lives shortened by it.

The disease is usually very insidious in its attack, commencing
by a slight cough, which returns at uncertain intervals, and is
therefore hardly noticed. Gradually, however, the cough be-
comes more frequent and troublesome, and assumes its pecuhar
harsh, dry, and sonorous character; and is then often mistakn
for a bone in the throat, or for sponge having been designedly
.riven. It becomes now excited by every change of temperature,
r •, mtn at length, it is almost incessant, ana

food, or posmon until, at len ^

even the sleep is interrupted by it. the breatliing
affected ; sometimes it is very laborious and painful. The irrita
tion of the cough frequently excites nausea and sickness but
nothing is brought up except a little frothy mucus from the bron-
chial passages, where its presence forms the source of the irrita-
tion When the disease is formed, its further progress is
quicker or slower as the exciting causes are continued or discon-
tinued , the modes also by which it produces its fatal termination

are not always the same.

In some cases, the irritation of the cough, and the accompany-
ing hectic, emaciates and wears down the animal : in others he
pulmonary congestion stops respiration, and kills by a sudden
Suffocation; or the obstruction the blood meets with m lts pas-

CANINE ASTHMA.

sage through the heart, occasions accumulation in the head, and
convulsive fits are the precursors of death. Now and then a
rupture of the heart, or of some large bloodvessel, suddenly de-
stroys : but by far the most common termination of the complaint
is in dropsy, or serous collections within the chest or belly, or
both, but most frequently of the latter. In these cases, the limbs
and external parts of the body waste, but the belly increases in
its size ; the legs also swell ; the hair stares ; the breathing be-
comes very laborious ; and, in the end, suffocation ensues.

The morbid appearances, on dissection, are by no means uni-
form, but in every instance they are considerable, particularly
within the chest. Adhesions sometimes first attract our notice ;
next the substance of the lungs, which is occasionally emphyse-
matous from ruptured air-cells, and they slightly crepitate under
the touch. I have also found a muco-purulent extravasation
within the air-cells ; but the appearance most common to them
has been, a total change of their natural structure into a granular
bluish mass. In some instances, a morbid translation of the
external fat was found to have taken place from without inwards ;
by which the diaphragm, large vessels, and the interstitial mem-
branes of the chest, becoming obstructed and overcharged with
adipose substance, the respiratory functions were at length to-
tally suspended. The abdominal viscera are very frequently but
little affected ; occasionally, however, the mesenteric glands are
enlarged, and the liver almost nonsecretory of bile ; and still
more frequently the spleen particularly has been found greatly en-
larged and diseased. — See Splenitis, Chronic.

The care of the disease is always a matter of much uncertainty,
and unless it be attempted in the first stages, and before visceral in-
jury has procetded too far, the chances of complete recovery are
but small ; yet we may often palliate the symptoms. Artificial
habits, particularly those of want of air and exercise, with su-
perabundance of food, being in nine cases out of ten the cause,
it is evident, that without these are in future rigorously and judi-
ciously attended to, medicine will avail little. It is unfortu-

CANINE ASTHMA. 129

nate, that the accumulation of fat is, in some dogs, so much a
disease, that even a very small quantity of food will fatten ; but
even that quantity must, however, be still further reduced, so as
to produce absorption of the oil ; or it will be in vain to hope for
amendment : means to effect which are detailed under the head
Feeding. An airy place ought to be allowed the animal to sleep
in - but above all, regular and judicious exercise must be given;
not violent, but gentle, and long continued. The absorption of
the accumulated fat will be materially assisted by a regular ex-
hibition of purgatives once or twice a-week. Bleeding now and
then gives a temporary relief; and in the incipient stages, when
there is any suspicion of inflammatory action going on in the air
vessels, it is proper; but in the advanced stages it seldom does
much good.

Of the various remedial plans I have pursued, none have ap-
peared more uniformly beneficial, than a course of emetics,
steadily persisted in twice a-week : see Emetics, p. 84. In the
intermediate days alteratives were administered, with the occa-
sional use of a purgative, provided the dog was strong, fat, and
plethoric ; otherwise this was dispensed with : but it should be
remembered, that this remedial plan must be uniformly and long
continued, to ensure permanent benefit. The alterative is as
follows : —

Calomel (submuriale of mercury) half a grain

Nitre (nitrate of potash) 5 grains

Cream of tartar (supertarlrate of potash) 10 grains
Antimonial powder 2 grains.— Mix.

This may be given either as a powder, or it may be made into a
ball with honey ; the dose being repeated once or twice a-day,
according to the urgency of the case : the quantities may be
also lessened or increased, according to the effect produced ; the
recipe is intended for a dog of middling size. On the morning
that the emetic is given, the alterative should be omitted ; and
where the alterative is repeated night and morning, it will be pru-
dent to watch the mouth, that salivation may not unexpectedly

|:}<)

CANINE ASTHMA.

come on. If this should happen, discontinue the medicine tor
some days. Where also the calomel has been found to disagree,
I have substituted the following alterative with benefit: —

Nitre (nitrate of potash) 3 grains

Tartar emetic (tartarized antimony) a quarter of a grain

Powdered foxglove (digitalis) half a grain. — Mix.

This may be given as the other, and alternated with the emetic
also, watching the effects of the foxglove, through the medium of
the pulse, that they may not be too violent.

In some cases of long standing, where the attendant cough
has been very harsh, noisy, and distressing, I have added ten,
twenty, or thirty drops of tincture of opium (laudanum), or the
eighth, sixth, or fourth part of a grain of opium, to each alte-
rative with advantage. In other instances, the cough has been
best allayed by an evening opiate of double the strength before
prescribed. I have, now and then, experienced benefit also from
the use of the balsamic gums, which may be all tried, therefore,
in obstinate cases. Relief has been obtained likewise from the

following, given every morning: —

Powdered squill half a grain

Gum ammoniacum, powdered 5 grains

Balsam Peru 3 grains

benzoic acid 1 grain

Anisated balsam of sulphur to form a ball.

Or,

Inspissated juice of the white garden lettuce ... half a drachm
Tincture of balsam of Tolu 1 drachm

Powdered gum arabic and extract of liquorice 1 ounce each
Make into balls, and give one night and morning.

The following I have found to mitigate the severity of several
cases, and it deserves a trial : —

Extract of cicuta half a drachm

Extract of hyoscyamus 10 grains

Powdered digitalis a scruple

Conserve of roses to make 10, 8, or 6 balls, according to the size
of the dog ;

of which one may be given night and morning ; increasing the

INFLAMMATORY AFFECTIONS.

J31

dose if it occasions no disturbance in the system. Mr. Youatt
lias, I believe, found benefit in asthmatic cases from the exhibition
of prussic acid : but the powerful nature of this remedy requires
professional assistance when it is administered.

Sub-Class IV.
Inflammatory Affections of the Abdominal Viscera.

INFLAMMATION OF THE STOMACH (GASTRITIS).

The stomach is less frequently affected with idiopathic inflam-
mation than the bowels ; it is, however, now and then the seat of
. primary inflammation, and it often becomes alfected when the
bowels are so. In idiopathic gastritis, the sickness is incessant
and most distressing ; the thirst is unquenchable, and whatever
is taken in, is immediately thrown up again. There is also very
great distress in the countenance, but the dog evinces less dis-
position to hide himself than in simple bowel affection : the
mouth slavers, and is hot and cold by turns. The disease, when
violent, is seldom relieved, even by any treatment : but when it
does admit of cure, it is done by bleeding early and largely, both
by the neck, and by leeches to the region of the stomach. The
warm bath should be used, injections should be repeatedly admi-
nistered : the chest should be blistered also ; but nothing ought to
be given by the mouth. The stomach is likewise liable to inflam-
mation from poisonous substances : a very marked and peculiar
one results from rabies. The medical treatments of these va-
rieties are detailed under the head Poisons.

INFLAMMATION OF THE INTESTINES (ENTERITIS).

The intestines of dogs are very irritable, and extremely sub-
ject to inflammation ; and the phlegmasia? affecting them are
of various kinds, according to the operating cause. Distemper
is the cause of a variety, that shews itself by a continued
diarrhoea. Dogs arc very liable to rheumatism ; but it is no less

13*2 INFLAMMATION OF THE INTESTINES.

true than curious, that a dog never has acute, and seldom chronic
rheumatism either, that is not accompanied, more or less, with in-
flammation of his bowels : this connexion is, however, confined .
to the dog alone. In many cases the bowels are the immediate
and principal seat of the rheumatism, which is productive of a
peculiar enteritis, easily distinguished by those conversant with
the diseases of dogs; and further noticed below. Poisons pro-
duce a most fatal inflammation in the bowels of dogs ; the effects
of which are treated on under the head Poisons.

Among the various inflammatory affections, four kinds are pe-
culiarly common to the intestines of dogs. The first is that
which is brought on by rheumatism, as already explained.-

See Rheumatism.

Inflammed bowels, from costiveness, forms the second kind,
and is a very common occurrence. Dogs will bear costiveness
for many days before inflammation comes on; but, when it has
commenced, it is not easily removed. This kind is known by
the gradual manner in which it attacks, and by its being at first
unaccompanied by any very active symptoms. The dog appears
dull, dislikes to move, and hides himself ; his belly is hot, and sore
also • the constipation is sometimes so complete, that nothing at
all comes from him ; at others a few drops of faeces are strained out
at every effort, which is apt to make the observer suppose that the
doo-is not costive, but, on the contrary, relaxed; he is, therefore,
led&to neglect the principal means of relief. In the inflammation
arising from costiveness, the sickness of stomach is not at first so
distressing ; nor is the dog so extremely anxious for water, as he
is when it arises from cold alternating with heat, and its attack is
more acute. The obstruction that exists is commonly situated far
back in the larger bowels, so that, by introducing the finger into
the fundament, a quantity of hardened excrement may frequently
be felt This occurs so often, that, whenever costiveness is even
suspected, the dog should be examined, by passing the fore

finger up the anus.

Obstructions may, however, exist in any portion of the in-

INFLAMMATION OF THE INTESTINES.

133

testiual track. I have in my possession a portion of jejunum ;
in the centre ot which intestine is a cork, that had been brutally
forced down the throat. Needles and pins form fatal obstruc-
tions sometimes, by getting across the bowels. I have also
known a splinter of a chicken bone imbed itself in the sub-
stance of ono of the intestines, and form an insurmountable
stoppage. Intussusception also now and then occurs, in
which one portion of bowel gets folded within another from
spasm, and thus forms a complete interruption to the passage of
the faeces.

Whenever we can ascertain, by the anus, that the obstruction
consists of a simple accumulation of hardened excrement within
the rectum, it is evident that purging medicines by the mouth
can do little good, but may do a great deal of harm, by forcing
the impacted contents into a more solid mass. The hardened
matter should be carefully broken and separated by the finger,
or by a forceps, or the handle of a spoon ; and it may then be
brought away piecemeal. If this cannot be effected, or the
fascal mass be situated completely without the reach, clysters
should be constantly kept up the intestines ; that is, as soon as
one comes away another ought to be thrown up. The dog
should also be put into a warm bath frequently, which often
proves the most effectual means of removing obstinate costive-
ness. Medicines by the mouth are not to be neglected, par-
ticularly where the obstruction does not exist within the reach
of the finger ; on the contrary, a large dose of castor oil may be
first tried, which, if it fails to open the bowels, should give
place to stronger means. From three to six or eight grains of
calomel may be mixed with from half a drachm to one or two
drachms of aloes, according to the size and strength of the dog.
If the stomach should reject the first dose, add a quarter of a
grain of opium to the second : or, a dose of Epsom salts, dis-
solved in broth, may be tried. Fortunately for medicine, wc
have now a purgative so subtle and' minute, that even a drop
put on the tongue proves a powerful laxative. The croton oil

\1

134 INFLAMMATION OP THE INTESTINES.

acts as powerfully on dogs as on the human subject, and there-
fore in these cases should be tried. Repeat the purge, whatever
it may be, every three or four hours, until it operates.

In the third inflammation (enteritis), or that which comes
on spontaneously from irritation, or from the effect of cold, the
early symptoms are more acute; great heat, thirst, panting, and
restlessness, are apparent even from the first attack. The sto-
mach is incessantly sick, and throws off all its contents, mixed
oftentimes with biliary matter, and all food is refused, but
water is sometimes sought for with anxiety. The belly is ex-
tremely hot, and painful to the touch ; the eyes are red, and the
mouth and nose are alternately hot and cold. The animal fre-
quently lies on his stomach, expresses great anxiety in his
countenance, and the pulse is extremely quick but small. En-
teritis may be distinguished from spasmodic colic by the extreme
tenderness and heat in the bowels, which are not so apparent in
the latter complaint.

Under these circumstances, the dog should be early and
freely bled. From three to six or eight ounces may be taken
away, according to the size and strength of the patient. A
laxative of castor oil, or of Epsom salts, should be adminis-
tered; but unless the bowels are obstinately bound, and have
been so for several days, nothing drastic should be given by the
mouth, as it would only heighten the inflammatory symptoms.
The animal should be bathed in warm water every three or four
hours- when that is found too troublesome, from his size or
other circumstances, the belly may be rubbed with hot water, or
fomented with hot flannels; but one or the other must by no
means be omitted. Clysters of castor oil, with mutton broth,
should be frequently thrown up, till evacuation is procured ;
and when the case is desperate, the belly may also be rubbed
with oil of turpentine between the bathings, or covered with a
blister- or a mustard poultice may be applied. No food should
be given, and cold water should be removed; but the dog may
be drenched with mutton broth. In case the vomiting continues

INFLAMMATION OP THE INTESTINES. 135

obstinate, with every dose of castor oil, and with every drench of
mutton broth, give from ten to twenty drops of laudanum : if
the animal becomes paralytic in his lower extremities, if the
sickness proves incessant, and the mouth and ears become cold
and pale, mortification is at hand. Enteritis, or red colic, is not
always accompanied with costiveness; in some there is very
little ; and in a few cases the bowels are even lax : but, in the
greater number of instances, costiveness to a certain degree is
present ; for, even when it did not exist previous to the attack,
it is pretty sure to be brought on by it : an effectual laxative is,
therefore, premised early in the complaint. If the dog is very
delicate, this primary laxative may be castor oil ; but when that
is not at hand, or fails in its operation, I have used mild doses
of Epsom salts with advantage ; and, in some instances, these
have remained on the stomach when castor oil has been rejected.
— See Costiveness.

Bilious inflammation of the bowels forms the fourth kind of
intestinal inflammations ; originating, as I suspect, in some affec-
tion of the fiver, which alters its secreting qualities, and makes
it, instead of engendering a healthy bile, secrete one of a black
noxious kind ; which, as soon as it passes into the bowels, irri-
tates and inflames them most highly. This species of enteritis
may be distinguished from the other kinds, by the early vomiting
of a black or yellow foetid matter, and likewise by the bilious
matters evident in the purgings. Poisonous substances will,
however, sometimes produce similar appearances in the stools ;
caution is therefore requisite in deciding between the two, as
the treatment for the one, and that for the other (see Poisons),
should be somewhat different. In the inflammations arising
from mineral poisons, the vomitings are incessant, and usually
frothy and streaked with blood ; the mouth swells, and emits an
offensive odour ; and the stools are more bloody and less tinged
with dark bile. This inflammation may be distinguished from
the bilious by the thirst, which is insatiable under the action of
poison.

INFLAMMATION OF THE INTESTINES.

Bilious inflammation is not a very untractable complaint, when
judiciously managed. When the purghigs are already con-
siderable, nothing stronger than castor oil, with some opium,
should be given ; but this should never be neglected : if even the
evacuations are frequent, profuse, and bloody, a mild dose, with
forty or fifty drops of laudanum, is proper at first. When the
evacuations by the bowels are very trifling, a mild mercurial
purge should not be neglected, which I have sometimes found of
the greatest service ; as,

Submuriate of quicksilver (calomel) 12 grains .

Aloes 3 drachms

Opium 1 g^in-

Make into four, six, or eight balls, according to the size of the
dog, and give one every four or five hours till relief is obtained.
It will be prudent to give clysters of mutton broth,, and also to
force some down the throat : and when the sickness is very ob-
stinate, adding to it twenty or thirty drops of laudanum. The
warm bath, or fomentations, should be likewise made use of, in
case the belly feels hot and tense.

When, however, the bilious purging is very great, has existed
some time, and in addition to the quantity evacuated, the
stools are found to be tinged with blood; here laxatives may
be dispensed with, and instead of them, the following should be
given : —

Powdered calumba 1 drachm

Powdered chalk 1 drachm

Powdered gum arabic 1 drachm

Powdered opium 1 grain.

Mix, and divide into three, five, or seven balls, according to the
size of the dog, and give one every three or four hours: throw
up also starch clysters. The distressing sickness that sometimes
accompanies these aggravated cases, and the bloody evacuations
likewise, render it very difficult to distinguish them from those
that occur from the administration of mineral poisons, without a
minute attention to circumstances already detailed. The sick-
ness is, however, best relieved in all of them by the powder of

INFLAMED LIVElt.

137

calumba, with laudanum, given in moderate but frequent doses,
as from ten to fifteen grains of the powder, and from fifteen to
twenty-five drops of the opiate.

INFLAMED LIVER (HEPATITIS).

The hepatic organ in dogs is subject to two inflammations ;
one rapid and acute, the other slow and chronic.

Acute inflammation of the liver is not a very frequent disease,
but I have several times met with it. It may be brought on by
cold, and shews itself by dulness, restlessness, panting, and
unusual inclination to drink. There is also present, in some
cases, frequent sickness ; but it is seldom of that distressing kind
which accompanies inflammation of the stomach or bowels.
Hepatitis may be distinguished from peripneumony, or inflamed
lungs, by the absence of an intense coldness of the nose and
mouth; neither is there a watery exudation from them, as in
pneumonia; nor is the head held up to facilitate breathing.
From inflamed bowels it may be distinguished, by the general
symptoms being, although not very unlike, yet less severe, with
less prostration of strength ; neither is the region of the belly so
hot and tense, although I have observed the right side con-
siderably enlarged and tender to the touch in some cases. On
the second day of the inflammation, the urine becomes of a deep
yellow : the skin appears likewise universally tinged, but the
coverings of the eyes and mouth particularly so.

This disease is sometimes attended with purging, but much
oftener with constipation. When active purging is present, the
complaint usually degenerates into the bilious, or fourth kind of
inflammation of the bowels. — See Inflamed Bowels. In most
instances it proves fatal, unless attended to sufficiently early;
and such a termination is at hand when the sickness becomes
frequent, when the limbs appear paralytic, and the mouth is pale
as well as cold.

The proper treatment of hepatitis consists in early and

138

INFLAMED L1VEK.

plentiful bleeding; a stimulating or blistering application ap-
plied to the belly, particularly towards the right side, with
ojjeniug medicines ; and, if circumstances should prevent the
application of any stimulant to the region of the liver, the dog
should be put into warm water twice or thrice during the day.
After the bowels have been well opened, give the following,
every three or four hours : —

Powdered foxglove 8 grains

Antimonial powder 16 grains

Nitrated potash (nitre) in powder 1 drachm.

Mix, and divide into seven, nine, or twelve powders ; or make
into as many balls, according to the size of the dog. If, under
this treatment, amendment does not become apparent, repeat the
bleeding, and stimulate the skin more actively.

Chronic inflammation of the liver arises sometimes sponta-
neously, and is idiopathic. In other cases it is brought on by
the agency of other affections. Long continued or inveterate
mange will tend to produce disease in the liver. In some cases
of distemper, also, a dull inflammatory action of the liver occurs,
and which is almost always accompanied with a pustular eruption
over the belly. The skin is also commonly tinged with a biliary
sulfusion ; but the urine is invariably impregnated with much
bile ; and both this state, and that more active biliary suffusion,
which takes place in some cases of distemper, are known by
sportsmen as the yellows. The symptoms are dulness, wasting,
a staring coat, and very often a tumour may be felt in the right
side of the belly. From the unhealthy appearance of the hair,
this disease is often mistaken for worms ; but it may be distin-
guished by the want of the voracity of appetite which charac-
terizes worms, and also by the general and constant dulness of
manner : sometimes, also, it is connected with chronic splenitis,
and also with the asthma.

The treatment of this disease should be commenced by a mer-
curial purge, after which give, night and morning, one of the fol-
lowing balls : -

INFLAMMATION OF THE SPLEEN.

139

Submuriate of quicksilver (calomel) 20 grains

Antimonial powder 30 grains

Powdered myrrh 2 drachms

Powdered gentian 2 drachms

Aloes .-. 2 drachms.

Mix with any adhesive matter, and divide into fifteen, twenty, or
twenty-five balls, according to the size of the dog.

Mercurial ointment 1 ounce

Blistering ointment 2 drachms

Ointment of yellow wax 1 ounce.

Rub into the region of the liver a small portion of this ointment
(the size of a nutmeg) once every day. Pursue this treatment
some time, carefully watching the mouth, to guard against sud-
den and violent salivation. A moderate soreness of the mouth is,
however, to be encouraged and kept up : nor have I ever suc-
ceeded in removing the complaint without it.

INFLAMMATION OF THE SPLEEN (SPLENITIS).

Acute inflammation of the spleen, although there is no reason
to doubt its existence, I have never marked ; but chronic inflam-
mation of this organ I believe by no means uncommon, having
myself seen several instances, and I know of one at the present
moment in a Newfoundland dog, the property of a friend : at
least, from former cases which fell under my observation, I con-
clude it so, and am pretty certain I am not deceived. This dog
had been subject to great confinement, not being loosened from
his chain for weeks together. He was received by my friend
with an unthrifty looking coat, but gorged with flesh : the mis-
chief, however, was done, and soon began to shew itself; he be-
came emaciated, while the left side of the abdomen remains hard
and protruded; he husks, and has irregular loose stools. These,
in essential particulars, were the symptoms exhibited by the cases
1 have hinted at ; the post-mortem examination of which pre-
sented a mass of indurated disorganized matter, very different
from the usual vascular spongy structure of the liver. In some

110

RHEUMATISM.

asthmatic cases I have found both the liver and spleen diseased
in the same way, particularly the latter ; but whether it was a
consequence or a cause, I know not.

INFLAMED BLADDER (CYSTITIS).

This is not a very common complaint among dogs, neverthe-
less it now and then occurs : in the year 1810 there was an epi-
demic prevalent, in which the bladder was in every instance very
much inflamed ; and in many of the cases which occurred it was
exclusively so. Cystitis shews itself by a very frequent pulse,
great restlessness, and panting : in some instances the urine is
evacuated by frequent drops, tinged with blood ; in others there
is a total stoppage of it. The belly appears hot, swelled, and is
very tender to the touch, particularly between the hind legs.

The animal affected should be liberally bled, and have open-
ing medicines ; clysters and the warm bath are also to be re-
sorted to, and frequently repeated Diuretics are improper, but
antimonials, as antimonial powder, or small repeated doses of
emetic tartar, are by no means to be neglected. Where the
warm bath is not convenient, warm fomentations may be pro-
perly substituted. Leeches may also be applied.

Sub-Class V.

Inflammation of Ligamentous and Aponeurotic

Expansions.

RHEUMATISM.
There is no disease, except distemper and mange, to which
dogs are so liable, as to a rheumatic affection of some part or
other of the body. Rheumatism presents almost as many varieties
in dogs as it does in man; and it has some peculiarities that are
observed in the dog only. A very extraordinary one is, that
rheumatism never exists in a dog without its affecting the bowels ;

RHEUMATISM. 1^1

that is, whatever part of the body becomes rheumatic, either an
active rheumatic inflammation will be found to exist in the bowels
also, or they will be attacked with a painful torpor : and, in either
case, costiveness will be commonly present. The most usual
form of this complaint is one which is very similar to the human
lumbago. In this case a dog is, in general, seized with a partial
or total loss of the use of his hind legs ; his back, particularly
about the loins, appears tender and painful to the touch. He
screams on being moved; his belly is hot, and very sensible to
pressure, and his bowels the seat of much pain. The nose is hot
also, the mouth dry, and the pulse considerably increased in fre-
quency. Sometimes the paralysis is not confined wholly to the
hinder legs, but the fore legs are partly, or completely, paralysed,
and helpless also. It seldom attacks the smaller joints, but con-
fines itself to the trunk and upper portions of the extremities :
neither does it wander, as the human rheumatism, from place to
place, but usually remains where it first attacked.

A certain prognostic of the termination of this acute type of
the complaint is very difficult to form ; for, in some cases, the
limbs recover themselves very speedily, in others more slowly ;
while, not unfrequently, the paralysis remains through life, and,
when confined to the hinder extremities, the animal drags them
after him as long as he lives, or gets the habit of carrying them
completely from the ground by the strength of his fore quarters.
When the paralysis is universal, the chance of perfect recovery
is less than when it is partial; though, from this also, dogs do
now and then recover by active and judicious medical treatment.
It is to be remarked, however, that too often, although the
general health may be established, yet some weakness will remain
in the loins and extremities : but more particularly it may be
regarded as a rule, from which there are few deviations, that,
when a dog has once had rheumatism, he will be extremely liable
to it again on the access of cold.

There is a singular variety of rheumatism that seems to be com-
bined with a spasmodic affection, which peculiarly affects the

142

RHEUMATISM.

neck, occasioning swelling, stiffness, and extreme tenderness of
the part. Sometimes also it troubles, at the same time, one or both
fore legs ; but even here, the attack on these distant parts appears
to be more symptomatic than idiopathic, for the bowels are
always affected, and it happens invariably, that, when they are
relieved, the violence of the complaint is always mitigated in the
liuibs or neck18. I have not found any one kind of dog to be na-
turally more prone to rheumatic affections than another, all seem
alike subject to them ; but those become most so that live most
artificially, and such as are usually kept warm, but become acci-
dentally exposed to wet or cold. The spring produces more in-
stances of this disease than any other time of the year, probably
from the prevalence of easterly winds at that season1^

The treatment of canine rheumatism should be as follows: —
In every instance the bowels must be particularly and promptly
attended to ; and in no way does this indication seem better
effected than by first placing the animal in warm water, and
keeping him there for a quarter of an hour, at the same time rub-
bing him well over the affected parts. When taken out, wipe
him dry ; wrap him well up in a blanket, and place him within
the warmth of a fire : first, however, giving him the following :—

Tincture of opium 20 drops

Vitriolic sether 30 droPs

Castor oil 1 ounce-

This quantity is proper for a middling sized dog, and may be
increased or diminished in strength at pleasure : should it not be
found to operate as a laxative, a clyster should be likewise ad-
ministered ; and, in default of that acting also, give the follow-
ing ball, increasing or diminishing its size and strength according
to circumstances: —

'8 See a note on this subject appended to Spasmodic Colic, Class II.

19 Dogs, particularly such as are closely domesticated, become remarkably
open to atmospheric impressions. Any sudden change of weather, especially
from a dry to a moist state, may be seen in the depressed countenance ami
listless maunerof many of them. Many others cannot be exposed to an easterlj
wind, for a quarter of an hour ev en, without becoming affected with rheumatism.

RHEUMATISM.

143

Subinuriate of mercury {calomel) 4. grains

Powdered opium « quarter of a gram

Oil of peppermint 1 droP

^yoes I drachm.

Make into a ball with lard or butter, which give ; and, if neces-
sary, repeat every four hours till the bowels are perfectly open ;
and keep them gently so by mild aperients for several days after,
or until amendment takes place. The affected parts must also
be embrocated two or three times a-day with either of the folio w-

mg:_Oil of turpentine jounces

Liquid carbonate of ammonia (spirit of hartshorn) 2 ounces

Tincture of opium (laudanum) 2 drachms

„,. ., 2 ounces :

Olive oil

Or

" > „ . . ., one part

Caieput oil 1 .

Soap liniment (opodeldoc) two parts. Mix.

The warm bath should be repeated at intervals of one or two
days, according to the quickness or slowness of the amendment ;
moderate feeding only should be allowed. Sometimes food is al-
together refused ; more frequently the animal is as willing to eat
as°at other times ; and it is not uncommon, in some of these cases,
from a morbid sympathy of the stomach and bowels, for him to
be more than usually voracious. When the paralysis occa-
sioned by rheumatism continues to deprive the limbs of their
mobility, I have experienced some good effect from electricity, in
others from mercurial frictions, and in some cases from blisters
along the spine : where the hinder Umbs only have been para-
lytic, a very large pitch plaister, applied over the whole loins,
reaching to the tail, as well as covering the upper parts of the
thighs, and worn for two months, or even longer, has been of
great service. I have experienced benefit also from the cold
bath ; but the warm bath, though a most admirable remedy dur-
ing tie rheumatic attack, I have never found to give any relief to
the future paralysis. Finally, when all these have altogether
failed, I would advise a trial of the tonic plan recommended for
Chorea; and as a last resource acupuncturation might be tried,
which see among the Operations.

144

CLASS II.
Spasmodic Diseases.
EPILEPSY.

Epileptic fits are of frequeut occurrence in dogs, and may, like
those in ourselves, be considered both idiopathic and symp-
tomatic ; or, in otber words, they appear constitutional at some
times, the result probably of particular organization, and at
others are caused by accidental irritations, as worms, metastasis
in distemper, &c. Blows on the head have made dogs subject to
occasional attacks of epilepsy ; and the nervous susceptibility of
some is such, that any unusual excitement, whether of joy or
fear, will bring it on. Sporting dogs, particularly such as are
what is called very high bred, in which the mental irritability is
artificially increased, are often the subjects of it when ranging
in the pursuit of game, and particularly such as have been pre-
viously confined much ; from the unprepared state of the brain to
bear the unusual quantity of blood determined to it. In some
dogs, the mere plethora of the constitution, or the fat accumu-
lated, are sufficient to produce an attack ; and such, without
other excitement, if made to travel an unaccustomed distance be-
hind a horse or carriage, particularly at a quick pace, fall into a
fif, and from doing it unobserved are frequently lost. Fear will
often occasion an epileptic attack in young dogs, or in dogs of
any age, if previously debilitated by illness. Worms are a very
common cause of epilepsy in young dogs ; and teething in pup-
pies. Distemper also ushers in its attack sometimes by a fit of
this kind, in which case it is not an unfavourable symptom ; on
the contrary, when epileptic fits occur during the progress of
the disease, they commonly destroy the patient. The epilepsy of
distemper may be readily distinguished from the other varieties
by the attendant symptoms of that disease being present, as well

EPILEPSY.

as by the full detail of its peculiarities of attack under that head,
(p. 116.)

The treatment of epilepsy must be preceded by an inquiry into
its probable cause. Where close confinement and accumulation
of much flesh may be supposed the principal agents, let the dog
be bled, purged, moderately fed, and regularly but not violently
exercised. Where a natural irritability, as in the high-bred
sporting varieties, appears the cause of the excitability, it should
be moderated by accustoming them to a more uniform and full
supply of the objects occasioning it, with a habit of regular ex-
ercise, whether wanted for sporting purposes or not : thus, for a
valuable setter belonging to a gentleman, which seldom went to
the field without an epileptic attack, I recommended his being
taken into a country more plentifully supplied with game than
his neighbourhood afforded ; the consequence of which was, that
though, for a few days after his removal, he had fits more fre-
quently than ever, yet they gradually lessened, and at length
wholly left him. Where repletion and want of condition appear
the principal causes, lower the system by bleeding, purging, and
occasional emetics, as detailed under the General Treatment oj
Dogs (p. 66). A seton is also a valuable remedy, and when-
ever fits have become habitual, insert one, and keep it open
some months.

An epileptic fit can often be stopped by cold water thrown over
the head and body ; and whenever a fit has occurred, the dog
should have a brisk purge, as costiveness is not an unfrequent
cause ; and this is the more prudent, because should it arise from
any other source, the treatment is equally proper. Such an oc-
currence ought also to be followed by an examination of the stools,
and by looking for other signs of worms, which are often the
occasion of it. See Worms, Class III.

The epilepsy of bitches ivhen suckling' is of a different kind to
that I have been treating of, being wholly asthenic, and conse-
quent to the attempt of the mother to furnish a greater number of

140

EPILEPSY.

young than the constitutional strength of the animal is equal to20.
It is found principally among fancy and highly-petted dogs, whose
irritability of temperament is thus increased by their artificial
habits : occasionally, however, it occurs with others less confined
and pampered, where the owners are anxious to save several of a
litter, or are forgetful to supply the necessary extra nutriment.
The appearance of these fits is made at uncertain periods of lac-
tation, as the constitution begins to sympathize extremely, sooner
or later, with the unnatural call made on it. The mother may go
on well for weeks even ; suddenly, however, she will be seized
with convulsions, which will follow each other with rapidity, and
carry her off : the cause of which is seldom suspected, but it
almost always arises from debility thus brought on. The mother
should always, therefore, be allowed to suckle as many puppies
only as her constitutional powers are equal to ; but to specify the
precise number is totally impossible, as some can bring up five
or six with more ease than others can rear three. Strong healthy
bitches, that have before brought up young, may rear four or
five : delicate ones are sufficiently burthened with three ; many
can only bear two.

The treatment is to be commenced by an immediate removal of

2<> Without consideration, some might say, how then do dogs in a state of na-
ture survive these hazards? to which may be replied, Let nature alone, and she
will provide for her own children ; interfere with her, and she leaves the onus
with you. In a state of nature, the canina; breed but once in the year, and
never have more, I believe, than five or six at a birth. Cultivation and do-
mestication have so altered their habits (see p. 41), that our dogs breed three
times in two years, and some five times in three years, and have s.x, eight, and
occasionally many more whelps at a birth. We have also decreased then-
powers of supplying these extra wants, by the very same means we have in-
creased their generative powers; by making them artificial instead of natural
animals. I have had many occasions of proving, that this artificiaJ cultivation
weakens their resources under disease, and under other acc.dental circum-
stances, as breeding, &c. Nature thus punishes the deviations from her esta-
blished rules; and as this frequent gestation and unusual rearing of extra nu-
merous progeny is of man's own work, he must oppose art to art, by destrouno
as many of the young as may be supposed beyond the powers oi the mother to
rear- and also by giving her extra support, to nourish the remainder.

EPILEPSY.

147

the puppies : one or two may be put to her for half an hour,
morning- and evening ; or, if she is distressed at their loss, and
lias much milk left, one may remain with her ; but, unless the ma-
jority are taken away, she cannot be saved. As an internal re-

medy, employ the following : —

Sulphuric a?ther 1 drachm

Tincture of opium (laudanum) 1 drachm

Strong ale 2 ounces.— Mix.

Give from a dessert to two table-spoonfuls of this mixture, ac-
cording to the size and strength of the patient, repeating the dose
every two or three hours. Force down also some nutritious mat-
ter, solid or liquid, as diet ; and, as soon as the animal will eat,
let the food be of the very best kind, and in sufficient quantities.
But let the warm bath be resorted to before all.

The true idiopathic epilepsy, or that which becomes habitual
without a known or accidental cause (or even that which is occa-
sioned from accidental causes), should it resist the preventive
means already directed, must be combated by antispasmodics and
tonics : commence the treatment, however, by the following,
where the dog is strong, and in full condition : if otherwise, pro-
ceed with the next recipe : —

Calomel (submuriale of quicksilver) 8 grains

Carbonate of iron half a drachm

Extract of hemlock (cicula) I scruple.

Mix with conserve of roses, palm oil, &c. &c. ; sufficient to form
twelve, nine, or six balls, of which give one every morning.
Should these not mitigate the attacks, try the following : —

Nitrate of silver (lunar caustic), finely powdered... 2 grains

Spiders' web, called cobweb 5 grains

Conserve of roses sufficient for balls.

Make into nine, twelve, or fifteen balls, according to the size of
the dog ; of which give one every morning.

CHOREA, SPASM, CONVULSION, AND PARALYSIS.
Chorea, known in the human subject as St. Vitus's dance, is
a peculiar modification, or compound of spasm and paralysis. Wc

K

148 CHOREA, SPASM, CONVULSION, AND PARALYSIS.

have sufficient reasons for considering the whole of these as aris-
ing from certain morbid affections or states of the brain ; though
po°st-mortem examinations have often failed to detect any struc-
tural alteration there ; and when such do occur, some might be led
to attribute them to the force of the symptoms ; or, in other words,
as an effect rather than a cause. Chorea is sometimes general,
as is seen in some states of distemper, when the animal as umver-
sally affected with muscular spasmodic contractxons from head to
foot, as well sleeping as waking : every limb is alternately flexed
and straightened, as though the poor brute was in constant and
fatiguing exercise; while his cries and moans bespeak his suiter-
inas, and he dies, worn out by the irritation and exhaustion pro-
duced, earlier or later, as his own strength or the degree of the
disease operate for or against him.

Chorea is, however, more frequently partial, and these con-
vulsive twitchings are confined sometimes to the head and neck,
which are bowed continually ; occasionally only apart of the lace
is so convulsed ; in others the fore quarters are principally affected,
being drawn down with distressing regularity. Now and then
it is in the hinder quarters, and sometimes in one limb only ; but
wherever it exists it seldom affords any respite. In this state a
dog will continue, particularly when it is the consequence of dis-
temper, for a longer or shorter period; and oftentimes it remains
throu-h life, rendering the objects of it useless as sporting dogs,
cuard°s, &c. Chorea may be the consequence of other irri-
tations beside distemper, as worms, injuries received on the head
and debilitating diseases ; but the distemper is the most frequent

cause. .

The treatment is usually of the tonic kind, although m the more
early stages it may not be imprudent to act on a supposition that
some revulsive means, directed to the sensorium, might be useful
In such case, a seton might be applied, or a blister to the back ot
the head ; or the spine might be stimulated ; but it is rare, when
the disease has continued some time, that these means are at-
tended with benefit. We may expect more from tonic remedies,

CHOREA, SPASM, CONVULSION, AND PARALYSIS. 149

as liberal feeding, pure air, the cold bath, frictions, with the
following : —

Nitrate of silver, ground very fine 3 grains

Carbonate of iron, powdered 2 dracluns

Gentian ditto 3 dracluns

Conserve of roses sufficient to make twelve, nine, or six balls,

of which, give one every night ; and if the medicine is well borne on
the stomach, give it both night and morning, It is the practice at
the Royal Veterinary School of Lyons, to treat dogs in this com-
plaint with the gum assafoetida, dissolved in vinegar, both by
the mouth and by clysters ; and the accounts are very favourable
with regard to it, if it is sufficiently long continued, but most so
in those cases where there is neither paralysis nor marasmus.
Other tonic formulae may also be used, in which the sulphate of
iron, sulphate of zinc, quinine, very minute doses of the strychnine,
as one-eighth of a grain, may any of them enter. It is not,
however, improbable that the disease will baffle every attempt at
cure.

Spasm differs from chorea, principally in its being an irregular
motion rather of the internal than the external muscular fibre ; when
very violent and diffused, it degenerates into what is popularly un-
derstood by convulsion, in which way it is that partial spasm, parti-
cularly chorea, ends : thus the twitchings which affect the limbs in
distemper, when, instead of lessening they increase daily, usually
end by one universal convulsive attack, which destroys the animal.
Dogs are very subject to spasm from a variety of occasional causes ;
it is also the usual accompaniment of several idiopathic diseases.
Rheumatism produces spasmodic affections of the bowels, and often
likewise of the neck, fore extremities, &c. In rabies, spasmodic
contractions are very common. Spasmodic colic is not unfrequent
in dogs; it also affects the bowels of puppies in a very particu-
lar manner sometimes. — See Colic.

Cramp, which is the familiar term among sportsmen for spasm,
occasionally seizes the limbs suddenly, attacking first one and

k 2

150 CHOREA, SPASM, CONVULSION, AND PARALYSIS,
then the other. Tetanus, or locked jaw, is also a spasmodic
affection.

The best external antispasmodics are the warm bath, with
close confinement in flannel afterwards. In some cases, an ex-
traordinary degree of warmth, in whatever way applied, has
proved useful, with volatile embrocations applied to the pained
parts. Internally the following may be given :—

JEther 20 10 60

Tincture of opium (laudanum) 20 to 60 drops

Camphor 3 to 6 grains.

Mix these together, and give in a table-spoonful of ale or of
wine and water, according to the urgency of the symptoms. No
fear need be apprehended from an over-dose of opium; for in
these cases analogy between the human and brute should not be
allowed to guide the exhibition; a dog will bear five times the
quantity of opium that a human person could. When spasm
affects the bowels, sometimes much benefit arises from clysters
with a drachm of laudanum in each. See Colic, Spasmodic-
Warm bathing, as before noticed, should never be omitted as a
remedy in general spasm; but, in some cases of long-continued
spasmodic affection, more purely paralytic, as in the twitching*
arising from distemper, tonic remedies, with cold bathing, are
more proper. Extensive bleeding has very often relieved some
occasional spasms; and other cases of longer standing have
been benefitted by the treatment detailed under the head Ept-

^ Paralysis is probably the consequence of a diminution of sen-
sorial excitement, by which a total or partial loss of motive power
is experienced in certain parts of the body : in extreme cases it
m*y l general; it is usually, however, local. Rabies is a very
common cause of paralysis of the jaws and muscles of he throat,
loins, and hinder extremities: sometimes an universal paralytic
weakness is also diffused over the frame in rabid dogs Distem-
per very commonly is attended with some paralysis of the hinder

TETANUS, OR LOCKED JAW. 151

parts, sometimes of the head and fore legs, and now and then it
is mildly but universally diffused. A frequent source of paralysis
is rheumatism, which see (p. 140).

The treatment must vary according to the cause producing the
affection. General warmth, with stimulating applications to the
immediate parts, is proper for most early cases : when long con-
tinued, the cold bath proves often most efficacious ; but still, dur-
ing the intervening time, the body should be kept warm. As a
general remedy in rheumatic paralysis, an extensive pitch plaister
deserves an immediate trial. Blisters and electricity are some-
times useful. For local injuries, a seton opposite the injured part
often proves beneficial. Electricity is worthy of attention. Acu-
puncturation, both in chorea and in paralysis, is deserving of
trial. The process is detailed with Operations, Class XII.

TETANUS, OR LOCKED JAW.

It is remarkable, that although dogs are very subject to vari-
ous spasmodic affections, yet to that called tetanus, or locked-jaw,
they are so little so, that I never met with more than three cases
of it among many thousands of diseased dogs. These are, how-
ever, sufficient to establish the susceptibility of the dog to the
complaint. Two of these cases were idiopathic, one being appa-
rently occasioned by exposure to cold air all night : in the other,
the cause was obscure. The third was of that kind called symp-
tomatic, and arose from external injury done to one of the feet.
In each of these cases the convulsive spasm was extreme, and the
rigidity universal but not intense. In one case the jaw was only
partially locked. Both warm and cold bathings were tried;
large doses of opium and camphor were given by the mouth, and
thrown up in clysters also. The spine of one was blistered.
Stimulating frictions were applied to all, but in neither case with
any salutary effect.

152

SPASMODIC COLIC.

Among the spasmodic affections of dogs, those attacking the
bowels are particularly deserving of notice, from their singularity,
importance, and variety. In all violent colics there is probably
some spasmodic constriction ; and thus the colic of worms ; that
resulting from acrid poisons, particularly of lead ; or from consti-
pation ; or from bilious inflammation, invariably present appear-
ances of some spasmodic action on the canal. There is also the
spasmodic colic of rheumatism (p. 140), which is of so peculiar a
nature as hardly to allow us to conclude whether it be a cause or
an effect, by the circumstance that no relief from the rheumatic;
or spasmodic symptoms, which affect the head, neck, or limbs,
can be obtained, until the bowels are relieved of their contents.

The true spasmodic colic in dogs is violent in its symptoms,
obstinate in character, and very often fatal iu termination. I
was apt formerly to attribute these cases to the presence of
worms, and I am still inclined to think that these animals, par-
ticularly the tape worm, will now and then occasion similar
symptoms; but the generality of cases may be considered as
arising from an irritation sni generis. Certain appearances also
might beget a suspicion, that the head, iu these instances, was the
sole seat of the complaint : but however the head may be con-
nected with the disease, the nervous affection is spent on the
intestinal tissues; and the bowels are the ostensible seat of the
morbid attack1, which is of a peculiar spasmodic nature, and
commonly attended with a slight degree of inflammation.

• If reference is made to the article Distemper, and if the physiological
hints there thrown out on the connexions between the brain, as the scat of
sensorial and motive power, be looked over, it will be an introduction to what
is (o follow: which I would premise by observing, that although in a work at
first intended as a popular vade mecum on a new branch of the an medendi,
I was somewhat obliged to fix the description of a disease where we could
best identify it by its consequences, yet it docs not follow, that as we proceed
wc may not be allowed to enlarge our sphere of reasoning, and direct our
inquiries rather beyond the plain matter of fact. Under this view, with our

SPASMODIC COLIC.

153

The symptoms are dulness, loss of appetite ; the nose is hot,
but the forehead particularly so ; with some panting, and much
restlessness. In some cases, there are appearances of acute
occasional pain ; in others, there is seen but little ; but in all
there is a particular stupor, and a very remarkable inclination
to ran round in a circle, and that always in the same direction.
The sight seems affected, and sometimes the senses are wholly
lost, at others, although the stupor is considerable, yet the facul-
ties are not totally obscured. In some cases, paralysis comes
on, and the head becomes drawn to one side; and I have always
observed it to incline to the same side that, while capable of
moving, the dog turned upon. The limbs also participate in
these extreme cases, and become contracted likewise. It is
necessary to observe, that lead received into the stomach will
also produce all these symptoms occasionally.

The duration of the complaint is various. It sometimes de-
stroys in a few days, while some cases linger two or even
three weeks ; but eventually five out of every six attacked with
it, die. On dissection, slight marks only of inflammation usually
appear ; and now and then intussusception is present ; but in
all, portions of the bowels in a contracted state are met with,

extended knowledge of the phenomena of nervous distribution, and the inti-
mate connexion of all diseases of increased action (and spasm may be but a
morbid modification of such action) with the brain, as so admirably entered
into by Dr. Clutterbuck, are we warranted in indulging in a suspicion that
this particular variety of colic, and that also described with rheumatism, as
a rheumatic spasm of the neck and bowels, may be rather symptoms of
idiopathic affectio&'of the brain than of the parts we detect the consequences
in? In the affection under our immediate consideration, the symptoms give
strong indication of a direct attack on the sensorium itself; but in pursuing
the disease, either as to the consequence of a fortunate termination, which
seems always the result of applications to the intestinal track, and also the
absence of morbid phenomena of any extent in post-mortem examinations of
the brain, the probabilities seem to incline to the idiopathic seat being within
the bowels themselves; always bearing in mind, that the first reason is the
most cogent of the two : for the absence of cerebral marks of disease is no
proof of morbid action not having gone on. The matter is worthy of all the
observation, and all the consideration of the veterinarian.

154

SPASMODIC COLIC.

while other portions again seem larger than usual, and are
flabby and unnaturally relaxed, as though they had lost all their
tone by the disease. The most attentive dissection of the head,
in these cases, has never detected any morbid appearances there,
except, in one or two instances, a slight increase of vascularity.
The affection of it, therefore, during the progress of the com-
plaint, must be considered as purely symptomatic, and as not at
all referrible to any specific affection of the sensorium itself;
and, although the head feels hot during the disease, the eyes are
flushed, and great pain appears in it, from the pressure that is
always made by the animal against the hand, when it is held to
it ; and the sense of pleasure that is manifested when the fore-
head is rubbed; yet direct medical applications to the head, as
fomentations, blisters, and leeches, have always failed to give
any relief; while the only remedies that have succeeded have been
such as were applied immediately to the bowels.

The treatment I have found most successful consisted in early
and active evacuations, as

„ ., half an ounce

Castor oil

Oil of peppermint * d™P

Tincture of opium 20 dr°P8'

If this should fail to relieve the bowels in half an hour, repeat it ;
and in an hour or two from this second exhibition, if no stool has
been procured, and real costiveness had been previously present,
oive aloes half a drachm to a drachm, or a drachm and a hall,
according to the size of the dog. Aperient clysters must also
be thrown up, and often repeated, until the bowels are suffi-
ciently evacuated. During the course of that part of the treat-
ment directed to opening of the bowels, the spasmodic construc-
tions can be attended to at the same time also, by batlnng in
water sufficiently warm. Frictions with some spirituous mix-
ture to the belly, as gin, or olive oil two parts and oil ol tur-
pentine one part. When the bowels are emptied, then give the
following : —

DIARRHCEA, OR PROFUSE PURGING.

155

yEther half a drachm to a drachm

Tincture of opium ditto

Camphor 3 to 6 grains

Castor oil 3 to 5 drachms.

I add castor oil to the antispasmodic mixture, from a confidence
in its being a valuable agent in quieting the irritation, as well
as in overcoming the obstruction ; but if diarrhoea have already
come on, then it should be omitted. Anodyne clysters must also
be thrown up after the bowels have been opened ; the warm bath,
likewise, and stimulating frictions should be continued, at short
intervals, until the case is hopeless or mitigated.

The occasional and epidemic spasmodic colic of puppies,
though essentially the same with that we have described, de-
serves a separate notice, because it sometimes rages in an
epidemial form ; and also because it appears more directly an
intestinal attack; the head not being affected either with vertigo
or stupor : its spasms take place at intervals, occasioning loud
cries while they last. The treatment, however active and judi-
cious, is seldom successful ; but that which has seemed the most
efficacious has been mercurial purgatives ; as calomel one gram,
aloes a scruple, opium a quarter of a grain : make into a ball,
and give every two hours, until the bowels are open. A young
dog of some strength and size should have a double dose ; a
Newfoundland, a treble one. Warm bath, stimulating frictions,
and clysters, aie equally proper here as in the preceding.

CLASS III.
Diseases of the Alimentary Canal.

Gastritis. — See Class I, Sub-Class IV.
Enteritis. — See Ditto, Ditto.

DIARRHOEA, OR PROFUSE PURGING.
Docs arc subject, under various morbid affections, to loose-
ness of bowels : it is one of the most common and obstinate

156

DIARRHOEA, OR PROFUSE PURGING.

symptoms in distemper ; and in that complaint the evacuations
are of a very variable quantity, colour, and consistence ; some-
times glairy, at others thin and watery ; often frothy, pale, and
in small quantity; now lead-coloured, and then bloody. In
bilious purging they are yellow or black; and when worms
exist, they change frequently, but usually have some glair, and
are often frothy also. When diarrhoea continues for many days,
the rectum becomes inflamed and slightly ulcerated within the
fundament, by which a constant irritation and tenesmus are kept
up ; and the poor animal, feeling as though he wanted to
evacuate, is continually trying to bring something away. On
observing this, persons are frequently led ip to error ; for, under
a supposition that there exists actual costiveness at the time, they
give purging medicines, which greatly aggravate the complaint,
and frequently destroy the dog. When the diarrhoea is con-
siderable, there is always violent thirst, and cold water is
sought after with great eagerness ; but which increases the evil,
and, therefore, should be removed, and broth or rice-water
should be substituted in its room. When diarrhoea has con-
tinued many days, particularly in the malignant distemper, it
often takes on something of a dysenteric appearance, from the
mucous surface of the intestines becoming inflamed, and throwing
off their mucous secretion in great quantities with every motion.

The cure of diarrhoea must depend on the light in which we
are led to consider it ; whether as a disease of itself, or as merely
the symptom of some other existing disease. For instance, a
bilious purging, which comes on suddenly with violent vomiting,
is best removed by evacuants to carry off the vitiated bile from
the bowels. In the looseness occasioned by worms also, purga-
tives or other vermifuges should be made use of to remove the
cause, and not astringents, which would merely apply to the
effect. But when diarrhoea appears an idiopathic affection, that
is, as a diseased action of the bowels themselves, and also when
it is produced by distemper, it should in either case be imme-
diately checked, or it may produce such weakness and emacia-

DIARRHOEA, OR PROFUSE PURGING.

157

tion as will destroy the dog. In the distemper it is particularly
necessary to check the looseness very early ; for when it is con-
tinued beyond the third or fourth day, its invariable effect is to
destroy the appetite, after which, of course, the weakness in-
creases in a double degree.

The remedies employed, when diarrhoea is a primary com-
plaint, are generally either of an absorbent or an astringent na-
ture : but a long experience enables me to state, that the loose-
nesses or scourings of dogs are best combated by a proper mix-
ture of both these. In the purging which accompanies distem-
per, however, the disease frequently proves very obstinate, and
even baffles every endeavour to remove it. Suet, boiled in milk,
has been long a favourite domestic remedy, and in slight cases
is equal to the cure. Alum-whey has also proved useful, but
more frequently as an injection, than by the mouth. Great bene-
fit has also been experienced from an infusion of the inner rind
of the barberry, particularly when the evacuations have been
glairy and mucus-like. In cases where there has been an appear-
ance of much bile in the stools, and the dog has been strong, I
have found it prudent sometimes to premise an emetic of ipeca-
cuanha, after which either of the following recipes may be used
with advantage. In point of efficacy they are to be ranked, ac-
cording to my experience, in the order in which they stand.

No. 1. Powdered opium 5 grains

Powdered catechu 2 dracluns

Powdered gum arabic 2 dracluns

Prepared chalk 2 drachms

Powdered ginger half a drachm.

Make into twelve, nine, or six balls, with conserve of roses, and

give one, twice, thrice, or even four times a-day, according to the

urgency of the symptoms, &c. &c.

No. 2. Powdered myrrh 1 drachm

Powdered ipecacuanha 1 scruple

Powdered opium 3 grains

Prepared chalk 2 dracluns

Carbonate of iron 1 drachm.

Mix, prepare, and give, as above.

158

DIARRHOEA, OR PROFUSE PURGING.

No. 3. Magnesia 1 drachm

Powdered alum 2 scruples

Powdered calumba 1 drachm

Powdered gum arabic 2 drachms.

Mix with six ounces of boiled starch, and give a dessert or a
table-spoonful every four, six, or eight hours. In very obstinate
cases try the following : —

No. 4. Powdered resin 3 drachms

Powdered opium 6 grains

Powdered chalk 2 drachms

Powdered alum 1 drachm.

Conserve ot roses sufficient for balls :

Form into four, six, or eight balls, according to the size of the
dog, of which give one every two or three hours.

It is necessary to be aware that the action of astringents is
varied and uncertain. In one case one remedy only will prove
successful, and in another a very different one will alone do good:
But in the looseness that accompanies distemper, it may be ob-
served as a general rule, that absorbent astringents succeed best.
In some very desperate cases of diarrhoea, when all other means
have failed, I have derived great benefit from astringent clysters ;
and this so frequently, that I would, in all such instances, strongly
recommend their adoption. From the benefit that is frequently
experienced from their use ; and from the tenesmus, and appear-
ance of the stools, in which a drop or two of blood is squeezed
out at the last expulsive effort, we might judge that the rectum,
or sometimes the colon, is, in many cases, the principal seat of
the complaint, and post-mortem examinations shew this to be ac-
tually the case.

Astringent clysters may be composed of alum whey, winch is
nothing more than milk curdled with alum. Suet, boiled in
milk, is also an excellent clyster for the purpose. Boiled starch
is likewise a valuable astringent clyster, and, perhaps, is the very
best that can be used, if the powder No. 1 be added to it. In
diarrhoea, it is of the greatest consequence that the strength
should be supported by liberal but judicious feeding ; and it must

COSTIVENESS. 159

not be forgotten that, when the appetite ceases, starch, with
gravy, should be forced down in small quantities, bat often.
The animals affected with this complaint should be kept very
quiet and warm, both which parts of the treatment must be care-
fully attended to. In some instances I have witnessed the good
effects of a daily warm bath. I have also observed, where the
diarrhoea of distemper has existed in a dog who had been before
closely confined, that removing him into a more free and pure at-
mosphere has tended greatly to check the disease.

COSTIVENESS.

Dogs, as carnivorous animals, have naturally a dry constipated
habit, that is greatly increased, in many cases, by the bones
they receive as food, which, when given in great quantities, ag-
gravate the natural torpor of their bowels, particularly where
they cannot relieve themselves by a natural evacuant in the dog-
grass.

Costiveness is productive of numerous evils ; it increases the
disposition to mange and other diseased secretions. It also pro-
duces indigestion, encourages worms, makes the breath foetid,
and blackens the teeth: but it is principally to be avoided from
the danger, that the contents of the bowels may accumulate and
bring on inflammation. -See Inflamed Bowels. Whenever a
dog has been costive three days, and one or two moderate ape-
rients have failed of opening the bowels, it is not prudent to push
the means of relief farther by more violent purgatives; for this
would be apt to hurry the contents of the intestinal canal into one
mass, whose resistance being too great for the bowels to over-
come, inflammation follows. Mild aperients may be continued,
but clysters are principally to be depended upon.— See Clysters.
In such cases, the introduction of the clyster pipe will often de-
tect a hardened mass of excrement. If the action of the pipe, or
the operation of the liquid, should not break this down ; it is ab-
solutely necessary to introduce the finger, or, in a very small dog,

AU" INTESTINAL WORMS.

a lesser apparatus, and mechanically to divide the mass and bring
it away. The recurrence of costiveness is best prevented by ve-
getable food and exercise : but when vegetable food disagrees,
or is obstinately refused, boiled liver often proves a good means
of counteracting the complaint. — See Feeding.

Colic, Inflammatory. — See Class I, Sub-Class IV.
Colic, Spasmodic. — See Class II.

INTESTINAL WORMS.

Of those worms which appear indigenous to the intestines of
the dog, the tarda, or tape worm, from its flat figure, is the most
prejudicial, and the most difficult to remove. I have known four
or five hundred joints (each a distinct animal) passed by a dog,
whose united length would encircle his body many times. Some-
times they become coiled up into a ball, which thus forms an
impenetrable obstruction within the intestines, and destroys the
dog.

The teres, or long cylindrical worms, resembling earthworms
in figure, but of a whitish colour, are the most common to dogs ;
and, when existing in great numbers, particularly in puppies
and young ones, sometimes prove fatal by the convulsions they
occasion. In distemper they greatly aggravate the symptoms ;
so much so, that to destroy them, frequently cures the dog. The
natural situation of these worms is within the intestines, but they
sometimes crawl from them into the stomach, and are then brought
up by the sickness they occasion.

The ascarides, or small thread-worms, likewise occasionally
infest dogs, residing principally within the rectum. They pro-
duce an intolerable itching in the parts behind, to relieve which,
those troubled with them are seen continually drawing the funda-

INTESTINAL WORMS.

1G1

ment along the ground. Except by the irritation occasioned,
which may weaken when it is excessive, they do not appear to
do much internal injury. The constitution of some dogs appears
particularly favourable to the generation of worms ; for, destroy
them as often as you will, they soon return again. Puppies, dur-
ing every stage of their growth, are very liable to them : in
many, the increase of the body appears checked by their ra-
vages.

The presence of worms, when they exist in considerable num-
bers, is easily detected; for such a dog has usually a slight
cough, his coat stares, he eats voraciously, yet seldom fattens :
his evacuations prove also a most unequivocal symptom ; for
they are, in such cases, peculiarly irregular, being at one time
loose and slimy, and at another more hard and dry than natural.
The belly likewise is often tense and enlarged. When very
young dogs have worms, the first that pass are seldom noticed,
for they seem to affect the health but Uttle ; but gradually, as
they increase, purging becomes more frequent ; and the animal,
though lively, becomes emaciated ; his appetite is often irregu-
lar, his nose hot and dry, and his breath foetid. The growth
likewise appears stationary, and in this way it is very common
for him to continue, till a fit or two carries him off, or he dies
tabid. In adult dogs, worms are less fatal, though, from the ob-
structions they form, they sometimes kill them Hkewise ; and
they always occasion a rough unhealthy coat, with a hot nose
and foetid breath ; and in both the young and the full grown,
they occasionally produce epileptic fits. It does not follow, be-
cause no worms are seen to pass away, that one who exhibits
the other symptoms of them has none ; neither, when they are
not seen, does it follow even that none pass ; for, if they remain
long in the intestines after they are dead, they become digested
like other animal matter.

The treatment of worm cases in dogs has been like that of
the human, and the remedies employed have been intended
cither to destroy the worms within the body, or otherwise to

162

INTESTINAL WOKMS.

drive tkem mechanically, as it were, out of the bowels by active
purgatives : but, as these latter means were violent (for, without
the very mucus of the bowels, as well as the faeces, were ex-
pelled, no benefit was derived from them), so the remedy, in
many instances, became worse than the disease. Many sub-
stances have, therefore, been tried, iu hopes of destroying these
animals within the body ; and it is evident, that any thing that
could certainly do this would be most important, as it would
obviate the necessity of having recourse to the violent purgative
means heretofore employed.

For this purpose, substances which present small spiculi, or
points, have been found the best adapted for the destruction of
worms, by abrading their external or internal surfaces, and that
without, in the slightest degree, injuring the patient. Among
huntsmen and gamekeepers, glass, very finely powdered, is a
very favourite remedy. An old man of this description, in Buck-
inghamshire, was famed for worm killing in dogs, and his only
means used was glass finely powdered, and given as a ball.
Mr. Youatt also recommends the same. If this should be ob-
jected to, from what I believe to be a groundless fear, that it is
dangerous, try the following : —

Cowhage (dolichos pruriens, Linn.) half a draclim

Tin filings or iron, made with a very fine file.... 4 drachms.

Form into four, six, or eight balls, and give one every morning ;
after which, a mercurial purgative will be proper. I have oc-
casionally succeeded, in very obstinate worm cases, by moderate
daily doses of Epsom salts. Ascarides are best destroyed by
soap or aloetic clysters. The tape-worm is not unfrequently
removed by mercurial purges ; but a still more certain remedy
for this noxious guest is such doses of oil of turpentine as a dog
could take safely, remembering that dogs bear very little of it :
to some, however, it proves much less hurtful than to others.
A small clog might be tried with half a drachm given night and
morning, mixed with the yolk of an egg, for a few days : a

PILES— FISTULA IN THE ANUS.

163

larger two scruples, and the largest a drachm, beginning always
with a very small dose, and increasing it, if it produce no
disturbance.

PILES.

Dogs are very subject to piles, but the symptoms by which
the complaint shews itself are by no means known as such,
although they are not very dissimilar to the human haemorrhoids.
The complaint is brought on by confinement, heat, and healing
food; and shews itself by a sore red protruded anus, which the
dog aggravates by dragging it on the floor : it is likewise fre-
quently the effect of costiveness. The tenesmus occasioned by
diarrhoea may readily be mistaken for piles, from the anus ap-
pearing red and sore : and it is evident that in such a case, to
effect a cure the looseness must be restrained, and the sore anus
may be anointed with the ointment directed below, omitting the
tar. The habitual piles will be greatly relieved by the use of the
following ointment : —

Sugar of lead 6 grains

Tar half a drachm

Elder ointment, or fine lard 3 drachms.

Mix, and anoint the fundament with it two or three times a-day.
To correct the habit towards the disease, feed moderately on
cooling food, exercise sufficiently, and, as long as the disposition
to it is considerable, give daily one of the following powders : —

Nitrated potash (nitre), powdered ... half a drachm
Milk of sulphur 3 drachms.

Divide into nine, twelve, or fifteen doses.

FISTULA IN THE ANUS.

Tins is not a very uncommon complaint in dogs, and is de-
rived from constitutional aptitude, as a carnivorous animal, to
the formation of fseees so hard, and so difficult of evacuation, as
often to abrade the rectum, and produce inflammation and ulcera-

L

104

DROPSY.

tion : this sometimes has ended in leaving a fistulous opening
in the cellular substance which surrounds it, and which usually
makes its way outwards. A mere external fistula, or external
opening by the side of the anus, not communicating with the
rectum, may, in general, be cured by any mild stimulant daily
inserted to the bottom : but an internal one, by which is meant
a fistulous communication between the rectum and the external
opening, which buries itself into the cellular tissues around it,
will usually require an operation for its cure. A probe-pointed
bistoury must be passed up the fistulous orifice, while a finger of
the unemployed hand is introduced within the rectum, which will
guide the section to be made. By this means the fistulous cavity
formed in the cellular substance, and that existing in the rectum,
are to be laid into one, by dividing it down, from its utmost
extent to the verge of the anus. When a true fistulous opening
exists, but not communicating with the intestine (which is very
seldom the case in the dog), the point of the bistoury, when it
has been passed up to the limits of the external wound, must be
forced through the intestine, and then carried downward. It
must, however, be remarked, that when this latter fistula is the
consequence of external violence, it should not be so treated until
fully tried by stimulants ; to which, as before observed, it will
commonly yield without an operation. The section being made,
introduce lint dipped in the compound tincture of benjamin
between the edges of the wound, and into the sinuous hollow ;
keeping the body during the cure gently open.

CLASS IV.
Morbid Collections of Fluid.

DROPSY (HYDROPS)

Is by no means uncommon in canine pathology. Dogs are
most subject to ascites, or dropsy of the belly. In the next

DROPSY. 165

degree of frequency they have hydrothorax, or dropsy of the
chest ; less frequently they have encysted dropsy ; and, least of
all, are they subject to anasarca, or dropsy of the skin, unless
when accompanied by ascites. The former is usually the con-
sequence of some other chronic affection, as asthma, tabies, &c. :
neglected mange has also produced it, but more frequently it is
Mowed by ascites. Acute hydrothorax commonly succeeds to
active inflammation of the lungs; in which cases, about the third
day from the pneumonic attack, the water begins to be formed
within the cavity of the chest, and increases so as to suffocate
the animal in a few hours.— See Inflamed Lungs.

Dropsy of the chest may be known to exist by the extreme
uneasiness the dog shews when he lies down, and by his attempts,
under such circumstances, to elevate Ins head. The chest will
also appear full and swollen, and the water within may be gene-
rally heard on motion. The beating of the heart will likewise
afford a decided characteristic of the complaint; for the hand,
placed on one side of the chest, will be affected with a kind of
thrill, very different from the usual sensation presented by the
beating of the heart of a healthy dog.

The cure may be attempted by the means recommended for
ventral dropsy; but I have hitherto found the disease fatal in
every acute case, without exception. In both the chronic and
acute it may not be amiss to try the effects of paracentesis, or the
operation of letting out the dropsical accumulation, which will
afford the only chance: in the chronic hydrothorax I have pro-
longed life, even some weeks, by this means ; but as the cause
which had operated in producing it had injured the constitution
beyond repair, so I never established a perfect cure.

The operation of paracentesis thoracis, or puncturing the
chest, though not quite so simple as letting off water from the
belly, yet is neither a complex nor a dangerous one, if only a
moderate portion of caution be used. Make an opening through
the integuments, by means of a lancet, near the anterior edge'of
the eighth or ninth rib, about the termination of the bony portion

l2

!()(>

DROPSY OF THE BELLY.

of the rib into its cartilaginous addition, which will be readily
detected by the touch. Previous to making the opening, draw
the skin a little to one side, to ensure a ready closing of the ca-
vity against the entrance of the external air. Carefully introduce
a small trochar, rather upward and backward, so far only as just
to penetrate the pleura, which will be known by a gush of fluid :
now withdraw the trochar, and push the canula a bttle forward,
to evacuate the fluid effectually. If both cavities are found drop-
sical, open the other side also ; which done, close the opening or
openings with adhesive plaister, and bandage over it.

DROPSY OF THE BELLY (ASCITES).

This is not an uncommon disease with dogs ; and a prodigious
quantity of water is sometimes accumulated within the abdomen.
The causes of the disease are various. Among the most common
are long-continued asthma ; a diseased state of either the liver or
spleen ; tabies mesentericus ; and old, virulent, and wholly neg-
lected skin affections, particularly mange. The serous accumu-
lation is sometimes slow, at others very rapid ; and the symptoms
that precede the attack are, of course, as various as the causes
that produce it. In some cases the forerunner is a harsh
cough ; in other instances nothing is observed but a ravenous
appetite2; and the dog, although he may eat an additional
quantity, yet he will waste in flesh. Gradually, however, his
belly begins to swell, and grows round, hard, and shining. The
breathing becomes quick and laborious, and he lies down with
difficulty ; he drinks much : and, though in the early stages he
may eat heartily, yet, as the disease advances, his appetite fails,
and, sooner or later, he becomes suffocated from the impediment
to the free action of the lungs.

Dropsy of the belly may be distinguished from/ntf, by the par-
ticular tumour that the belly forms, which, in dropsy, hangs pen-

s In these cases it is more than probable that the mesenteric glands have
taken on disease : when dropsy is the consequence of diseased liver, the appe-
tite is not usually so ravenous.

DROPSY OP THE BELL V.

107

dulous, while, at the same time, the back bone sticks up, and the
hips appear prominent through the skin : the hair stares also,
and the feel of the coat is peculiarly harsh. It may be distin-
guished from pregnancy by the teats, which always enlarge as
gestation advances ; neither has the impregnated belly, however
full, that tight tense feel, nor the shining appearance, observed
in dropsy : there may be also foetal inequalities distinguished in
it ; and, when pregnancy is at all advanced, the young may be
felt to move. The most unequivocal mode, however, of detecting
the presence of water is by the touch. ]f the right hand be laid
on one side of the belly, and the other side is gently struck with
the left, an undulating motion will be perceived, exactly similar
to what would be felt by placing one hand on a bladder of water,
and striking it with the other.

Treatment of ascites, or dropsy of the belly. — . The medical
treatment, in these cases, is seldom attended with success, be-
cause the complaint itself is seldom primary, but the consequence
of some other destructive chronic affection, which has probably
already committed fatal ravages on the constitution. Now and
then, however, I have seen attacks of ascites apparently not pre-
ceded by either of these affections ; and in these I have sometimes
succeeded in obtaining an evacuation of the water, and in pre-
venting a recurrence of it also. But such instances are so in-
ferior in point of number to the others, that, in general terms,
ventral dropsy may be described as a most fatal disease.

Paracentesis abdominis, or tapping, holds out the most rational
hope. I have repeatedly tapped dogs ; from some of which I
have drawn off many quarts of fluid, sometimes of a gelatinous
consistence, at others simply serous and thin. In some cases
I have repeated the operation two or three times, whieh has tend-
ed to prolong life; but eventually the same fate awaited the
greater number. The operation of tapping a dog does not differ
in any respect from the same process in the human. A trochar
is the most proper instrument for the purpose, but the operation
may be performed by a lancet, and the puncture should be made

1GS

DROPSY OF THE BELLY.

directly in the linea alba, or median line of the belly, about raid-
way between the pubis and umbilicus, or navel ; by which no
important vessel, nor any thickness of muscle, will be endangered.
If a trochar is used, make the puncture at once ; but take care that
it does no more than penetrate the cavity. Should a lancet be
employed, do the same ; but in this case, a quill having both ends
perforate should form a canula after the puncture. The evacuation
of all the water may be proceeded on at once without fear ; the
animal will express no uneasiness nor faintness ; but will conduct
himself as though nothing had happened. A bandage moderately
tight should be applied round the belly, and retained there many
days, or even weeks, to assist the absorbents by its pressure.

I have also tried various other means for the evacuation of the
water, but they have seldom afforded any permanent benefit.
In a very few instances only, diuretics have produced a salutary
and durable effect : of which class I have found the digitalis, or
foxglove, the very best. Now and then, however, other medi-
caments of this kind have succeeded when this has failed. I shall,
therefore, detail such recipes as appear best suited to the case,
observing that, with regard to the foxglove, it is most certain in
its effect as a diuretic, as well in the canine as the human species,
when it neither occasions sickness nor purging. The dose should,
therefore, be always so regulated as to avoid these effects : —

No. 1.— Powdered foxglove 12 Srajns

Antimonial powder 15 Sralns

Nitrated potash (nitre) 1 drachm.

Mix, and divide into nine, twelve, or fifteen parcels, one of which

give night and morning.

No. 2.— Powdered foxglove 9 Srilins

Powdered squills 12 &rn"ls

Supertartrate of potash (cream of tartar) 2 drachms.

Mix, divide, and give as No. 1.

No.3.-Oxymelof squills 1 0 >"'<•''

Infusion of tobacco (as directed) half an ounce

Spirits of nitrous Kther (meet spirit of nil,;) ... half an ounce

Tincture of opium halfa drachni

Infusion of chamomile 8 ounces.

DROPSY OP THE SKIN.

169

Mix, and give from two tea-spoonfuls, to a large table-spoonful,
night and morning. The tobacco infusion may be made by
pouring two ounces of boiling water on a drachm of tobacco.

I have, in some instances, combined calomel with the other reme-
dies to the amount of half a grain, or a grain, night and morning ;
and this apparently withbenefit. I have also tried the effect of strong
mercurial purges twice a week, in cases where diuretic medicines
failed of relieving, Friction and the warm bath have been also
used, but without apparent advantage4. In the few dropsies where-
in diuretics succeeded, active stomachic tonics followed their use :
in some instances they accompanied them. Nor should these be
omitted where tapping is employed, as the only means likely to
prevent the belly from again filling.

DROPSY OF THE SKIN (ANASARCA).

As before observed, this complaint very seldom occurs, unless
as an accompaniment of ascites. I have, however, now and then
seen it, and, in most of the cases, it was in old dogs who had
laboured under some previous debility. In such instances, when
any remaining stamina affords a chance for recovery, the treat-
ment recommended for dropsy of the belly may be resorted to :
very small punctures may also be made in the distended skin.

Hydrocephalus internus, or dropsy of the brain, can hardly
be said to belong to the canine nosology ; but on turning to the
description of epilepsy, it will be seen, that morbid anatomy has
shewn a diseased increase of the serous fluid of the cerebral cavity
to be no uncommon circumstance.

Hydrorachis, or dropsy of the spine, by reference to former
articles, will be found to exist without its congenital character,
and that, perhaps, more often than we at present suppose.

Encysted DROrsv. — An accumulation either of serum, or of

4 In one case, one part of oil of turpentine, with two parts of olive oil,
nibbed into the belly night and morning, appeared to excite absorption; but
it must be noticed, that the turpentine was also given at the same time in-
ternally, to the amount of thirty drops twice a-day.

170

DROPSY OF THE SKIN.

a fatty or gelatinous matter, within a particular sac, is thus
called. The dropsy of the ovaria is by much the most frequent
of this kind, and, to a certain extent, is very common in bitches ;
but it is in these general cases, more an accumulation of fat than
serosity. I have, however, seen instances of true ovarial dropsy
of the hydatid kind, which all terminated fatally, although they
proved very slow in their progress : they are to be detected by
the swelling being less universally diffused, and having obscure
undulation. The tumours may also be often traced to have com-
menced on one side only ; sometimes it continues to occupy more
of one side than the other : the enlargement, probably, first
appeared in the loins, and did not extend downwards until it
gravitated there by its weight. The treatment of these cases
must be the same with that of ascites ; but I never saw but one
which did terminate favourably, and in that I discharged the
fluid contents by a trochar effectually : in others, this mode
failed, and even hastened the death.

Hydatids, independent of the ovaries, likewise now and then
form a species of dropsy in other parts. I have seen them in the
liver, the lungs, the spleen, and the brain.

Dropsy of the eye-ball is sometimes seen either idiopathic or
traumatic. — See Diseases of the Eyes.

CLASS V.
Diseases of Glands.

CANINE SCIRRHUS AND CANCER.

Scirrhus in the human subject is considered as the primary
stage of cancer ; but dogs, though very subject to tumefactions
which present much of the character of human scirrhus, and
which degenerate into obstinate and increasing ulceration, yet
do not often present an equal likeness of the human cancer.
The canine scirrhus, likewise, is not wholly like that of our own ;

CANCER.

171

for, instead of exhibiting various strata of morbid matter, the
innermost of which is the most condensed, there are seen, in the
canine tumours of this kind, appearances more resembling a
collection of glands, or of firm hydatids; each of which exhibits
on a section of it, a distinct diseased process. Scirrhous indura-
tions appear to arise from the same causes that tend to the pro-
duction of mange ; namely, a superabundance of the secretions
of some parts, the effect of a general fulness of habit striving to
relieve itself. These tumours are, therefore, most frequent among
dogs which are hotly kept, over-fed, and suffer much confine-
ment.

Scirrhous mamma. — The lactiferous glands are very usually
the seat of scirrhous tumours, particularly among those bitches
who have not been allowed to breed ; especially when plethoric,
and when their exertions and their feeding bear no proportion to
each other. The origin of these tumours may be very fre-
cpaently dated from an inflammation in the mammae, from retained
milk when the pups have died ; or from the coagulating of that
milk which forms, by sympathy, about the period a bitch would
have pupped, provided she had been allowed to breed. A small
nucleus, or kernel, not larger often than a pea, is first felt
within the gland, which sometimes increases fast ; at others it
enlarges very slowly, appearing to give little uneasiness, until
its weight makes it prove troublesome. If the tumour is not
dispersed in this state, sooner or later, one or more small
shining vesicles form on its surface, which ulcerating, ooze out
an ichor or glairy fluid, but seldom produce a healthy pus. The
first opening often heals up, but others follow ; and, in the end,
two or three, or more, appear at the same time, which, breaking
in different parts, are soon licked into one sore by the animal ;
and although the ulceration does not spread rapidly, or put on
the virulence of human carcinomatous ulcerations, it seldom
heals afterwards, but, at length, wears down the animal by the
continued discharge. While the tumour is externally whole,
and is throughout indurated, without hydatid-like vesicles, it

172

CANCER.

may be, now and then, dispersed by the frequent application of
active discutients, as

Muriate of ammonia (crude sal ammoniac.)... I ounce
Acetic acid (vinegar) 4 ounces.

Bathe with this three or four times a-day. Brandy and water,
or vinegar, or common salt and water, are also good discutients.
In some cases, the repeated application of leeches will be found
beneficial. In others, the means recommended for the cure of
bronchocele may be tried, with the addition of sarsaparilla.
During the attempts at discussing these tumours, a repetition of
the causes producing them should be carefully avoided, such as
a sympathetic repletion of the teats from coagulated milk, and
the obstruction to its passing off, by depriving them too early of
their young ; but particularly by avoiding whatever tends to
produce repletion, as confinement, over-feeding, &c. &c.

As, however, all means at dispersing these tumours are very
apt to fail, and ulceration almost invariably occurs, it follows
that extirpation, or the cutting of them out, is the remedy
usually necessary to be resorted to for their complete removal.
This operation may be safely performed, in every instance, with
only common precautions : out of innumerable cases on which
1 have operated I never lost one. It is, however, in general,
prudent to let the tumour increase till, by its weight, it becomes
pendulous, and detached from the abdominal muscles, when it
may be dissected out without any danger of opening the peri-
toneum, or of wounding large arterial branches. In dividing
the integuments, care should be taken to destroy but little of
their surface, except such as may be actually diseased ; for, by
detaching the tumour neatly from its coverings by a careful
dissection, and by leaving some sound integument, the wound
much sooner closes, and the cicatrix which follows is necessarily
smaller, and less corrugated. As the excision proceeds, the
bloodvessels should be taken up ; and, when the tumour is re-
moved, two or three stitches should be introduced into the
opposite edges of the skin to bring them together ; by which the

BRONCHOCELE.

173

cure will be considerably expedited. These stitches, however,
ulcerate out in three or four days ; but they usually have, by
this time, performed their office, and the remaining wound will
require only common dressing, with the addition of bandages
sufficient to prevent the dog from interrupting the healing by her
nose and tongue.

Wens and scirrhous tumours are not confined to the teats
only ; nor are dogs without them, as well as bitches. There is
scarcely a part of the body but what I have seen these wen-like
enlargements on ; the treatment of which in nowise differs from
the plans already laid down.

BRONCHOCELE, OR GOITRE.

Bronchocele is a steatomatous swelling of the glands of the
throat, apparently of the thyroid, and is a very common com-
plaint among dogs. Pugs, barbets, and French pointers, are
peculiarly liable to it. In the human species, this disease is
most common to the inhabitants of mountainous countries. But
in dogs it does not appear endemial, and is more confined to
some particular breeds. Other dogs, as terriers, spaniels, &c,
sometimes, however, have it ; but it is not frequent in these, and
in the larger tribes it is very seldom seen. The swelling comes
on generally while very young, and continues to enlarge to a
certain size ; after which it usually remains stationary, seldom
increasing to such a degree as to prove fatal. It is, however,
troublesome, and in some measure hurtful, from the pressure it
occasions on the surrounding parts.

The treatment is not difficult, nor usually unsuccessful, when
early adopted. Friction is of much benefit. Internally, one of
the following balls should be given every day ; in bad cases,
twice a day : —

Burnt sponge 1 drachin

Nitrated potash (nitre) half a drachm.

Make into six, nine, or twelve balls, according to size, &c.

174

SCIRRHOUS TESTICLES— CANCER.

Mild mercurial ointment half an ounce

Blistering ointment half an ounce.

Mix, and rub the swellings once a-day with a portion equal to a
hazel nut, or a walnut, according to the size of the dog ; first
clipping away the hair, and, after the application, wrapping up
the neck with a bandage, to prevent the ointment from being
rubbed off. During the use of this application, the mouth should
be examined now and then, to guard against the sudden attack
of salivation. Should this treatment fail to remove the tumour,
recourse may be had to the new remedy Iodine, which has proved
so successful in the human goitre, and in a few cases of goitre
in the dog also it has been exhibited with some success ; but its
extreme potency of action requires that it should be given only
under the immediate superintendance of one well acquainted
with its qualities.

SCIRRHOUS TESTICLES.

The testicles in dogs are sometimes also the seat of scirrhous
induration. In such cases, one or both of these glands become
hard, painful, and rather tender, with a shining fulness of the
scrotum : occasionally ulceration takes place, but it is rare. If
the tumour does not readily give way to the application of the
active discutients that are recommended for the mammary scirrhi
of bitches, try the effect of a regular administration of burnt
sponge, as recommended under bronchocele. In some cases,
mercurial frictions have succeeded; but, in default of these,
proceed, without delay, to castrate, to prevent the disease from
extending up the spermatic chord. — See Castration,

CANCER.

I have already stated that the virulence of the human car-
cinomatous ulceration, is commonly wanting in Avhat I call the
canine cancer; for though spreading and incurable, as regards
its locality, yet it seldom extends beyond the precincts of the
gland it is seated in; and if it ever makes further inroads, they

CANCER.

175

are slow, and not marked with constitutional derangement for a
long time : are seldom, if ever, translated to the lungs ; and do
not appear to give those lancinating pains felt by the human
victim. Still there are characters in it, which make the term
applicable ; and now and then also, more virulent features mark its
progress. I have likewise occasionally seen the ulcerous affection,
called canker in the ear, when of long standing, take on the true
carcinomatous character, and extend rapidly over the muscles of
the face, till, having destroyed one eye, and commenced its at-
tack on the throat and tongue, the animal was destroyed. I have
also seen cancer in its most malignant form in cats ; first attack-
ing the mammas or teats, and then spreading over the abdominal
muscles and surrounding parts.

Cancers of the vaginee and uterus are by no means uncommon,
and are sometimes occasioned by the foolish practice of exciting
premature oestrum by stimulating injections ; but more frequently
by a brutality often exercised towards dogs, of dashing them
with cold water, or of forcibly separating them during copula-
tion. Cancer sometimes attacks the labiae, at others the inner
surface of the vulva, and sometimes extends to the uterus ; but,
in either case, it presents a fungous excrescence, of a deep red
or of a more livid colour, with ulcerated uneven edges, while
bloody ichor constantly distils from the surface. In the very
few cases where I have seen animals suffered to live to the extent
of the complaint, the fatal termination has been slow but certain :
gradually, the morbid secretion of the part united with the irrita-
tion ; but, principally, the former has worn down the animal.

When cancerous ulcerations have taken place in these or in
other parts, I have seldom succeeded in restoring a healthy action,
or of promoting a cure, otherwise than by excision. Now and
then, however, I have experienced benefit from the use of the
bruised leaves of the hemlock, as a poultice daily ; with balls
composed of one, two, or three grains of extract of hemlock (ac-
cording to the size and strength of the dog), and ten, fifteen, or.
twenty grains of burnt sponge, in each ; repeated once or twice

176

TABIES MESENTERICUS.

a-day, as the health would bear them. Extirpation is however
the most eligible remedy, and may be, in most cases, practised
with safety by an experienced surgeon or veterinarian. When
cancer is purely glandular, from its circumscribed form, no dif-
ficulty will be found in detaching the whole morbid substance ;
but when it has attacked the muscular, cellular, or superficial
parts, as the face, parieties of the abdomen, scrotum, vulva, or
uterus, then the utmost caution is requisite to remove every dis-
eased portion. It must also be taken into the account, that al-
though, in the canine cancer, ulceration does not often re-appear
in the immediate part, when the operation has been judiciously
performed, yet, when the constitution has long been affected
with this ulcerative action, it is very apt to shew itself in some
neighbouring part soon after.

TABIES MESENTERICUS.

A tabid state of young dogs has already been touched on in
the rearing of puppies : it is born with some, and acquired by
others. Some breeds, particularly pugs and terriers, are singu-
larly liable to it ; dependent on the attempts that have been made
to breed them very small, or to a particular "fancy," i. e., form
or colour. In these cases, it appears hereditary, and is disse-
minated through the whole stock : it may also be produced after
birth by close confinement, bad air, and the want of a due
supply of healthy milk, or other nutritious food when that is
dried up. The objects of it present a stinted growth, bowed
legs, with the elbows directed outwards, coat staring, the belly
pendulous, and a countenance of peculiar sharpness and saga-
city. When it proves fatal, the mesenteric glands are found
diseased, enlarged, and impervious to the transmission of chyle :
morbid marks likewise are not unfrequent in the liver : the intes-
tines also are often filled with worms, but which are frequently more
a consequence than a cause ; sometimes, however, they appear
to occasion the disease.

DISEASES OF BONES.

177

The treatment, when worms are the cause, should commence by
destroying' them ; when otherwise, act according to circum-
stances : if the milk of the mother be suspected, change it, or
give cow's milk boiled with flour and sugar, with minced meat.
Use the cold bath ; allow wholesome air and exercise ; use fric-
tions to the body, give a mild mercurial aperient every third
day, and on the intermediate ones a tonic ball of carbonate of
iron, gum myrrh, and gentian. This disease is sometimes com-
bined with rickets, which see in the next class.

CLASS VI.
Diseases of Bones.

RICKETS (RACHITIS).

Rickets is very like to tabies, in all its causes, and also in
some of its, appearances and effects : it is common to the same
breeds, and is both occasional and hereditary. It is occasional
when it meets with the circumstances of confinement, bad
air, filth, and unwholesome food, or the milk of an unhealthy
mother. Many whelps are born with the predisposition, among
the fancy breeds in the confined parts of great cities and large
towns, particularly pugs and the smaller sort of bull dogs :
there is also a breed of wry-legged terriers which without doubt
originated in ricketty specimens which were afterwards culti-
vated for particular purposes, principally rabbit-hunting. The
affection often appears soon after birth ; and shews itself by the
slow development of the body, except in the head, belly, and
joints, all of which enlarge at the expense of the rest of the
parts: particularly it attacks all the joints of the extremities;
these swell into protuberances, probably from a sympathy in the
constitution to make up, by bulk, what the bones want in pon-
derosity, but which is not effected ; for, deprived of their earthy
solidifying principles, they yield to the superincumbent weight,
and the cylindrical ones particularly become crooked. Cleanli-

178

DECAYED AND TARTARED TEETH.

ness, good air, free exercise, and wholesome food, will com-
monly prevent it in the future breeds of such dogs as have shewn
a disposition to it. As a cure, an invigorating diet added to
these, with the occasional use of tonic bitters if the appetite fail s,
or the digestion should appear defective, will answer the in-
tention.

Unconsolidated fracture. — The phosphate of lime, or osseous
matter which should form the callus of bones, in some cases
is never deposited between their fractured ends, and a mere
cartilaginous union remains. It is evident this is, in fact, a
disease of the same nature, and probably originates in the
same causes with rachitis ; and if our instances were sufficiently
multiplied, we should find this proved by fact. — For the treat-
ment, see Fractures and Dislocations.

DECAYED AND TARTARED TEETH.
Sportsmen and persons living in the country, who are habi-
tuated only to healthy dogs, will smile at such a head line ; but
were they in London, or other large cities and towns, where
dogs are petted and immured in hot apartments night and day ;
where also they are gorged with the richest food, and are not
exercised but in a carriage ; and withal are probably descended
from a long lineage of parentage equally unnaturally treated ;
they would see sufficient of these effects of an imperfect diges-
tion, to make them aware that this article is perfectly in place ;
and the remarks which follow are in unison with the general
intention of these pages, to let nothing pass unnoticed which a
long and critical attention to the habits and diseases of these
animals renders necessary to be guarded against and remedied.
In the dogs I have described, nothing is more common to find
than carious teeth, insufferably foetid ; others displaced, prevent-
ing mastication ; or an immense accumulation of tartar which
covers them, erodes the gums, and makes the animal insufferably
offensive. The veterinarian will often be called on to remedy
these evils : the decayed teeth he must remove, and the displaced

URINARY CALCULI.

175)

ones also; the tartaric deposit he must likewise completely
scale off with proper dental instruments ; for the accumulation is
not only most unpleasant to tl?^ owners, but injurious to the
dogs, by its septic tendency, and its invariably ending in the
destruction of the teeth. The ulcerations are best removed by
touching them with a mixture of a proper strength made from
the solution of the chloride of soda with water : by the use of
this, these ulcers will quickly heal ; and the continuance of it
will do much to remove the remaining fcetor, and stop the turther
deposit of tartar, particularly if coupled with a corresponding
improvement in the general treatment of the animal.

ANCHYLOSIS AND EXOSTOSIS.

Stiff joints, splents, and spavins, occasionally enter the kennel
as well as the stable ; and when not too far advanced in the
ossifying process, may sometimes be checked by a blister re-
peatedly applied, at each application covering the part well up,
and carefully muzzling the dog. — See Blistering, Class XII.

CLASS VII.

Calcular Concretions.

There is hardly any cavity of the body of the dog in which
calcareous matter has not been found ; as in the brain, in most of
the glands, and in the intestines, where, occasionally, considerable
masses have been detected, some of which had formed themselves
a sac by distention of the intestinal coats. A case of this kind
appears in No. 36 of The Veterinarian, where a calculus was
found encysted within the parietes of the ileum.

URINARY CALCULI.
These are not very common, but however do exist ; and nearly
the whole pelvis of the kidney in one case was found to be occupied
by a calculus ; much pain had hecn suffered, much emaciation was

M

180 VESICAL CALCULI, Oil STONE IN THE BLADDER,
present, and whenever he urined, blood and mucus were passed
with the fluid.

VESICAL CALCULI, OR STONE IN THE BLADDER.
This is a more common complaint than the last : I have myself
met with several instances; and I have not less than forty or
fifty calculi by me, which I took from * Newfoundland dog, after
his death, occasioned by the obstruction to the passage of the
urine by means of these stones. Death had already happened
before I was called in, or probably relief might have been
afforded by an operation; but the symptoms had been, constant
difficulty in his urinary evacuations, until one of the number of
calculi had entered the urethra, and had so blocked up the
urinary flow, that mortification ensued. When a small calculus
obstructs the urethra, and can be felt, it may be attempted to be
forced forwards through the urethra to the point of the penis,
from whence it may be extracted by a pair of forceps : it it can-
not be so moved, it may be cut down upon and removed with
safety But when one or more stones are withm the bladder,
we must attempt lithotomy, after having fully satisfied ourselves
of their existence there by the introduction of the sound : to do
which it must be remembered that the urethra of the dog, m
passino- from the bladder, proceeds nearly in a direct bne back-
wards ; and then, making an acute angle, it passes again for-
wards to the bladder. It must be, therefore, evident that, when
it becomes necessary tointroduce a catheter, sound or bougie it
must first be passed up the penis to the extremuy of this angle :
the point of the instrument must then be cut down upon, and
from this opening the instrument can be readily passed forwards
into the bladder. The examination made, and a stone detected
it may, if a very small one, be attempted to be pushed forward
by mis of a fiiiger passed up the anus into the urethra ; but a
this could be practicable only where the dog happened to be a
le one, it ismost probable that nothing short of the operation
of lithotomy would succeed. To this end, the sound being m-

POISONS.

181

troduced, pass a very small gorget, or otherwise a bistoury,
along its groove into the bladder, to effect an opening sufficient
to admit of the introduction of a fine pair of forceps, by which
the stone may be laid hold of and extracted.

CLASS VIII.
Poisons, Mineral, Vegetable, and Animal.

Poison, though a very popular term, is yet, in some respects,
a vague and indefinite one; as substances that are most noxious
and destructive to one class of animals are perfectly harmless
to others. Henbane (hyoscyamus niger, Linn.), which is eaten
with impunity by horses, oxen, goats, and swine, proves most
baneful to the canine genus. Opium, on the contrary, may be
taken in considerable quantities, by dogs, without serious injury ;
but it rarely fails to prove fatal to the human subject. The
phellandrium aquaticum kills horses, while oxen eat it with-
out harm; and the hedgehog, we are told, will devour can-
tharides with impunity in large quantities. Poisons have, there-
fore, been divided into relative and common, or such as are
hurtful only to particular classes of animals ; and those which
prove destructive to all, as the several oxides of mercury, arsenic,
and copper ; the concentrated acids, &c. &c.

Dogs are not unfrequently poisoned either by accident or
design ; and as the circumstance is sometimes discovered in time
for relief to be afforded, so a knowledge of counter poisons, and
of the general treatment proper on such occasions, form material
branches of canine pathology ; and as also, when no relief can
be obtained, it is still very desirable for the ends of justice (when
wilful poisoning is suspected) to be enabled to establish the fact
of administering, and of the nature of the subject administered ;
so an acquaintance with the various substances commonly em-
ployed for this purpose, the symptoms produced by them, and

31 2

182 MINERAL POISONS.

the appearances that the parts acted on present after death, are
necessary portions of the canine medical practice.

The limits of the present work will necessarily confine me to
noticing such articles only, as, by their popularity, are most
likely to be made use of purposely to destroy, and such as chance
may, with some probability, throw in the way of the animals
themselves. Those who wish for further information relative
to the effects produced on dogs by various poisonous agents,
may consult Abbe Fontana, Orfila, Mr. Brodie, &c. &c, who
have sacrificed more dogs, in experimental inquiry, than hu-
manity dares to think of, though science might demand it.

Mineral Poisons.
Corrosive sublimate, or oxymuriate of quicksilver, is a most
deadly and unmanageable poison to dogs, in doses as small even
as five or six grains. Its effects are observed soon after it is
taken, by the distress of the animal, by his frequent retchings,
insatiable thirst, panting, and anxiety for a cool situation. Ihe
mouth becomes swollen ; if the dose has been large, it appears
ulcerated also, and emits a very fetid odour, which circumstance
forms a very strong characteristic both with regard to the
animal's having been poisoned, and also to the article employed
for the purpose. As the symptoms advance, the retchings a e
tinged with blood; the stools become liquid and bloody also; he
heart beatsfaintly,butwith rapidity: the extremes become cold ;
violent tremblings, paralysis, or convulsions follow, and death
relieves the suiLr. On examination of the body afterwards,
the whole alimentary canal, beginning at the mouth and pro-
ceeding backwards, exhibits marks of the corrosive nature of the
matter taken. The stomach, on being opened, wil appear
lered with highly inflamed patches, and the villous fold, of its
inner and rugose surface will present gangrenous and ulcera ted
pot , and a ready separation of the mucous from he muscular
oat with blood often suffused between them; winch «mu„

MINERAL POISONS.

J.83

stances only take place when a most acrid poison has been swal-
lowed. The intestines also shew appearances of great inflam-
mation, particularly of their inner surface, which will be found
sprinkled with gangrenous sjiecks, and, moreover, frequently
filled with a thick bloody mucus. Such are the usual morbid
appearances: but, satisfactorily to detect the presence of a
poison, and the immediate nature of it, some of the liquid con-
tents of the stomach and bowels, both before and after death,
should be saved, and undergo a rigid chemical analysis. In
general cases, the addition of potash to some of these liquid
contents will occasion a light yellow precipitate when corrosive
sublimate has been the poisonous agent5 ; but a practical chemist
will employ many other tests.

The medical treatment to be pursued in these cases consists
in both endeavouring to envelope and to neutralize the acrid
matter : the former may be attempted by means of a glairy fluid,
for which purpose the whites of eggs have proved the most
effectual remedies, beaten into a liquid, given in large quantities,
and repeated as often as they have been ejected : when these
are not immediately at hand, milk may be substituted. Mild
clysters should also be thrown up. When the stomach is some-
what appeased, give an opiate and castor oil. Large doses of
soap, dissolved in water, have been recommended as a counter
poison to corrosive minerals, or their preparations, and, in the
absence of eggs, should be tried.

Arsenic. — This powerful oxide is often given to dogs, and not
unfrequently they find it for themselves in a state of mixture with
other matters placed to poison rats. The effects produced by it
resemble those occasioned by corrosive sublimate, except that,
although they prove equally fatal, they are not apparently so
interne. The mouth, likewise, is not usually affected, in an equal

A ready, although not a very humane, mode of detecting the presence of
poisonous matter, is to give to Cowls, birds, or any small animal, Bome of the
early ejected contents of the stomach of the dog to which poison has been
supposed to be given ; but this ought never to be attempted, unless the ends of
justice imperatively demanded it, and no tests could be procured.

184 MINERAL POISONS.

degree, by this poison as by the other. Dissection, also, detects
similar morbid appearances to those above detailed ; but, unless
a very large dose has been taken, there is not such complete
lesion of the coats of the stomach and intestines, but the gan-
grenous spots and the excess of inflammation are fully sufficient
to detect the disorganizing action of a mineral poison. Instead
of subjecting the liquid contents of the stomach and bowels to
the action of potash, as directed when corrosive sublimate is
looked for, it is usual to detect arsenic by applying the blue
ammoniacal sulphate of copper, which will produce a lively green
if arsenic is present. A red hot iron will also occasion these
contents to give out a garlic-like smell under similar circum-
stances.

The treatment proper, in cases of arsenical poisoning, is to
give sugar dissolved in milk, in considerable quantities, until it
may be supposed that all the poison is evacuated from the
stomach, when a similar treatment is to be pursued to that before
recommended.

Verdigris.— The rust of copper is often taken by dogs, from
the careless practice of leaving acidulous remains of food in
copper vessels. The effects produced are not unlike those al-
ready detailed, but less violent; neither are the appearances after
death dissimilar, except that the ulceration and gangrenous spots
are less strongly marked. The presence of copper may be de-
tected by the prussiate of potash, which occasions a reddish
precipitate in the liquid contents of the stomach and bowels when

added thereto. .
The treatment in nowise differs from that detailed in mercurial

poisonings.

Lead.— I have frequently seen dogs fatally poisoned by drink-
ing water from leaden vessels, or by lapping the water lett in the
hollows of the lead coverings of areas, &c. The same occurs
likewise from the licking of paint, which they may have acci-
dentally smeared themselves with; and it is to be observed, that
a smaller quantity of lead in this way is sufficient to prove fatal,

MINERAL POISONS.

185

than would be supposed. The symptoms produced are vertigo,
violent griping pains, vomiting, with purging stools in some
cases, and costiveness in others : towards the close of fatal cases,
paralysis and spasmodic twitchings take place. On dissection of
these bodies, there is seldom observed imy lesion of the coats of
either the stomach or bowels ; but the inflammation is intense,
and appears usually in patches. 1 have also not unfrequently met
with intussusception.

The treatment is to be commenced by an active purgative, as
sulphate of magnesia (Epsom salts). Should this be rejected,
a ball with calomel and aloes, and a quarter of a grain of opium,
may be substituted, and may be repeated until the bowels are
perfectly cleared out. The body should be afterwards kept
soluble by castor oil ; for I have always observed that a costive
habit from paralytic torpor of the bowels remains some time after
the action of lead.

Quicksilver. — When mercurial ointment is rubbed on dogs,
without muzzling or covering them, it is very common for them
to lick themselves, and to become, by this means, fatally poisoned.
In such cases the stomach is usually but slightly affected, but a
diarrhoea of great violence follows, attended with bloody stools,
the consequence of ulceration in the bowels. In these cases,
commence the treatment by giving a mixture of castor oil and
white of eggs, in equal parts, sufficient to remove the offending
matter ; proceed next to wash off all the remaining ointment, and
then give opiates and astringents. — See Looseness.

From this detail of appearances produced by the more active
mineral poisons, both before and after death (which are all drawn
from numerous and well defined cases that too frequently came
under my notice), it will be apparent, that it is not difficult to
discriminate between the inflammatory symptoms brought on by
their agency, paiticularly when full doses have been given, from
those inflammations occasioned by cold or other causes. When
caustic mineral salts or acids have been taken, tha symptoms ara
always more urgent, the progress more rapid, and the pain and

180 VEGETABLE POISONS.

distress greater than when inflammation has proceeded from other
sources. The fcetor from the mouth, and the bloody vomitings
and stools, are also strong characteristics of acrid poisons in
the living patient: those to be gained after death are the inflam-
mation and gangrenous state of the alimentary canal; but more
particularly the ulcerated state of the stomachs and bowels, and
the early tendency in the whole body to become putrid and de-
composed. The foetor that comes from the diseased parts is
likewise peculiar in these cases, being more than usually pungent
and lasting ; so much so, that I have distinguished it three months
afterwards° from the instruments, dress, and other articles used
during the examination of the body : fortunately this can now be
immediately removed by the chloride of lime.

Vegetable Poisons.
Opium.— In the former edition of the Canine Pathology,
I stated that, as tar as my experience went, opium was not dele-
terious to dogs when received into the stomach ; for that very
large doses of the solid mass were invariably returned from the
stomach, and that smaller, though yet considerable ones, pro-
duced but little derangement of the system. Orfila, however,
whose experience has been purchased by the sacrifice of whole
hecatombs of dogs, asserts that opium will kill, although he
acknowledges (and which corroborates my former remarks on it)
that it is so variable in its effects, that he has often given very
considerable doses without at all injuring the animal. When it
does prove fatally deleterious, the symptoms detailed by him are
convulsive efforts of all the muscular parts, succeeded by dejec-
tion and universal paralysis. On dissection, little appearance of
inflammation is visible in the digestive organs, but there is more
of it in the lungs. Orfila likewise observes (which fully agrees

, u is no, vm unusual for the solve,,, power of the gastric juice to erode
„ JitZ coats of the stomach; but, in such case, the opening . one -mple

T terminate one only, and always situate at that part where the gravUy o
££E55 J Placed it particular., in contact with the stomach, and «■
no other.

VEGETABLE POISONS. I87

with my experience), that the narcotic effect of opium is not
apparent in the dog by any dose taken into the stomach ; but it is
a curious fact, that introduced either into the bloodvessels by
injection, or into the intestines per ano, it exerts its narcotic in-
fluence fully.

Vomic nut, or crowfig (Strychnos nux vomica, Linn.)— This
berry, or rather seed of a berry, is a native of the East Indies,
and is a violent narcotic poison to many animals : to others it
proves not equally noxious ; but it does not appear wholly inno-
cent to any. It possesses great power, but is very unequal in its
action, not only on different animals, but also on the same animal
at different times, and under different circumstances. It is a
common but a very erroneous prejudice, that it proves poisonous
to such animals only as are born blind. It is a deadly agent, not
only to the whole of the canine and feline genera, but it destroys
hares, rabbits, horses, asses, and most birds. It is irregularly
deleterious to man, fifteen grains having proved fatal to one, and
a whole nut or seed has failed to injure another. Leuriero relates,
that a horse died in four hours from a drachm only. Five or six
grains are sufficient to kill a rabbit or hare. I destroyed a very
large rabid Newfoundland dog in five minutes and a half by a
drachm of it, which was given in butter. Half a drachm was given
to another, of middling size, which destroyed him in twenty-eight
minutes; and twelve grains proved fatal to a smaller one in
twenty-five minutes. A watery extract is more quick, as well
as more certain, in its action, a few grains of which seldom fails
to kill in a few minutes, if given in solution : it acts less speedily
when given in the form of pills. But as it is, under all circum-
stances, not uniform in its action, so I cannot, as formerly, recom-
mend it as a safe agent to depend on for the destruction of a dog.
When it is actually necessary to destroy one of these valuable
animals, humanity dictates that it should be done speedily, and
in such a way as will prolong the sufferings as little as possible,
and a note appended will point out one in unison with these

188 VEGETABLE POISONS.

views. It is, however, sufficiently deleterious to make it very
commonly resorted to on such occasions by malicious persons ;
particularly as it can be easily procured, under pretence of
destroying vermin of various kinds. Like opium, the nux vomica
fails to produce any of its soporific effects on dogs, when intro-
duced into the stomach ; but it occasions violent tetanic convul-
sions, laborious respirations, and general torpor, and it thus
kills by robbing the nervous system of its energy ; and that
so speedily, that its presence is not easily detected by any morbid
appearances brought on : neither are any means, unless imme-
diately resorted to, sufficient to restrain its consequences. An
emetic should be given within a minute or two after the exhibi-
tion of the poison ; and this should be followed by a large tea-
spoonful of mustard, to give a reasonable chance of success.

Angustura pseudo ferrugincea. — A false species of angustura
has entered into the shops of many druggists, and has occasioned
considerable mischief. Some years ago, I unfortunately de-
stroyed a very favourite dog by giving him, as a tonic remedy,
this spurious article, which had been furnished me by my drug-
gist, as the genuine angustura bark. This deleterious article,
although it is decided by Humboldt to be nowise related to the
angustura tribe, has yet been very generally diffused, and used
as a substitute for the true bark*.

Prussic acid. — In its highly concentrated state, this acid
(which, it is fortunate, is extremely difficult to obtain, and still
more so to preserve) is so active, that one, or, at the most, two
drops applied within the eye, nose, or on the tongue, are suf-
ficient to destroy life in a minute or two. It is to the presence
of this acid that many vegetable substances, particularly all
bitter kernels, owe their deleterious properties. The lauro
cerasus, or cherry laurel, used in cooking, for the kernel-like
flavour it gives under distillation, yields a water that proves

1 L. A. Phinch, a French apothecary, has accurately described the article
in a memoir, entitled Notice Chimiquc stir les Angtislurcs dcs Commerce.

VEGETABLE POISONS.

189

poisonous to dogs. The essential oils of the cherry laurel, and
of bitter almonds, are both so strongly impregnated with prussic
acid, that a very few drops given to the largest dog prove
immediately fatal" . An extract also, made from either of these
articles, speedily kills in a small dose. The effects produced
by all these are nearly similar: taken into the stomach, they
destroy by at once paralyzing the sensorium: introduced im-
mediately into the bloodvessels, most of them exert a narcotic
influence, but are no less certainly fatal. An emetic imme-
diately administered, and followed up by active spicy stimu-
lants, as mustard, pepper, &c, mixed with vinegar, afford
the best chances of arresting the baleful effects of these potent
articles.

The Woorara, Lamas, Ticimas, Faba sancti ignatii, Upas an-
tiar, and Upas tiente, are vegetable poisons, indigenous to southern
and eastern climes, and by far more potent and deadly than our
most noxious articles. Prepared with much art and care, these
extracts retain their poisonous qualities a great length of time ;
and the smallest puncture made with the finest instrument, as a
sharp dart or arrow, embued with a solution of either of these
extracts, proves fatal, in some instances, within a minute. Mr.
Brodie has detailed some experiments made by him with these
poisons on dogs, which shew their dreadful activity. Mons. de
la Condamine's experiments at Paris are still more frightful
pictures of their potency.

a It is not unfrequently a subject of inquiry, how it may be possible to
destroy a dog with least pain to himself, and least shock to the feelings of his
owner. Although shooting and hanging are not, in themselves, painful
deaths, yet the violence necessarily committed is revolting to one's feelings.
It is both selfish and imprudent to familiarize the minds of servants to these
acts. Whenever, therefore, cases arise (and many such do occur) where it
would be infinitely more humane to destroy an animal than to prolong a
miserable existence; and when the more usual modes are objected to on
account of the violence and force necessary, either of these essential oils
dropped on the tongue, or a very small ball made from the extract, will ex-
tinguish life almost instantaneously, and without pain.

1.90

RABIES CANINA, OR CANINE MADNESS.
History of Rabies.

The popular term of madness among dogs has, of late years,
given place to the more classical one of rabies; but a slight
view only of the subject is sufficient to shew, that this disease
yet wants a name more strictly descriptive of its nature and
characters than any of those in general use. The complaint

9 The term rabies is, however, but a revival of its original name. Pliny
calls the disease rabidus canis, and canis rabiosa is familiar in Horace, as
well as in other ancient authors: but we have weightier objections to such no-
mination ; for if madness be incorrect as depicting a state of wild delirium, un-
governable fury, and mental alienation, which never fully exist in the very
worst cases, and are present only in shadow in the majority of them; then
rabies as significant of unqualified rage, fierceness, and promptitude to do
mischief (Iracunde et rabie se facere aliquid, Ciceuo), must be equally so.
Hydrophobia, by which the canine rabies has been sometimes called, is even
more uncharacteristic; in fact, it is a complete misnomer; because a repug-
nance to water, or dread of it, either taken inwardly, or when outwardly
applied, forms no pathognomonic symptom here, but, on the contrary, may
be considered as uniformly absent. Neither has it a full claim to be re-
tained for the human malady: for hydrophobia is by no means invariably pre-
sent in it; and if it were, it must have an adjunct to give it precision, seeing
that a dread of water is a symptom common to several other diseases also, as
hysteria, gastritis, angina, &c. Were it likewise peculiar to this complaint
alone, and did it invariably mark and accompany every case, it must even
then be objectionable; for water is not alone the dreaded object; and it can
be only considered as a type of every thing liquid: for not only does every
thiug of this nature produce equal horror, but also whatever can, by a forced
analogy, recal fluids to the recollection, does the same. This circumstance
has, therefore, occasioned hygrophobia to be proposed as a substitute for
hydrophobia. Caelius Aurelianus informs us, that some of the old writers
called it aerophobia, from the effect which the motion of the air even pro-
duces : and others, determined to foil all criticism, have named it pantepkobia,
or a dread of every thing. Dr. Parry has proposed rabies contagiosa as a
substitute for hydrophobia ; but if he meant to apply it as a new term, he was
in error; for Jos. de Aromatarius published a treatise Dc Rabie Contagiosa,
at Frankfort in 1026. Rabies, however, equally exhibits an unfaithful picture
of the irritability of the human character under the disease as of that of the
dog: neither can we yield our suffrages to the adjunct contagiosa-; for the
best writers are not yet agreed on the extent of its contagious character, nor
of the animals capable of propagating it. 'I he term of cyntinlhropia. bj
which it lias also been called, from a morbid supposition in the mind of the
patient that he was personally identified with the dug, needs no comment; but

RABIES CAN1NA, OR CANINE MADNESS.

191

itself is, unquestionably, one of great antiquity; for we have
authentic accounts of it for more than 2000 years. It is de-
scribed both by Aristotle and Diascorides. Other of the ancients
likewise notice it10.— History has continued to furnish us with
numerous traces of it, particularly in Europe, where it seems
sometimes to have raged with epidemic fury, and at others to
have been but little known11. In 1 500, Spain was ravaged by it.
In 1604 it was very common in Paris12 ; and 100 years after
this, Germany became the theatre of this dreadful scourge among
its wolves as well as dogs. Historians of every age have left
short but frightful records of its dreadful visitations ; and some
works of magnitude, written by the authors of Spain, Italy,
Germany, and France, have more fully detailed its ravages, but
so blended with received errors, as to convey little information
on the subject. The illustrious Boerhaave may, perhaps, be
considered the first who, by attentive observation, threw light
on the rabid malady in dogs13. In England, little had appeared
worthy of notice before the account presented by Mr. Meynell.
This celebrated sportsman published his memoir in the tenth
volume of the Medical Commentaries ; and if his account of ca-
nine madness does not exactly coincide with future representa-
tions drawn from a wider field of observation, it nevertheless
characterizes the disease with considerable precision; and, at

in my own opinion there are less objections to cynolyssa, provided that "Kva-sra
may be critically translated into torment from the bite of a venomous animal,
which is said to be the case.

>° Aristotle is however said to be the first writer who alludes to it. (Hist.
Animal., lib. 7, cap. 22.) But his opinion that it was not communicable to
man, shews that it was in his time but ill understood. Some doubt also seems
to be entertained, whether Hippocrates, in his Coacte Preenotiones, intended
to describe the rabid malady, when he says " Phrenetic! parum bibentes,
strepituni valde pcrcipientes, tremuli aut convulsi."

11 Not that I believe the rabid malady ever arises spontaneously; but
that sometimes the inoculation of it takes place under circumstances parti-
cularly favourable to its rise and future propagation, as will be hereafter
explained.

12 Journal de Henri IV, tome iii, p. 221.

13 Aphorism 1135, where, although some error is apparent, yet much truth
also appears.

192 RABIES CANINA,

the time it was written, was calculated to do infinite good, by
banishing some dangerous and erroneous opinions relative to it.

In 1806, rabies among dogs became very common in England,
and abounded in the vicinity of London, where, during the next
year, it increased to such a degree, that a day seldom passed
without my being consulted on one or more cases of it : some-
times I have seen three, four, or five a-day, for weeks toge-
ther. In the two following years it continued to rage also :
after which, for several subsequent years, it was less prevalent ;
but it never became apparently extinct or rare as before. In
1820 it was again observed to be on the increase, and for three
or four years continued alarmingly common, when it again
moderated for a few following seasons; but since 1828 its
ravages have exceeded even its former bounds. Of these latter
visitations I have been a more quiet spectator; but of those
which occurred between 1805 and 1820, I was a very active
one. The publicity which attached to my attention to the diseases
of dogs occasioned constant reference to me on the subject, and
threw such opportunities in my way of observing this dire
malady in all its varieties in both man and beast, as had pro-
bably, at that time, never before fallen to the lot of any indi-
vidual whatever". These opportunities, I believe, I did not
neglect; it was a field so little trodden, that the few truths
which had sprung up, were choaked by error; and the im-
portance of the subject at that time was such, that it became
imperative on those whose experience enabled them to do it, to
set the subject in its true light, and to divest it of many gross
and serious mistakes that hung about it; and which none but
those whose opportunities of observation were great, and whose

.Since .hat time, the opportunities -J^^^^^SS!
greater than my own, uniting, as he was enabled o o

rtiis ooBortunity of expressing my obligations to me s»i

SLffKJ L Views Of the .natter, and for many valuable facts also.

OR CANINE MADNESS.

urn

inclination to profit by them was also considerable, could do.
Towards the close, therefore, of 1807, 1 placed before the public,
in a Domestic Treatise on Horses and Dogs, a detailed account of
rabies ; and soon after, being requested to furnish an account
of it also for the Cyclopaedia of Dr. Rees, a condensed form of
it was there inserted.

It becomes not me to say further of these accounts; but others
have said of them, that they furnished the most faithful picture of
the disease that had, at that period, ever appeared15. I would

15 The alarming prevalence of rabies at the periods alluded to, produced in-
numerable papers, tracts, and even volumes on the subject, of which there
were but few that did not borrow something from one or other of the above
sources. Of these writers some had the candour to own the obligation ; others
contented themselves with adopting and then offering as their own, as much as
suited their purpose: while one or two have even affected to dispute the cor-
rectness of my views, apparently less from a legitimate search after truth, than
to favour the different opinions they had formed of the subject. Among those
who omitted any such notice, I must quote Dr. Gilman, who, in his justly ad-
mired Prize Dissertation, may without hesitation be said to have borrowed
much from me. Dr. Parry even observes of it, "that the symptoms of rabies
were evidently taken from the article Dog, in Rees's Cyclopedia, or at least
from the same source." Rabies Contagiosa, pp. 170-1.— Dr. Gilman had ready
access to the author of that article, and he found him, when they met at the
house of Mr. Boyd (a gentleman whose hand had been lacerated by a rabid
dog), most ready to afford him every information on the subject, and to lend
him the work quoted. If in any way I assisted in the great cause of humanity
(and humanity itself was concerned in the production of so valuable a work as
that of Dr. Gilman), I am gratified ; and had the ingenious author acknow-
ledged the debt, it would not, I hope, have detracted from his fame, while it
would have been creditable to his candour. I would also appeal to Mr. Lips-
comb, and to a few others, whether they did not find me always ready to fur-
nish them with all the information they sought for: but I never saw or heard of
any one of them afterwards. They are welcome, but this is not my plan : on
the contrary, it is my pride never, knowingly, to have committed a literary
theft, by becoming a plagiarist: when I differed, I have endeavoured to express
my dissent with candour; and where I have borrowed, I have owned the obli-
gation: and of this I am assured, that there is full as much of sound policy as
honest principle in the practice. Silence, however, is charity, compared with
a method pursued by some authors, of abusing whatever they cannot confute.
Of this unfair practice the Treatise on Rabies Contagiosa, or Canine Hydro-
phobia!! by the late Dr. Parry, of Bath, is an instance. Dr. P., to es-
tablish an untenable theory of his own, endeavours either to make the state-
ments of others bend to the view he has taken, or otherwise attempts to throw
discredit on such as he finds too stubborn for his purpose. From observation

1!)4

RABIES CANINA,

hope, therefore, that, in the present detail, as much has been added
on the subject to each several edition of the work, and to none

made on three hydrophobous cases only, and on but one or two rabid ones
he affects to disprove the vast mass of testimony offered by other observant and
distinguished professional characters, during the last century; affirming, that
by all of them, the disease, in both the human and brute subjects, has been
equally mistaken in cause, appearance, and effect. The facts, which the unli-
mited opportunities afforded to myself and Mr. You alt, enabled us to lay be-
fore the public, militated much against these new views of Dr. Parry: and as
the o-eneral credence given to our statements, and the weight which was at that
time&attached to our opinions, would naturally offer some hindrance to their pro-
cess, it became, therefore, a great point with him, to throw a disparaging
shade over our writings in particular; and the consequence was, that they
were neither examined with candour, nor contradicted with courtesy. On the
contrary, to produce an appearance of discordance and opposition between
their several parts, he selected detached and remote passages, and placed
them continuously, purposely to give them the appearance of a contradictory
whole ; in which way it is evident that the most perspicuous writer that ev er
put ,,en to paper might be betrayed into the most glaring. seeming inconsisten-
cies This dogmatic denial of palpable and well-known facts is of little con-
sequence to us, comparatively with the extreme danger of reviving one of
the most injurious errors which the barbarism of former times had retained ...
some writings, and in some prejudices: but had not Dr. P. maintained that the
rabid dog dreaded water as much as the hydrophobous man, he was fearful he
should not establish his favourite theory, that the human and brute malady arc
wholly the same in cause, appearance, and effect. " La, ryngea spasm 18,
withDr P., the foundation of both diseases; and as the. hydrophobic symptom
is one resulting from this spasm in the human subject, hydrophobia must ne-
cessarily be present in the dog also ; and to establish the doctrine, he denies tes-
timonies the most numerous, credible, and even then very generally es a-
blished. Without a marked instance in which this laryngeal spasm was present ,n
the dog, he pronounces every canine case, in which there is not a mamfest
dread of water, to be spurious; and, in fact, any disease but rabies. How-
ever in the total absence of facts, nothing remained but to resort to arguments;
and of what nature Dr. P.'s were, maybe gained from the following specimen,
which does not stand alone in futility. "How, if no dread of liquids exists m
mad dogs, came the disease to be called in all ages, hydrophobia? -Ral,
Contag. p. U5. To which it may be replied, in the first place, Has ,1 been so
called in all ages? Has it not been already shewn, that the ancients had other
and more appropriate designations for it? Is it not also equailj true, that as
experience and observation led us to distinguish between the pathognomonic
signs as they appeared in the human and brute constitution, the names applied
to the two diseases became effectually disjoined I Neither in the obscurity of
the last century, or the more early periods, was canine madness so called,
when specifically noticed. It was only so nominated cursorily, and in common
parlance by persons not even pretending to scientific discrimination in general,
or conversant with the complaint in particular. Et s'il etoit possible de sou-

OR CANINE MADNESS.

195

more than the present; that what follows will be found to more
amply elucidate former opinions, correct erroneous or doubtful
positions, and to collate new and illustrative facts.

The necessity of a precise and clear knowledge of this direful
malady cannot but be evident, when we consider its present pre-
valence, and how difficult it has been to wear away in the public

lever Ie voile dont le temps a convert la science des medecins grecs, nous ver-
rions probablement qu'ils n'ont point confondu l'lrydrophobie simple avec la
rage, puisqu'ils les designoient par deux expressions tres-exactes, hydropho-
bia, horreur de l'eau; et cynolysson, rage du chien. — Trait, de la Rage,
.par Mons. Trolliet, p. 267. It may be added also, that we have innumerable
instances of names borrowed from the human and applied to the brute, and
vice versa, from an ideal resemblance ; although the designation might be
essentially as completely a misnomer as the present. Towards Mr. Youatt,
Dr. P. acted with even greater want of urbanity ; for an intimacy in early
life with his father might have lessened the severity, even if it could not
ward off the justness of his criticism. Yet with a feeling that does Mr.
Youatt infinite credit, his retort is thus mildly couched, — "Let this uncan-
did review, and gross mis-statement of some cases, published by me fifteen
years ago, be now forgotten. The wound rankled for awhile, and the more so,
as inflicted by the friend and fellow-student of my father. He now sleeps in
peace. He was a scientific practitioner, and a good man." The cases alluded
to by Mr. Youatt, and which were so unmercifully handled, appeared in the
Medical and Physical Journal, and in the London Medical Repository ; and
were drawn with that perspicuity and accuracy which mark his other scientific
productions. That they were faithful portraits of the disease, his extensive op-
portunities and habits of observation will vouch, and every other author ac-
knowledges; yet Dr. P. denies the existence of every one of these as a true
instance of rabies : on the contrary, so well versed does he think himself in canine
pathology, that, by the mere statement of symptoms, he takes on himself to pro-
nounce some of them Bronchitis, some Pneumonia, and others pure Inflamma-
tion of the Fauces ! ! ! What opinion must Dr. Parry have of his own discrimi-
nation, who could thus, on the questionable evidence of one or two cases
only, and those most unsatisfactorily examined, question and deny the united
testimonies of two persons, who could have no interest in deceiving, but every
stimulus to offer the truth, and whose united opportunities extended to the per-
sonal and minute examination of many thousand cases ! .' ! As regards this
truly acute author, and I believe generally respected man, I would say, with
Mr. Youatt, ilRequiescal in pace;" but I conceive the cause of truth rendered
it imperative on ine to resist this attack as I have done; for Dr. Parry must
ever be considered as a formidable antagonist, wherever science offered an
arena; and as the " Addicti jurarc in verba magislri" is apt to influence the
opinion of those who either want leisure, inclination, or ability to think for them-
selves, and as I conceive that the errors he advocated were of vital import-
ance to the safety of mankind, I do hope to rebut them, and to make the con-
trary apparent in the course of my description of the disease.

N

196 RABIES CANINA,

mind, the errors and prejudices with which the consideration of
it was fettered. Although, for ages, even, the plague has hardly
been more dreaded, yet in this, as well as in other countries^, no
equally important subject has been less understood or more mis-
represented. As already shewn, its popular name ol madness
conveys an erroneous and hurtful impression with regard to at;
and where it has been called hydrophobia, it has tended to keep
alive an absurdity greater than the other. The wormed dog
is still by many thought to be rendered incapable of taking the
disease; by others, he is only harmless if he does become
affected : both are errors of the grossest kind, and lead to very
serious dangers. That a mad dog carries his tail between Ins legs
-that he is instinctively avoided by others-that bread meat
&c. besmeared with the saliva, blood, or any of the secretions of
a mad dog, is refused with horror by others-that the to e of a
healthy dog, should he become at any time afterwards ratod, is
dangerous-are all equally erroneous, although even now very

F ^teUstory of the rabid malady may properly commence by
an inquiry into its origin. I have already noticed its annuity ;
but its dhlt flow in toe stream of time is difficult to follow : m
tht leurity of our early records we have no means of tracmg
the place of its first appearance.

spontaneous origin of raMes, like that
raeasles, and syphilis in the human, ,s unqueshonab e .H -
from some peculiar morbid combinations, commumcable to other

. in the former-edition I offered proofs, ^^t^Z^
listed on the subject among our French ^^J^ {nm GcnlK1„v,
than our own: neither did such not.ces as had ^f^^^on
Spain, and Italy, evince more just Views of ' ' 1 he f ^
of Messrs. Enuux and Chancer, that had ^bce nbrougM to Trol.
^tanceof the French g^e™\7^3 Hurtrel D'Arboval,

,iet is much better, but can hardly be pro. ounc d g ^ ^ ? ^

With his usual acumen, has gleaned the best, yet n

Thave reason to believe the subject , their authori.

and we already have to own many ^werful ^ ^ ,

ZSSttti&Z I hL ,nct with in any continental wor,

OR CANINE MADNESS.

197

individuals of the species by contagion. The human diseases
quoted, are by long experience now very generally allowed to be
confined to a contagious origin only ; for it is well known that
these maladies were not indigenous to any of the newly discovered
countries, however extensive their tract, and whether intra or ex-
tra-tropical, but that they only followed the march of their in-
vaders. Now, as canine madness stands precisely in the same
situation with syphilis, small-pox, and measles, there being yet
many countries where it is unknown ; are we not warranted in
concluding, that neither does that also now ever arise sponta-
neously ? But we must not content ourselves with analogy in
searching after important truths, and this is a most important
one ; as upon it must be grounded our capability, or otherwise,
of a total extermination of the disease. Opinions grounded on
experience are valuable ; hypotheses from minds accustomed to
deep reasoning and extensive research are to be respected ; but
it is on facts only that we must mainly rest. There are authorities
of respectability who maintain that rabies is yet spontaneously
generated^ ; and if such be the case, no legal enactments of what-

17 The illustrious Boerhaave seems to have indulged such an opinion. " Oritur
fere semper ab aliis animalibus prius rabiosis suscepta contagio ; tamen et sponte
quibusdam orta legitur et observatur." Aphorism. 1130. Sauvages favoured an
opinion of its present contagious origin, and Orfilahas even carried the capability
into other animals also. Dr. Hamilton, an elaborate writer on rabies, advocates
the probability of a spontaneous origin from a new poisonous compound, gene-
rated from putrid sordes, surrounding the animal, when the body is in a particular
situation or condition. Query, What situation or what condition ? The rabies
which Professor Rossi roduced by keeping cats shut up in a room was sympto-
matic, and not the specific and communicable disease. Majendie, Dupuytren
and Breschet, subjected dogs to the utmost state of filthy and close confinement
for a long time ; and though they became very generally diseased, not one be-
came rabid. If putrid animal sordes could originate rabies, how often must it
break out among the dogs of the lower class of dog-dealers and fanciers in
London, where hundreds of birds, rabbits, guinea-pigs, &c. with every variety
of dog, are confined in one small close room, or cellar? neither is it probable
but cases of dose confinement must have been frequent in those countries which
it has never yet visited. Er. Gillman likewise embraces a similar opinion appa-
rently on the authority of a single case, the correctness of which there is great
reason to doubt. Mr. Coleman also advocates spontaneous origin from the same
causes with Dr. Hamilton ; and such an opinion, from such a source, I am both

N 2

198 RABIES CANINA.

ever severity, short of the extinction of the whole race, could se-
cure us. There are others also (and hy much the most numerous,
and, without any offence to the former, by much the most ex-
perienced) who maintain that the disease is never now of spon-
taneous origin18. My own opinion, formed on an acquaintance
with it of twenty five years, in a great many of which the rabid
cases amounted to several hundreds per year, is most decidedly in
favour of the contagious origin of the disease, and none other.
While 1 was thus in the midst of it, I never met with one instance
where it occurred in a dog wholly secluded from the access of
others. I have met with cases where the utter seclusion has been
peremptorily stated ; but not only have such statements, on ex-
amination, invariably been found untenable, but they have served,
inmost instances, in a remarkable manner, to confirm the opinion
here advocated'9. Great as my opportunities have been, they,

surprised at and sorry for. I am naturally surprised at so acute a reasoner
falling into, what I deem, an error, in the face of so many facts confirmatory of
its contagious origin only. I am sorry for it, because in a teacher deservedly
so high in estimation, the error is likely to be diffused Dr. EU.ot.on is also
among thisuumber ; and Mr. Dewhurst, a very respectable medical pract.tioner
likewise ranges himself on this side, and details a most dub.ous case which
he insiders in proof of it, in No. 32 of The Veterinarian, but wkch is
most ably answered by Mr. Youatt in No. 33 of that work, where he de-
monstrates, that the morbid appearances after death were c early not those of

rabies, and the symptoms, while living, Mr. Dewhurst was unable to give. As a
Lous and symptomatic hydrophobia takes place in the human oeeas.ona .1,

La the excitements of phrenitis, hysteria, gastritis &c ; "J^^tX

that a symptom** irritation, whic* =hy a p ar al

mhies mav ar se in dogs also from various causts .

rabies, may arise B occasionally occur, and so

in concluding from observation, that such cases uo , . t|

occurring cause much error and confusion in our conclusions : because he
occurring, cause .nu nost-mortein exam nation and by (he

observers fail to bring such cases to test by post moiiem

inoculation of others from the salivary secretion of the suspected ammal.

wherever it has been done, it has ^^L^ . in of the diseasc from

is Mr Mevnell was so convinced of the invariable origin
i„ocu"Lt he always made every new hound perform quarantine before

he entered the pack. npr,ans mav assure themselves of the

, With how much ^X^Z^ZZZcon. rabid, and .u,
impossibility of the moculation of some dog w» lUtl

how easily it is JotaU, . error on ^ residing in

of many, may serve to shew -1 was reques „„ which

mmpole Street, to examine a dog, wlm h i ai |

OR CANINE MADNESS.

199

however, are much exceeded by those of Mr. Youatt ; for he not
only partook in very many of those from which I drew my con-
clusions, but also of a still greater number since ; and how intent
he has been in forming accurate notions of the disease, his exten-
sive experiments on it. and his published accounts, will testify.
His sentiments on this head, therefore, cannot fail to have weight ;
and what are they ? After debating the point in his pamphlet be-
fore noticed, he says, "I think we are justified in concluding, from
the foregoing statement, that rabies is produced by inoculation
■ alone." The "I think" was pure parlance, and meant assurance
strong, as reference to the work will shew.

he promptly informed me, that if the dog was so, he certainly must have be-
come so without infection (which he knew was in direct opposition to my
opinion) ; for that this dog, which was a very great favourite, had never, for
many months, been out of doors alone, nor, indeed, at any time, out of the sight
of either himself or his valet, who .was also attached to the dog, and had the ex-
press care of him when his master was absent. As, therefore, neither of them
had ever seen him bitten, they were positive on the subject. Anxious to arrive
at the truth, where so important a matter was concerned, I commenced a close
examination of the other servants, and it was, at length, remembered by the
footman, that one morning, when the master's bell rang for the valet to take this
dog from the bed-room, as he was accustomed to do, his absence occasioned the
footman to answer it; and this man distinctly recollected the dog accompanying
him to the street door, and also that, while engaged in receiving a message
brought, he distinctly remembered that the dog went a little way into the street,
and was suddenly attacked by another that passed, seemingly without an owner.
Here was an explanation of the apparent difficulty: this passing dog, there is
little reason to doubt, was rabid, and, pursuing the usual march of mischief, he
bit the favourite.' — Another case, even more confirmatory of the possibility of be-
coming mistaken on this subject, is that of a Newfoundland dog, which was con-
stantly chained to his kennel during the day, and suffered to be at large only
during the night within an inclosed yard. This dog became rabid, and, as no
dog was known to have had access to the yard, it seemed to be an established
certainty in the mind of his owner, that he generated the disease spontaneously.
This case I also sifted with great perseverance, to elicit the truth ; which was
this ; that the gardener to the family remembered, one night in bed, hearing an
unusual noise, as though the Newfoundland dog was quarrelling with another,
but which, from the dog's confined situation, made him believe was impossible,
and he therefore took no notice of the subject. He also recollected, that, about
this time, marks of a dog appeared in liis garden, which, on account of the
height of the wall, surprised him ; and he further remembered, that remains of
hair were discovered on the wall which separated the garden from the yard
where the dog was confined, but which circumstances, until strict inquiry was

200

RABIES CANINA,

The Alleged Causes of Rabies.
The remote causes of spontaneous rabies, as advocated by the
favourers of that doctrine., are various. Heat has long been con-
sidered as a grand agent, but the direct proofs to the contrary
are fast wearing away this prejudice. It is known that many
countries under the torrid zone are entirely free from canine
madness ; and in such as it is found, it does not appear to gain
any accession to its frequency or morbid character20. We have
Barrows' authority for stating, that it is almost, if not entirely,
unknown over the vast continent of South America. In many of
the western isles it is a stranger; and, in Egypt, Volney says he
never heard of it. Larrey, Brown, and others, inform us, that
it has never visited the burning clime of Syria. Neither is it
more prevalent in cold climates ; and although it sometimes visits
northern latitudes, it shews no preference for them, and, in
Greenland, is said to be altogether unknown. In temperate cli-
mates, on the contrary, it is most prevalent, not perhaps owing
any thing to an extra-tropical situation, but merely because in
such latitudes the most populous countries are usually situated ;
and, in such, all matters of interest are more likely to be noticed.
In the United States of America, it is sufficiently frequent", and
throughout Europe we are but too well acquainted with it.
made, had excited no attention. About the same time, the neighbourhood, it ap-
peared, had been alarmed by the absence of a large dog belonging to one of
the inhabitants, which had escaped from confinement during the mgh^ evidently
under symptoms of disease. Here, also, a ready solution of the d.mculty oc-
curred and there is no reason to doubt but that the cases detaded M Lr
Oilman and Mr. Dewhurst originated under circumstances equally acc.dental
and unnoticcd.-SVc Mr. Youatl on the subject, also Vet. 3d.

» It cannot, however, be denied, that heat accelerate* , the _ attack ,n such as
have been bitten, particularly when conjoined with great boddy excitement In
this way, a dog that has been inoculated, but in which the d.sease m.ght not ap-
pear probably for weeks, by taking long and severe exercise .n very hot wea-
S er E almost certain to be attacked with it the next day. This I have witness-
ed in several instances, but in no dog that I could not distinctly trace to have
been bitten. Bitches in heat, and the dogs which follow them, are thus exposed
to have the attack hastened also; but these circumstances never generate it, as
supposed by some persons. . n, , , i l-roa

i . Med. Trans. PIdladclph., vol. i.-Mcd. Inqmr. Philadclph., 1798.

OR CANINE MADNESS.

201

Seasons have also been alleged as the probable cause of mad-
ness among dogs ; and, as might be supposed, simmier has long
been famed for its superior germination of it ; and the dog-days
probably owe their name to the fancied prevalence of it then1.
But it is now sufficiently notorious that rabies is not more preva-
lent at one season than at another2.

The quality and quantity of the food has been assigned as a
cause of rabies ; but in dogs which have been accidentally sub-
jected to a deprivation of food, bordering upon starvation, it
never yet took place3. Repletion has never occasioned it, al-
though it has proved the parent of many other inflammatory
affections. Putrid food has been fully proved to have no title to
generating it : neither would it, a priori, be Hkely to produce it
in predatory animals, whose stomachs must, by nature, be form-
ed to subsist on matter in various stages of decomposition. In
Lisbon, in Constantinople, and other eastern cities, dogs are
the only scavengers; and, at the Cape of Good Hope, Barrow
informs us, the Caffrees feed their dogs wholly on putrid flesh,
and no such disease is seen among them. Abstinence from water
is an old and popular supposed cause of madness ; but, in India,
where, from the drying of the water-tanks, many brutes perish ;

1 When Sirius reigns, and the Sun's parching beams
Bake the dry gaping surface, visit thou
Each ev'n and morn, with quick observant eye,
The panting pack. If in dark sullen mood, &c. &c. — Somerville.

2 Burtrel d'Arboval observes, that rabies among dogs is most frequent in
France in May and September, and that March and April usually produce
the greatest number of rabid wolves : but this prevalence is undoubtedly very
much under the influence of circumstances. M. Andry, in his Rdclierches sur
In Jlage, Paris, 1780, observes that January the coldest, and August the hotest
months, furnished the fewest instances. 11 n'est point vrai que cette maladie
soit plus commune pendant les froids rigoureux de l'hiver, ou les chaleurs ex-
cessives de V6t6, qu'au printemps et-en automne. — Trolliet.

3 Among innumerable experiments which have been made, I will only notice
the cruel but striking one at the Veterinary School of Alfort. Three dogs
were chained, fully exposed to the heat of the sun. Nothing but sailed meat
was given to one ; water alone to the second; and neither food nor drink to
the third. As might be expected, every one perished ; but neither of them
exhibited the slightest symptom of rabies. — See Dissertation sur la Rage, by
M. Blcynier, Paris.

202 R AHIliS CANINA,

and in northern latitudes, where the supplies are frozen, yet mad-
ness is not observed to be the consequence of either. In fact,
in the rage for experiment, dogs have been purposely subjected to
all these supposed causes, but without having once produced the
disease. It is unnecessary to combat the opinion of Dr. Mead,
and others, that an acrid state of blood, from the want of per-
spiration in the dog, is a remote cause of madness. Neither
have we more reason to suppose that any state or peculiarity of
atmosphere can give rise to it, although it may favour the exten-
sion and activity of the contagion.

But if none of these causes engender the rabid malady, can we
yet attribute the extreme variations in its prevalence at one time
in preference to another ; its visitation of one district, and its al-
most total absence from those around it ? Can we account for
these on the simple principle of contagion ? that is, must every
dog be actually inoculated with the rabid virus ? In this I feel
myself warranted in replying in the affirmative ; for there is little
reason to doubt, that, in certain situations, and during certain
seasons, peculiar changes take place, which prove decidedly
favourable to the germination of the rabid virus* ; and to which
we ascribe its appearing endemial at one time and epidemial at
another. The same circumstances, also, may occasion a more
early development of the disease (as I have already proved with
regard to heat and excitement), and in this way increase its ap-
parent prevalence, by bringing numerous cases together, which
would otherwise be spread over a greater extent of time.

Was the dog the immediate species of the canince in which
rabies first originated ?-This is a question not easy of solution,
thouo-h many from localizing their views, would be led to promptly
answer yes : but where the wolf is still found in great numbers,
he has equal aptitude to take on the disease by inoculation; even

4 U was the decreased predisposition to take on the disease a, that parti-
culartime, which made the experiment of Dr. Hertwig, veterinary professor a
SSta so unproductive. He inoculated fifty-nine dogs wiA the mus and yet
o^ly fourteen became rabid : at. another time it is not unlikely that the num-
bers might have been very dift'ercnt.

OR CANINE MADNESS.

more disposition to spread it ; and at least equal capability,
from the virulence of Lis virus, to make it certain in effect : some
accounts would even give to it a most frightful activity5.
A priori, therefore, we have as much right to assign the palm of
priority to the wolf, as to the dog; and could this attached
friend of man speak for himself, he would willingly give up his
claim : as, however, the traditions of three thousand years have
assigned it to the dog, let it rest. The for, we have also suf-
licient proof, is a subject of the affection ; yet the extreme rarity
of vulpine rabies, even in those countries where he abounds,
would lead us to conclude, either that his inherent aptitude to
germinate the contagion is small, or that his solitary habits ex-
clude him from attack. Of the chacal or jackal, as a canine con-
genor, I know nothing decisive : he has been said to have been
seen rabid ; but I believe the authority is questionable. Some of
the favourers of a spontaneous origin in the disease include the
cat also : we certainly do know that this animal is capable of re-
ceiving and of communicating it, but we have not one authentic
fact of which I am aware to give us reason to suppose it is ever
generated by grimalkin : there have been also statements of the
same kind with regard to other animals, and to man also ; but
they are wholly unauthenticated, and very generally disbelieved.

Wliat rabid animals are capable of communicating it. — For a
long time, the facts which should elucidate this point accumulated
so slowly, and then were so discrepant, that it was difficult to
come to any conclusion on it. At first the propagation was
thought to be limited to the canine and febne genera : gradually

5 Fortunately, the ravages of the rabid wolf are unknown among us; but in
France, Spain, and Germany, they are but too common. His savage nature
makes him, under the excitement of this inflammatory disease, highly fero-
cious, and he seeks objects of every kind wherein to propagate his own suffer-
ings ; and as his size enables hiin to reach it, so he commonly inflicts his
wounds on the face, and thus he more certainly insures a fatal issue. The ex-
tent of some of these ravages may be gained by reference to Astruc Mem.
Montpcllier, 1819; d'Arluc Recueil Penodique, torn. 4; Baudot Mem. de la
Soc. Roy. deMed.; Gazette de Sante du 11 Sep. 1813; Journal de Med.,
torn. 39 ; llistoirc des Ravages causee par Louve enragee, duns le deparle-
ment de l'lsere en 1817 ; Trolliet.

'20-1

RABIES CANINA,

we were constrained to admit that other quadrupeds besides these
had by their bite produced it also ; but as such as could be well
authenticated were partially if not wholly carnivorous, so the ca-
pability was then, in the opinion of many, confined to them0.
Other facts are on record which have brought man within the
propagating class? : the horse, badger, and pig, also are more
than suspected, and the result has been, that Mr. Youatt states
his full conviction that " the virus of every rabid animal will
communicate the disease." This gentleman's own opportunities
for conclusion, united with the ardour of his research, afford a pre-
sumption that such may eventually be found to be the case : it,
however, becomes us to pause in the absence of conclusive evi-
dence. Our extended experience has therefore taught us, that
quadrupeds universally seem obnoxious to it ; the feathered tribe
appear also not exempt; but how much lower in the scale the
liability extends, we are yet to learn.

It was the opinion of Kuzard, founded on a series of experiments, and
again repeated at Alfort, as well as of Professor Betti, of Florence, an ex-
perimentalist also, that herbivorous animals are incapable of producing the
rabid malady. Drs. Vaughan and Babington also equally failed lo propagate
it from the herbivora. Others likewise of our most eminent medical practi-
tioners think the propagating power confined to such animals only as natu-
rally employ their teeth as weapons of offence. Sir Astley Cooper, and Mr.
Coleman also, I believe, think thus, and it must be allowed that there is a
great air of philosophy in the limiting the power of generating the disease to
the carnivorous and pugnatory classes. But it must, at the same time, be al-
lowed, that some objections present themselves to the theory ; one of which
is, that the human saliva has produced rabies by inoculation : to which, how-
ever, it will probably be replied, that man is half carnivorous ; he has also
canine teeth : by which mode of argument casuists may attempt to save the
credit of the theory as regards the horse, which has been said to have pro-
duced the disease ; for he also has canine teeth, and most certainly uses them
pugnaciously in retaining his hold first taken by his incisors.

''On the 19th of June, 1823, in the presence of numerous medical students,
MM. Majendie and Breschet, in the H6tel-Dieu, absorbed some of the saliva
of a man tlv n dying of hydrophobia, by means of a bit of rag, and conveying
it only twenty paces from the bed of the patient, they inoculated two healthy
dogs with it: one of these became rabid on the twenty-seventh of July, and bit
two others, one of which so bitten was attacked on the twenty-sixth of August.
Mr Earlc, of St. George's Hospital, also inoculated several rabbits with the
saliva of a woman with hydrophobia, some of which became rabid. Dr.

OR CANINE MADNESS.

205

The saliva of a rabid animal contains the rabid virus. — Is it
the only animal secretion which is thus empowered ? This is a
point not yet determined. It has been thought, that the frothy
secretion about the mouth was principally bronchial. In the hu-
man subject it is possible that it is so ; but it is more than proba -
ble that it is not entirely so, but that the saliva is in intimate
mixture with it. It has been a question, therefore, whether this
bronchial secretion is capable of producing the disease. Mons.
Trolliet, a French author of some repute, asserts, that this alone
is the vehicle of contagion8 ; and, to make good his premises,
he asserts, that the salivary glands, living or dead, present no
marks of affection ; but the mucous bronchial surfaces always do.
On this I have to remark, that the statement is totally at variance
with my own observations ; the salivary glands being, as far as I
recollect, in every instance, involved in one common inflamma-
tion with the parts around, themselves being also individually,
sometimes very highly, injected, and always enlarged ; while, it
must be observed, the bronchiae are not always marked with
traces of active inflammation. In this respect, Mr. Youatt's ex-
perience coincides with my own9 ; but we both regret that we

Zinche, of Jena, has proved that the common fowl can be made rabid by the
canine virus. Valentin. Let. stir la Rage, Jour, de Med., vol. xxx. This will
serve to strengthen the faith in the account of Mr. King, of Clifton, who pro-
duced rabies in a fowl by means of the saliva of an ox, which had just died of
that complaint.

8 Propositions Aphoristiques : 1. " La salive n'est point le vehicule du
virus de la rage. 2. Les gland salivaires ne prcsentent ni douleur dans 1c
cours de la maladie, ne traces d'alteration apres la mort. 3. La bave
equcmcuse est 6trang6re a la salive; elle vient des vois aeriennes. 4. La
membrane muqueuse des bronches est le siege d'un inflammation specifique;
elle produit le virus de !a rage, coramc la membrane muqueuse de Furethre
inflamme'e produit le virus de la blenorrhagie syphilitique." — Nouveau
Train de la Rage, p. 673.

9 His observation on this fact is thus couched: — "The parotid and sub-
lingual glands have been almost invariably affected (i. e. enlarged and in-
flamed), and frequently the sub-maxillary." To those whose faith is strength-
ened by the antiquity of an opinion, it may be observed, that the ancients were
universally impressed with a belief that the saliva alone contained the morbific
virus; and particular families or tribes (the Marii and Psilii, Africans who

*

206 RABIES CANINA,

have not, before this, put the matter to the test of experiment ;
and it would have been more satisfactory had M, Trolliet done
the same. It is enough, however, for our present purpose, that
we know that the saliva is, at least, the principal medium of com-
munication from the sick to the healthy. It has analogical proofs,
also, that it is the only one ; the blood, the milk10, and the flesh,
have all been proved to be innocuous, while the saliva enjoys a
potency which even powerful chemical agents cannot destroy11.
Among the dissenters to the rabid virus being confined to the
salivary secretion, are Drs. Hamilton and Bardsley. These gen-
tlemen entertain a notion that the infection may be received, in a
state of vapour, either through the pores of the skin, or by inhala-
tion, or by both1*. But this doctrine is now discredited, and was
never supported by palpable facts.

practised at Rome, were of this kind) enjoyed the privilege of drawing out the
poison in these cases by suction with the mouth. — (Plin. Hist. Nat. lib. vii.)
Mlianus, Hist. Animal., lib. i, chap. 51 ; Lucain PharsaL, lib. ix, v. 891.

10 It is a point of great practical interest to ascertain that the milk taken
from a cow in the first stage of rabies is not hurtful. The following authorities
are to the purpose -.—Nova Ada Nat. Cur. vol. i, Obs. 55; Baudot, in Mem.
de la Soc. Royale tie Med., an 1782 et 83, t. ii, p. 911.

» Dr. Zincke, of Jena, inoculated a dog in the fore legs with rabid salivary
virus, and to which belladonna was daily given, but the animal died on the
eighth day. Another, who was inoculated with morbid saliva, mixed with a
strong solution of arsenic, wholly escaped; while a cat, inoculated with the
same saliva, diluted with a tincture of cantharides, became rabid nine days
after A rabbit was inoculated with a mixture of rabid saliva and volatile
alkali ; it died on the eleventh day. Another, inoculated with virus and human
saliva, escaped disease. A dog, inoculated with the same morbfo saliva,
mixed with a diluted solution of phosphorus, although he became sick on the
tilth day, nevertheless escaped infection. A cock, inoculated w-.th the same
saliva, mixed with some of the gastric juice of a cat, died on the fourteenth

^12 The work of Dr. Hamilton is, as might be expected, elaborate, but theo-
retical. Dr. Bardsley has united what he supposes proofs with his theory ; but
as along experience, among those best fitted to judge of tlie subject, has never
confirmed them, it may be supposed that they owed their origin to other
sources The principal fact on which he grounds his opinion relative to the
capability of receiving rabies by means of infected vapour, was gained from
Mr Trevalyan's experiments. This gentleman, after losing almost a pack of
hound8 by madness, was led to suspect that contagion might lurk u the sur-
rounding materials of his kennel. The litter was carefullj destroyed, .he

OR CANINE MADNESS.

207

Can the poison make its way into the constitution through the
medium of an epithelium, or mucous surface, as that of the nostrils,
lips, or eyelids13? involves an opinion of greater probability,
and certainly of equal importance, and is a question on which nega-

benches were scalded, the joints, crevices, &c. were painted, and the walls
white-washed; the pavement was also scalded: nevertheless the rabies again
appeared. Mr. Trevalyan was now more than ever convinced that some subtle
contagion lodged concealed within the apertures of the benches or pavement ;
the whole was therefore removed, and the edifice was again white-washed and
painted, after which no rabies appeared. Puzzling as this appears to one who
argues that no contagion can lurk thus unseen, and be generated by inhalation,
it may yet be satisfactorily accounted for by another statement, equally true,
that fell under my own immediate cognizance. I was requested, in 1821, by
Mr. Yates, of Tring Park, to examine two servants, a huntsman and whipper-
in, who had been bitten by a hound evidently rabid. I cauterized the wounds
many days after the accident, and neither of them felt any future inconvenience
from the wounds. Three or four of the hounds had already become rabid in
succession, and it was proposed to destroy the remainder ; to which I objected,
and recommended that a minute examination should be made of them individually
every day. Every now and then, however, for months afterwards, an individual
was attacked with madness, and, at length, the whole were destroyed, and Mr. Y.
procured anew pack, which have never become afFected, although living in the
same kennel, without any precautions having been made use of to prevent la-
tent contagion; which I made it a particular point of ascertaining, having
many subsequent opportunities of personal inquiry.

13 The following authorities lend themselves to the opinion, that a sound mu-
cous surface can receive the contagion : — Palmerius, de Morbis Contag. ; Por-
tal, Obs. stir la Rage, p. 131 ; Matthieu in Mint de la Soc. Rot/ale de Mid.
p. 310, &c. A father, when dying of hydrophobia, is said to have imparted a
fatal kiss to his infant. On the authority of Dr. Perceval, Dr. Bardsley tells
us of a man who, during his sleep on the ground, was licked about the mouth
(but not bitten) by an infected dog. He was seized with hydrophobia and died
of the disease: but this case, it should be remembered, was always considered
questionable. We are also told of a- man, who was not known to have been
bitten, becoming hydrophobous ; but it was afterwards recollected that he had
made use of his teeth to untie a knot with which a rabid dog had been hung.
On the other hand, it is known that the salivary spume has reached both the
eyes and mouth of persons when in attendance on hydrophobous patients. If
this were an ordinary source of inoculation, we must naturally meet with the
consequences; instead of which, no such case is on record. Neither would the
practice of sucking out the rabid virus have been so common among the an-
cients, as to have become a profession principally confined to certain families,
as already noticed. It is also very probable, that, if the disease really have
been taken through the means of a mucous surface, it was an abraded one:
how often are the lips chapped, and how common is it to have little excoria-
tions in the mouth, or on the nose, eyelids, &c. ?

~08 RABIES CANINA,

tive and affirmative alleged facts can be ranged in almost equal
numbers ; it, therefore, will require further time, and still closer
observation, to set the matter at rest. Every poison is governed
by its own laws; were it otherwise, we might analogically con-
clude a mucous surface to be open to receive the virus, for such
surfaces receive the syphilitic poison. With still less probability,
and without any authentic facts to support their theory, some
suppose that the surface of the skin throughout is capable of be-
ing penetrated with the poison, by the simple application of it to
the unabraded surface14. A very few only have been led into an
opinion that it was possible for the rabid virus to enter the circu-
lation through the medium of matters taken into the stomach.

The activity of the rabid virus; does it remain after death,
and how long? is a question not yet solved. Mr. Youatt thinks
it ceases with the life of the animal ; and it may do so. Nothing,
however, but a series of experiments can determine this ; and,
until then, I should be most unwilling to try it on myself.

Having thus traced the rabid poison from its rise and origin to
its insertion into the animal body, let us now proceed to inquire,
what are the chances that it will prove baneful; what time
usually intervenes between its insertion and active operations;
and, when so acting, what are the symptoms it produces, and
what its supposed modus operandi ?

Of the numbers bitten by a rabid animal, many escape without
infection. — A variety of circumstances may tend to this favour-
able issue, among which may be reckoned the intervention of
substances between the teeth of the biter and the flesh of the

14 A fact sufficient to negative the power of the general cuticle to absorb the
rabid virus, is my own safety. When the disease was very prevalent, my
hands must have been, almost every day, in contact with it. I was become, by
habit, entirely fearless of dogs generally, and equally so of those that were
rabid. I examined them unhesitatingly ; assisted my servants to force their
medicines while living; and examined them without precaution when dead: and
I may safely assert, therefore, that I have had rabid saliva over my hands
more than a hundred times. Mr. Youatt's prosecution of the matter, and his
present health, are equally confirmatory instances of its inadmissibility through
an unabraded cuticle.

OR CANINE MADNESS.

209

bitten ; as the wool of sheep, the thick hair of some dogs, and
the clothes of human persons.

The inherent aptitude in different classes of animal bodies to re-
ceive it is, also, not the same. — As might be expected, it is greatest
in the caninae, particularly in the dog and wolf; yet it is proba-
ble that not one-half of either of these germinate the virus
received. The proportions among other quadrupeds we are
more in the dark about. Mr. Youatt thinks that the majority of
inoculated horses perish, but among cattle he is of opinion the
proportion is less. I should, however, myself think, that both
enjoy a much greater immunity than dogs ; otherwise we should
meet with more rabid cases among them in agricultural districts
than we do15. Human subjects., both constitutionally and for-
tuitously, are least obnoxious to it16. Neither is there room to

15 Are we not, also, warranted in concluding this aptitude in the cat to be
small, from the fact that rabid dogs seek these unfortunates with an instinctive
aversion, and great numbers must by these means become bitten? yet a rabid
cat is, comparatively, a rare occurrence : but it is to be observed, that when ra-
bies does make its appearance in the cat, it shews itself with much of its phre-
netic and mischievous characters.

16 In the human subject, there is reason to suppose that the interposed dress
wipes the saliva from the teeth, and saves many who would be otherwise
fatally inoculated : but the inferior predisposition in man to receive the con-
tagion, exonerates still more. Out of twenty persons, bitten by one dog, Mr.
Hunter informs us (althongh no prophylacticks were employed), one only be-
came hydrophobous. Dr. Vaughan relates, that between twenty and thirty
persons were bitten by another dog, out of which number, also, one only was
infected. If it were, however, possible to credit the accounts of the ravages
of wolves, we might be led to believe that a superior degree of certainty at-
tended the contagion, even to. the human subject, when received from them.
Mons. Trolliet relates, that of twenty-three persons bitten by a wolf, thirteen
were infected with the disease. In the M&m. de la Soc. Roy. de MM. p. 122,
mention is made of two human persons, with many horses and cows, being bitten
by a rabid wolf, in September 1772, and that every one of these became af-
fected. Baudot, also, gives an account of no less than forty oxen, cows, horses,
dogs, &c, bitten by a mad wolf, in the month of June 1765, the majority of
which died. I might multiply these instances, handed down to us by the indus-
try of collators; hut the authorities arc, in general, so dubious, that they should
be received with caution. It, however, may be admitted, that as the wolf
usually attacks the face, which is not only uncovered, but, it is probable, is
more certainly and more quickly acted on than other parts of the body, so,
in this way, greater danger may arise from the rabid wolf than the rabid dog.

210

RABIES CAN1NA,

doubt that the animal frame, generally, is sometimes less apt than
at others to receive the contagion, dependent probably on a con-
stitutional idiosyncrasy generated within, or gathered from, the
operation of external circumstances, as peculiarity of situation,
variations in temperature, qualities in aliment, &c. &c. Not only
do facts coincide with this opinion, but it is impossible otherwise
to account for the epidemial as well as endemial character which
the rabid malady sometimes assumes1?.

The intervening time between the inoculation by the rabid bite
and the appearance of the consequent disease, is very variable in
all the subjects of it : in the majority of instances, the effects ap-
pear in the dog between the third and seventh week. Cases, how-
ever, do now and then occur, where they have been protracted to
three, four, or even a greater number of months. Although,
therefore, caution should not be lost sight of, even after eight
weeks have elapsed, yet the danger may be considered as incon-
siderable after that time. A week is the shortest period I have
met with between the bite and rabid appearances. Mr. Youatt
never saw a case with less than seventeen intervening days. In
the horse, as far as my own experience goes, the average time is
the same with the dog : Mr. Youatt, however, hints at one after
four months. In cattle, the probatory period seems much the
same as in horses and dogs. In the human it may appear in a
month, or be protracted to three or four ; and Mr. Henry Earle
authenticates a case within Ins own knowledge, in which the hy-
drophobic symptoms were delayed until a twelvemonth after
the bite. Of the extraordinary instances we read of, which have

17 I have before hinted, that accidental circumstances maj hasten the attack,
particularly as would appear by excitements of the vascular system. Thus it
follows extraordinary exercise ; and the oestrum or heat of bitches will rouse
the dormant poison into action. The certainly of the attack is also, I believe,
greatly increased, as well as hastened, according to the part bitten. I have
very seldom known any animal escape which was bitten in the head or face ;
and I have, in almost every instance, observe. I less time to intervene in these
cases than in such as were bitten elsewhere; and the same has been noticed
by others also.

OR CANINE MADNESS.

211

been protracted to five, twelve, and even nineteen years, I do not
believe one.

Symptoms of Rabies.

I shall now proceed to describe the pathognomonic and occa-
sional indications of the rabid malady, premising that the varie-
ties in both, but particularly in the latter, are so numerous, that
hardly any two cases present themselves under a directly similar
aspect18. It is however certain, that, by the aid of the pathogno-
monic symptoms, the disease may be commonly detected without
fear of mistake. The extent of the former, and the necessity for
a distinct notice of all the varieties of the latter, render a perspi-
cuous account of the malady extremely difficult, and necessarily
extend it beyond the limits of a summary.

Rabies sometimes commences with dulness, at others with a
more than usual watchfulness, and restlessness : it is often ushered
in by some peculiarity of manner, some departure from the ordi-
nary habits of the animal, or by the introduction of new ones. In
many instances, but more particularly in the smaller and closely
domesticated kinds of dogs, this peculiarity consists in a disposi-

18 I have great reason to think that much of the discrepancy we meet with in
the various accounts that appear relative to rabies, arises from the confined
field of observation from whence they are drawn. One enters on a detail of it
as it has appeared in one or two individual cases that accidentally fell under his
notice; another describes it as it is found to exist among hounds, pointers, or
other large dogs only; and a third draws a portrait of it as it shewed itself
among the smaller and confined breeds kept about the person ; and yet each (not
considering that original character and habit stamp a still further variety on a
disease already sufficiently variable) expects all future cases exactly to coin-
cide with his own statement, or that they should fully bear him out in his own
news of the subject, In the larger breeds of dogs, and particularly in ken-
nelled ones, as hounds, &c., where close domestication has not wholly reclaimed
their native ferocity, rabies may, and indeed does, shew itself with much of that
wildnessand mischieTOus character that has gained it the name of madness.
The rabies of the wolf and fox, although close congeners of the dog, and that
likewise of the half-reclaimed cat, isralways stamped with a ferocity and malig-
nance of character that is foreign to what usually occurs in the smaller and more
domesticated breeds; in which cultivation has wrought such an entire change of
their nature, that even their symptomatic appearances under disease arc, in a
great degree, altered by it.

O

\

212

RABIES CANINA,

tion to pick up straws, thread, paper, or other small objects1^
In others, the first symptom noticed, is an eager and unceasing
attempt to lick the anus or parts of generation of another dog20.
The lapping of their own urine is a common and early symptom
of madness, and one that should be particularly inquired for ; as,
when found to exist, I know of none that should be regarded as
more strongly characteristic of rabies, and of no other complaint.
Some shew an early disposition to lick every thing cold about
them, as iron, stone, &c. These, and other peculiarities, often
appear in lap-dogs, and others that are under immediate obser-
vation, one, two, or even three days before the more decisive and
active symptoms. The eyes, even in this early stage, if observed
attentively, will often be found rather more bright, lively, and red
than usual ; and are then accompanied with a certain quickness
and irritability of manner21. In other cases, the eyes are less
vivid ; and, more particularly, when the disease is to assume the
mild form, called dumb madness, they often present a dull aspect,
and a purulent discharge from the inner angles ; occasionally the
nose also throws out pus. The salivary discharge is often in-
creased early in the complaint, and so coutinues : in other cases,
a parched dry tongue is seen, with insatiable thirst. The puru-
lent discharge has occasioned the disease to be mistaken for dis-
temper. Much stress is laid on a sullen manner, and a disposi-

>» I have repeatedly seen dogs, which, before they became at all suspected of
madness, had for a day or two industriously employed themselves in this way, so
that not the smallest loose object of any kind remained on the floor, to the no
small surprise of the owners.

a° In one instance, I foretold the approach of the disease by the uncommon
attachment of a pug puppy to a kitten, which he was continually licking; as he also
did the cold nose of another pug that was with him: and Deane, Earl Fitzwil-
liam's huntsman, observes, that among his hounds, he regards the smelling and
licking of the penis and fundament of another as a most suspicious symptom. It
is a curious circumstance, that sexual excitement is frequently an early symptom
in all the subjects of rabies. It has been seen in the human; and rabid sheep
are usually observed to first shew the disease by riding their fellows.

21 Mr. Youatt expresses this alteration in the eyes as being of a peculiarly
bright and dazzling kind, accompanied by a slight strabismus; not the protru-
sion of the membrana nictitans, as in distemper, but an actual distortion from
the natural axis of the eye.

OR CANINE MADNESS. 213

t ion to hide or retreat from observation, as early characteristics
of madness ; and these appearances are certainly not unusual in
hounds and kennelled dogs, but they are less frequently observed
in the petted kinds : this, however, will greatly depend on the gene-
ral character of the dog at all times. Costiveness is not uncommon
in the incipient stage ; in the latter it is still more frequent. An
early sickness and vomiting often appear, but although ineffectual
retchings may continue, actual vomition does not often accompany
the complaint through its progress ; the peculiarity of the inflam-
mation in the stomach rather tends to retain the ingesta within it.
Indeed, this circumstance forms one of the strongest criteria of
the existence of the disease, as will be hereafter noticed.

A continual licking, or violent scratching of some particular
part of the body, is by no means an uncommon symptom ; and a
close examination of the part will frequently detect a scar, or the
remains of the wound by which the poison was received ; and
when the former wound cannot be ascertained in this way, if a true
history of the case can be gained, it will always be found that the
inoculation was received on the part so scratched or licked ; for
I have reason to believe that this morbid sympathy in the bitten
part exists more or less in every case1. The appetite is by no
means always affected in either early or continued rabies ; on the
contrary, food is not only eaten, but digested also, during the
first stages ; and some will eat almost to the last, but with them
the food is seldom digested. That no disinclination to liquids
exists, will be readily acknowledged by all who observe the dis-
ease with only common attention : from the first to the last, no
aversion to water is ever observed. In the early stages, liquids
are taken as usual, and some continue to take them so throughout

1 I have seen a dog which had been known to have been bitten in the foot,
some weeks afterwards begin to lick the part, at first gently, then violently, in-
cessantly whining over it, as though distressed with the sensation produced,
until, at last, he has proceeded actually to gnaw it. I have witnessed the same
on other parts, as the lips and ears, which have been rubbed or scratched with
anxious perseverance from the beginning to nearly the end of the complaint,
when the rabid bites have been received there.

o 2

214

R A HIES CANINA,

the complaint ; others cannot, from a swelling and paralysis of
the parts of deglutition, readily swallow them in the advanced
stages ; but, in such, no spasm is occasioned by the attempt, nor
does it cause pain or dread: on the contrary, from the thirst
brought on by the symptomatic fever present, water is sought for,
and, in most cases, an extreme eagerness is expressed for it2.

2 It is imperative on me to press this point particularly, as will be seen be-
low. Mr. Youatt also expressly says in Ms pamphlet, p. 3, "There is no dread
of water; no spasm attending the effort to swallow; but a most extraordinary
and unquenchable thirst." Mr. Meynell remarks, that mad dogs have no abhor-
rence or dread of water; and that they will eagerly lap it even the day before
their death. He also notices the paralysis that often renders their attempts to
drink abortive. John Hunter, who was not accustomed to state facts without
examination, says, that " mad dogs can swallow solids and liquids through the
whole disease." Trans, of a Society for the Improvement of Medical Know-
ledge, p. 296. Dr. Hamilton also has, " A rabid dog never avoids water, and
laps whatever liquid food is set before him, long after the poison can be com-
municated by his bite." — Remarks on Hydrophobia, vol. i, p. 12-16. " Cette
chienne, avoit bu et mange1 apres avoir inordu." — Journal de Midecine, vol.
xxxix. " Le loup mangeoit tranquillement une chevre, et celui de Frejus
traversa plusieurs fois de grandes rivieres a la nage." — Voy. d'Arluc, Recueil
Periodique, vol. iv. " II est done dangereux de concleur de ce qu'un animal
bait et mange et traverse une rivUre, qu'il n'est point atteint de la rage." —
TroUiet, Nov. Trait, de la Rage, p. 276.

It is incalculable the mischief that this sad but too common prejudice has pro-
duced ; it has rendered thousands of persons miserable for months and years even,
while others it has lulled into a fatal security. Should a dog, from an affection
of any kind soever, be prevented from swallowing, he is immediately pronounced
mad, and is unreluctantly destroyed; while dread probably remains in the
mind of every one who has even been within his reach. An unfortunate person,
who may have been bitten by this same dog, for months or even years before,
is not exempt from the panic ; for, among other popular errors that are current,
is, that if a dog becomes mad, any person, who may have been former!; bitten
by the animal, is equally in danger, as though it had happened when the animal
was really affected. On the other hand, if a sick dog can drink, he is pro-
nounced free from all danger of madness; and so universal has this opinion
been, that Dr. H., an eminent physician now in very extensive practice in the
western part of London, on being consulted by a person actually bitten by a
rabid dog, immediately inquired whether the dog by which he had been wounded
could drink ; and, on being informed that he could drink, he peremptorily pro-
nounced that the dog could not be mad ; and proceeded to recommend that no
precautions whatever should be made use of. This gentleman was guilty of a
piece of professional presumption and ignorance unworthy of his rank and situa-
tion; and his advice, had it been followed, might have caused the death of three
persons. Fortunately for them, his opinion was not attended to, and I disserted

OR CANINE MADNESS.

215

The experience of more than twenty years, many of which were
passed in the midst of its most frightful visitations, I again re-
peat did not produce one instance where any thing like a dread
of water was manifested, or any where spasm followed the at-
tempts to take it.

I have already hinted at an early and marked alteration of the
temper of the animal, as common; something of it may be seen
in almost all cases. I say almost, because occasionally, and par-
ticularly in the dumb variety of the disease, it is altogether want-
ing ; and which phenomena is most common in the lap-dog breeds,
and particularly in pugs. The degree of irritability varies much,
according to the variety of the disease, it being greatest in acute
rabies : it is likewise much influenced by the general character
and kind of the dog — one naturally ferocious is therefore ren-
dered more so by it ; and as might be expected, the fighting
breeds usually have it strongly marked, particularly all sporting
terriers. In hounds, setters, pointers, &c, the degree of mis-
chievous excitement is regulated greatly by the general temper of
the dog, and whether it be the dumb or raging kind of the disease.
As a general principle, it appears with little ferocity in all dogs in
a state of close domestication, and more particularly so towards
those to whom the dog has been accustomed to yield obedience.
This, however, like all the other symptoms, is liable to variations ;
but, generally, these remarks will be found to apply. The change
of temper in its early stages consists rather of a pettish irritability

the wounded parts out of each of them. In five weeks, an unfortunate spaniel,
who had been bitten by this same dog, became rabid; and in six weeks ahorse,
bitten by him, became so likewise. Dr. Oilman relates a case of hydrophobia
where a fatal insecurity had been indulged in, from the circumstance that the
dog both ate and drank during his complaint, Mr. Youatt had a dog brought
to him which was unquestionably rabid. The owner, a poor woman, had her
hands excoriated by a breaking out, and these hands the dog had repeatedly
licked during his illness. On Mr. Youatt's intimation that it was necessary she
should use some precaution, she applied to a medical gentleman, who assured
her, that if the dog attempted to drink he was not mad, and no precautions were
necessary. This opinion was likewise confirmed by another person who pre-
tends to some veterinary knowledge: fortunately for her, Mr. Youatt unde-
ceived her, and, I believe, applied the preventive.

216

RABIES CANINA,

than one of settled mischievous intention ; but, with few exceptions,
a marked impatience of restraint is manifested. The first offen-
sive symptoms are often directed towards cats, while dogs remain
unmolested : next, however, dogs, particularly strange ones, are
attacked, but those they are habituated to are still safe; and
as the complaint gains ground, even these are not spared. — We
will now further pursue the disease under its two leading
varieties, which distinctions are founded principally on the cir-
cumstance, of whether it spends its violence on the respiratory
or on the digestive systems of organs: previously, however,
observing, that this distinction is rather made in obedience to
popular and long received opinion, which has recognized canine
madness as of two kinds, one raging, and the other dumb, than
to any specific difference between them : on the contrary, when
the attack is equally diffused throughout the system, the symptoms
of these two states are so blended, as to afford little room for noso-
logical distinction ; and the less, as each variety begets either
the one or the other indiscriminately. Nevertheless, as the attack
on the organs is rather partial than general, in the majority of
cases, so it may not be inconvenient to follow the popular dis-
tinctions.

Acute or Raging Rabies.

Acute Rabies, or Raging Madness3, as it is called, is that
state of increased excitement and irritability which begins to shew
itself immediately after, and occasionally only with the early
symptoms. Sometimes these precursors are passed over un-
noticed, and it is therefore supposed that the animal is at once
attacked with the appearances that follow. It is, however, very
seldom that such is really the case, by which the danger from

It is a curious fact, but it is no less true than curious, that the rabies of
very young dogs, as I have seen it, has always been of this kind. I never saw
arabrd puppy that did not exhibit marks of considerable delirium and much mis-
chievous tendency towards every living being, indiscriminately. That affection of
lire throat, and tu Faction of the parts of deglutition, producing dumb mad-
ness, I never met with in any but an adult dog.

OR CANINE MADNESS.

217

madness is much lessened. The acute or raging kind is distin-
guished by a general quickness of manner, sudden startings, great
watchfulness, and a disposition to be acted on by sudden im-
pressions, as noises, the appearance of a stranger, &c. This
watchfulness, however, often yields to a momentary stupor, and
inclination to doze, from which the dog will start up, and fix his
eyes stedfastly on some object, probably on one not usually
noticed, and often on one altogether imaginary ; at which he will
attempt to fly. In this stage the breathing is often hurried ;
sometimes the panting is excessive, and, where the pulse can be
examined, it is invariably found rapid and sometimes hard. The
irritabibty in these cases is marked by extreme impatience of
controul ; and even when no aptitude to attack or act offensively
towards those around may appear, yet a great disposition to
resist any slight offence offered, commonly shews itself. A stick
held to such a dog is sure to excite his anger, even from those he
is most attached to, and he will seize and shake it with violence :
the same will occur if either the hand or foot be held out, but,
unless in a very great state of excitement, these he will rather
mumble than tear, if belonging to those he is acquainted with.
This disposition to become irritated on the slightest shew of
offence, as flying at a stick, is a very marked feature of rabies,
and should be very particularly attended to, and the more, as it
usually is present in both varieties of the malady ; unless when
paralysis has blunted the capability of excitement. A peculiar
suspicion marks these particular cases, and a degree of treachery
also, by which, in the midst of caresses apparently received with
pleasure, the dog will at once turn and snap at those noticing
him : he will, perhaps, readily come when he is called, and with
every mark of tractability will wag his tail and seem pleased, but
on a sudden he will seem to receive a counter impression, and
hastily bite the person who called him. This stage is often
marked, in large and naturally fierce dogs, with an utter fearless-
ness of danger, and contempt of every menace : every restraint
is most unwillingly submitted to ; the miserable brute shakes his

218 RABIES CANINA,

chain with extreme violence, and, when confined without one, lie
will attempt hy every means to escape, and will force or gnaw
his way out of his confinement, in a most surprising manner.
The vessels that are placed before him he overturns or breaks with
mischievous alertness.

A disposition to rove accompanies each variety of rabies ; but
as, in the dumb kinds, the paralysis, stupor, and prostration of
strength, are hindrances to it, so it is more particularly apparent
in the acute kind. This inclination does not usually shew itselt
by an attempt to escape altogether, neither does it appear a de-
lirious affection ; on the contrary, much method is displayed in it,
which makes it rather seem an instinctive disposition common to
all, to propagate the disease. In its early stages, before the
strength is much impaired, dogs will travel immense distauces
under this impulse: such a one trots along, and industriously
looks out for every other dog within his reach or sight. When-
ever he discovers one, little or large, he first smells to him, in the
usual way of dogs, and then immediately falls on him, generally
giving him one shake only ; after which, he commonly sets ofi'
again in search of another object. The quickness with which
this attack is made very frequently surprises the bitten dog so
much, as to prevent his immediately resenting it: but nothiug is
more erroneous than the supposition, that a healthy dog in-
stinctively knows a rabid or mad one. I have watched these
attacks in numerous cases, and 1 have seen the mad dog tumbled
over and over, without the least hesitation, by others that he had
himself fallen on.

During this march of mischief, rabid dogs but seldom, how-
ever, turn out of the way to bite human passengers : neither do
they so often attack horses, or other animals, as their own species.
Sometimes they will not go out of their line of travel to attack
these even ; but, trotting leisurely along, will bite only those which
fall immediately in their way. In other cases, however, where
the natural habit is irritable and ferocious, and where dogs may
have been used to worry other animals, as guard-dogs, fanners'

OH CANINE MADNESS.

219

dogs, terriers, &c, a disposition to general attack is sometimes
apparent; and by such, horses, cows, sheep, pigs, and even
human persons, are all indiscriminately bitten. When such a
dog has roved about for an indeterminate period, as ten or even
twenty hours, he will return home quietly, if not discovered and
destroyed in his progress1.

The affection of the larynx produces an invariable alteration
in the voice, and a very marked one it usually is. A few are
altogether mute, from engorgement of the parts. The sounds
emitted of themselves form a strong characteristic of the com-
plaint. In the irritable variety, the alteration is first observed
by a more quick and hasty method of barking, with some dif-
ference also in the usual tones of the bark ; by degrees, an occa-
sional howl either follows the bark, or takes place of it alto-
gether5. This howl, which is common to both varieties of the
complaint, in the dumb kind has a choaking hoarseness with it:
the whole however is of so peculiar a hind, that it may be said
never to be heard under any other circumstance than from a
rabid dog6.

4 In cities and large towns this return after a march of mischief is sufficiently
common; but in the country it is different, and, therefore, this peculiarity has
not an opportunity to shew itself; for there the unfortunate animal is sooir
detected by his maimer, and is infmediately hunted. If not overtaken, he is
too much alarmed to return soon ; and, before he has time to recover his
fright, he is discovered in some other situation, and falls a sacritice to the
anger of his pursuers. The very hunting will, of course, do to him what it
would to any other dog ; it will beget fury : otherwise there would very seldom
be much ferocity apparent, and, in most instances, such a dog would return
home when thoroughly tired.

5 It is evident, that it is not easy to form a written description of any pecu-
liarity of voice, but the rabid howl may not unaptly be resembled to the tones
produced by what is called, among sportsmen, the giving longve of the old
heavy southern barrier. It appears composed of something between a bark
and a bowl, being made up of loin s longer than the one and shorter than the
oilier, and always with the head thrown up; and is usually single and repeated
at uncertain intervals only, and is altogether so peculiar, that, when once
heard, it can never be forgotten ; and so characteristic, that it may be, I may
Bay, implicitly relied on. I have, in several instances, been attracted to bouses
Where dogs have been confined by the sound alone, in time to warn the inha-
bitants of their danger.

6 Boerhaavc seems to have this howl in view, when he says, " Jiutti quoad
latraluin, munnurautcs tanicn."

220

RABIES CANINA,

The Taciturn Rabies.

Dumb madness forms the other and most frequent variety in
adult dogs, and which cases appear dependent on a less degree
of active sensorial excitement, but with greater morbid affection
of the bowels. Tlie symptoms which succeed to the premonitory
ones, are often rapid ; and superadded to the dull, heavy, and
distressed countenance, costiveness, &c, there appears a stiffness
about the jaws, and a hollow sound is emitted in breathing
which is rather performed by the mouth than the nose, that
being plugged up with pus, or the arch of communication being
straightened by tumefaction. As the whole of the pharynx and
larynx becomes tumefied to the full extent, the muscles at the base
of the tongue, and those of the lower jaw, are l'endered inert;
the mouth remains open, and the tongue hangs pendulous with-
out it ; and sometimes an actual inability to wholly close the jaws
takes place altogether. A congestion of blood is the necessary
consequence of the distention of the parts, and the tongue from
this cause usually appears, in these cases, livid or almost black,
particularly towards its apex or point: frequently a black
line extends through its whole length. This state of the parts
occasions often a difficulty, sometimes a total inability even, to
swallow either liquids or solids. In general, however, the ina-
bility is principally confined to liquids, which are, in such in-
stances, returned as fast as they are lapped, from the incapacity
of the tongue to carry it into the pharynx ; but in no instance,
as already insisted on, do the attempts to swallow appear to
excite apprehension or give pain. The mouth itself is mostly
parched and dry ; occasionally it is moist, with saliva continually
flowing from it?. It is the tumefaction of the pharynx that
produces the deep choaking noise already noticed, and which
seems to issue from the bottom of the glottis : all the ordinary

1 Inmost cases an increased salivary flow arises at some period ot the com-
plaint, which is not frequently lasting, but is succeeded by a viscid br, ochia] se-
cretion, that appears to irritate the dog beyond endurance ; and to remove which,
he often employs himself with the utmost violence, by forcing his paws against
his mouth, as dogs do when a bone is lodged between the teeth.

Oil CANINE MADNESS.

221

symptoms spring from this specific laryngitis and bronchitis, by
which these parts are tumefied even to paralysis, yet are totally
without any of the human spasmodic rigors. It is however far
otherwise with the external muscular tissues: the cutaneous
muscles become often first affected, twitchings pass over the
face, and afterwards the spasmodic and paralytic affection often
extends also to all the organs of locomotion : in others, however,
it is principally confined to the loins and hinder extremities.
When the morbid affection acts very strongly on the bowels, it
often occasions the hinder parts to be drawn forward by a
species of tetanic spasm toward the fore parts, so as to bend the
poor sufferer into a circle ; sometimes it fixes the animal on his
rump, almost upright.

A symptom common to this variety, and not uncommon in the
other also, is a disposition to carry straw, litter, or other matters,
about in the mouth, which the dog seems to make a bed of,
frequently altering it, pulling it to pieces and again remaking it.
It is also very common to observe dogs scratch their litter under
them with their fore feet, not as when making their beds, but
evidently to press the straw or litter to the belly. This pecu-
liarity appears to arise from some particular sympathy with the
intestines, which, in these cases, are always after death observed
to be very highly inflamed. There is also present a disposition
to pick up and to swallow, when not prevented by the affection
of the throat, indigestible and unnatural substances, selected
from whatever is around them, and which the costiveness usually
present tends to retain within the body. It appears to be this
impulse, likewise, that leads rabid dogs to gnaw boards, or what-
ever is within their reach ; and this aptitude may be considered
as common to every variety of the complaint, except, as already
observed, where the tumefaction and paralysis of the throat are
so extreme as altogether to prevent it.

The irritability attendant on dumb madness is even subject to
more variation than in that called the raging. It is sometimes
considerable, and exhibits all the treacherous and mischievous

*«s* RABIES CAN IN A,

disposition that marks the other ; but when the dumb character
is strongly marked, there is then seldom either much irritability or
delirium apparent ; on the contrary, in many instances, a most
peaceable disposition is manifest, and which does not appear
dependent on the inability to bite, but really from a total want
of inclination to it. Indeed, in many cases of this kind, the
tractability of character and mildness of disposition have ap-
peared to be even increased by the disease, and that to a degree
that will not permit strangers to suppose it possible for rabies
to be present. It would sensibly affect any one, to witness the
earnest imploring look I have often seen from the unhappy
sufferers under this dreadful malady. The strongest attachment
has been manifested to those around during their utmost suffer-
ings ; and the parched tongue, as 1 have before noticed, has been
carried over the hands and feet of those who noticed them,
with more than usual fondness. This disposition has conti-
nued to the last moment of life, in many cases, without one
manifestation of any inclination to bite, or to do the smallest
harm. I have observed this particularly in pugs, and it has not
been uncommon also in other lap-dogs.

The progress of the disease in its latter stages is mai-ked by
increased paralysis, and it often happens, as it extends over the
body, that of the jaws lessens : the wretched animal now reels
about with little consciousness; tumbles and gets up again; now
seats himself folded on his rump, and in this posture life is stolen
away often without a struggle. The fatal termination ranges
between the third and seventh days ; few die sooner than the
third day, and very few survive longer than the seventh : the
average number die on the fourth and fifth. In man, it has
destroyed at the end of twenty-four hours ; few have lasted be-
yond the third day: by repeated bleedings, however, a case
which is related in The Lancet of July 12th, was protracted to
the fourteenth day. Horses do not survive beyond the third or
fourth ; the ox and sheep, Mr. Youatt says, from five to seven
days; but a rabid sheep, the property of Mr. Adam, of Mount

OR CANINE MADNESS.

223

Nod, Streatham, died on the third ; and I have a recollection of
one or two others which did not survive longer.

What other canine diseases may by possibility be confounded
with rabies?- The importance of the subject makes such an
inquiry necessary ; but it must be prosecuted in a note below8 ;

8 Thousands of innocent dogs have been sacrificed to mistaking this disease
for some other; and thousands of persons have been rendered miserable in
their minds by needless fears from the same errors. I know not the numbers
of epileptic dogs which have been killed under a supposition of their being
rabid; and on the other hand, not unfrequently dogs really rabid have been
fondled, and had remedies administered to them, at great personal risk, from
a supposition that they laboured under some other complaint. Epileptic
Jits, whether occasional or the consequence of distemper, are often mistaken
for rabies: but it should be remembered, that there is no rabid symptom
whatever that at all resembles a fit, whether in the irritable or in the dumb
variety. All epileptic fit is sudden; it completely bewilders the dog, and after
a determinate period leaves him perfectly sensible, and not at all irritable,
but exactly as he was before: in rabies there is no fit, no loss of recollection,
no tumbling about wildly in convulsion ; neither is there any marked break in
the natural irritability attendant on rabies. If a dog in an epileptic fit should
be so convulsed as to attempt to bite, it is evidently done without design; his
attack is spasmodic, and pain may make him seize any thing, and it is quite as
likely to be himself as anything beside. The irritability and . mischievous
attempts of the rabid dog have always method with them, and they evidently
result from a mental purpose to do evil. The mad dog has usually a disposi-
tion to rove, the distempered one never. A puppy in distemper, particularly if
he have worms, may pick up stones, or eat coals, or he may in a trifling
degree take unusual matters as food; yet no dog but, a rabid one will take in
hay, or wood, or rag, or will distend his stomach almost to bursting. The
discharge from the nose and eyes which sometimes occurs in rabies, I have
often see n mistaken for distemper, and that even by veterinary surgeons: it is,
indeed, the most deceitful of all the appearances which occur, particularly
where it continues for some time, as is occasionally the case. Usually, however,
it is the permanent attendant on distemper, and a temporary one only of rabies:
while the previous emaciation, cough, and gradual increase of the flow, from
thin and watery to muco-purulent, and then to pus, are distinguishing symptoms of
distemper. A tetanic attack has been mistaken for rabies; but the extreme
rarity of this disease renders such error not of very likely occurrence, and the
medical attendant will never be deceived : rigid convulsions may contort the
frame, and close the mouth ; but there is no other likeness to rabies present,
and the dog is as incapable as he is disinclined to do mischief in any way: the
death of the tetanic dog will also, by internal inspection of the body, at once
distinguish between these diseases, as in tetanus there are few marks of visceral
disturbance. Spasmodic colic will contort the dog, and may sometimes make

hnn irritable and disposed to bite, if he be disturbed: but he will never atte t

it purposely: on the contrary, he will rather avoid all intercourse with living

224 RABIES CANINA,

it being desirable that the thread of the detail should be unin-
terrupted and uniform in the text.

Post-mortem Appearances.

The morbid anatomy of the rabid dog forms a most important
feature in a portrait of the malady, but is one that was long
neglected. It by no means unfrequently happens, that it is not
until after a dog is dead that he is suspected of having been
rabid, although he may have bitten one or more persons. Under
such circumstances, it is evident that it is of the utmost con-
sequence to be able to decide, from an inspection of the dead
body alone, whether the disease did or did not exist. Fortu-
nately the morbid appearances peculiar to these cases are usually
so marked, and so prevalent, that a just decision is seldom dif-
ficult to form, even from them alone.

On a careful examination of the head, the brain and its mem-
branes will be usually found to have suffered more or less from
the attack. Sometimes the general vascularity is only slightly
increased, but, in most, the vessels of the pia mater will be found
distended with blood, and usually in the degree of excitement
exhibited, but in no instance have I observed the membranes
thickened, as in idiopathic phrenitis. The inflammatory appear-
ances within the cerebral cavity are usually less considerable in
those cases called dumb madness. As might be expected, the
spinal brain, or spinal marrow, as it is called, usually partici-

beings. Colic also, particularly that occasioned by taking lead internally, pro-
duces excruciating pains not present in rabies, which pains also remit and return
atuncertain intervals: again, although plaintive moans may be heard in spas-
modic colic, barking or howling is always absent; neither are the jaws para-
lyzed : active purging also relieves this, but is totally inert in the other. Lastly,
the mistakes likely to occur between rabies and other diseases are, in some de-
gree, attributable to erroneous pictures drawn by authors of such diseases: thus,
Dr. Jenner's account of the distemper, instead of deserving the praise his great
name has drawn down upon it, is entirely calculated to mislead: indeed, il
might be supposed by his readers, that he was purposely describing rabies and
not distemper.— See Medico-Chirurg. Trans, vol. i, p. 263. I could produce
many similar instances in other authors.

OR CANINE MADNESS.

225

pates with the cerebral affection : sometimes the morbid marks
are greater here than in the brain itself. The membranes of it
are often highly injected^ the canal likewise is suffused with fluid,
and the nervous column itself presents diseased appearances. —
Journal Vniversel des Sciences Mhdicales, torn. 65, 134e colder.

Much of the general tumefaction which existed during life
about the back of the mouth, disappears on the collapse of death,
but it commonly leaves the base of the tongue and the sublingual
glands enlarged and injected as well. Mr. Youatt has often, he
observes, found the parotid and submaxillary glands gorged also.
As regards the tongue, not only its base generally remains tume-
fied, but its papillae are particularly enlarged, as also the mucous
glands of the under surfaces, which have been the subject of
critical examination of late years ; and which Mr. Youatt, with
much probability, thinks have been mistaken by Marochetti and
others for his famed pustules. It is also important to be aware,
that whether a dog has been wormed, or not wormed, no dif-
ference whatever is found in the appearance of the under surface
of the tongue : if the frenulum is present, that portion is not in
any degree particularly swollen or red ; and if it have been ex-
tracted, the general appearances are exactly the same. This will
be further pursued under the head Worming of Dogs ; but it is of
much consequence, that this invariable similarity in morbid ap-
pearance between the wormed and the unwormed dog, be espe-
cially noted. The colour of the tongue betrays the intensity of
the inflammation which has pervaded it, varying from a dark red
to a deep purple; a yellow central line sometimes presenting,
and occasionally bounding its edges. The fauces and tonsils never

9 " L'encephale oflfrait une injection sensible du reseau vasculaire qui le forme
en partie; l'arachrioicle etait aussi fortement injectcie; Ies hemispheres ctSre-
braux presentaient a leur surface un (Spanchement de sang assez considerable ;
a la coupe, ils laissaient transsuder des gouttelettes de sang. Les membranes do
lacolonne vert6bralc etaient enflammdes dans divers points et notamment vera
Ies vertebra dorsales, oil la moelle, dans un etat d'affaissement appreciable,
(Stait-irritee par suite d'une violente percussion qui avait occasionne aussi un
epanchemcnt recent d'une demi-cuillere> de sang."

226 RABIES CANINA,

escape the inflammatory attack, and the insatiable thirst that is
generally found present may be attributed to the want of the
lubricating mucus usually secreted by it.

The whole extent of the pharyngeal and laryngeal cavities is
mostly beset with discoloured spots ; but a distinct inflammatory
patch about the angle of the larynx, at the back of the epiglottis,
is so invariably present, as to deserve the character of one of the
criteria of the disease. The epiglottis and rima glottis are also
commonly enveloped with an inflammatory tinge, which, now and
then, extends a little way within the trachea, but less frequently is
the oesophagus affected with it. Proceeding onwards, we inva-
riably meet with an extension of the morbid inflammation to the
thoracic and abdominal viscera: but by no means are these cavi-
ties always affected in an equal degree ; on the contrary, in those
instances where there has been a greater tendency to the raging
variety, the thoracic viscera are usually more diseased than the
bowels or stomach. Not only are the lungs themselves, in these
cases, found highly inflamed, but the costal pleura and diaphragm
are affected also. Sometimes one thoracic cavity is found more
hio-hly congested than the other ; and, now and then, the medias-
tinum, pericardium, and even the heart itself, in cases of great
rabid intensity, are found so likewise.

When the abdominal viscera are examined, they almost inva-
riably present marks of a full share of the morbid affection. If
the dog has been destroyed early in the disease, these may not be
very considerable, and an occasional case may occur where the
appearances are not very strong, even when the annual is suffer-
ed to remain until death; but such instances are rare.

In the stomach inflammatory marks are very seldom wanting;
and turning our attention to a rabid one, we are often first struck
with its appearance of distention, and on opening it, the cause is
seen to arise from an accumulation of a considerable, oftentimes
of an immense, mass, of indigestible substances, as hay straw,
wood, coals, or, in fact, of any surrounding substance which has
proved small enough for deglutition. This disposition to take ...

OR CANINE MADNESS.

227

unusual ingesta exists in every variety of the complaint ; and as
sickness and vomiting, though common in its early stages, are
but seldom to be found during the latter periods of it, so the sub-
stances taken in being of an indigestible nature, necessarily re-
main witbin the stomach until death. There is little reason to
doubt that a morbid sympathy in this organ is the occasion of this
peculiarity, and that the presence of these hard bodies gives some
reHef, probably by the distention they occasion. Certain it is,
that the appearance of this indigestible and incongruous matter
within the stomach is so common, that it becomes a pathogno-
monic sign of the utmost importance, and it should be searched
for in every case where doubt exists10.

When the stomach is emptied, it usually presents marks of
very intense inflammation. If the dog has been destroyed very
early in the complaint, the inflammatory markings may not be
very considerable, but, in every such instance even, which has

,0 In describing the criteria of the disease, 1 have purposely omitted before
enlarging on this particular, that I might here do it more fully, and that
I might at once describe both the cause and effect: I must now there-
fore remark, that, of all the characteristic marks of the complaint, I
consider this as the most genuine, and as the one liable to the least
variation. I will not say that I never saw a rabid stomach, after death,
without this crude indigestible mass ; but, during the examination of more
than two hundred cases, I do not recollect to have met with but very few
indeed in which there has not been either this, or a chocolate-coloured fluid :
and when these indigesta are not present, on inquiry it will still be often found
that such have been vomited up. This genuine characteristic cannot, there-
fore, be too strongly kept in mind, because it is one that may be sought for
by one person as well as another, by the most uninformed, and by the ama-
teur, as well as the professional man. It is also more important, because it may
be found long after death, when the other marks have become blended in the
universal decomposition and decay of the body. I cannot exemplify this better
than by relating a circumstance of my being sent for, to a considerable distance"
in the country, to examine a suspected dog, who had been already buried three
n eeks, but was now dug up for my inspection. All other marks to be gained
from the morbid anatomy had, of course, disappeared ; and 1 must have been
left in doubt (for the dog had come some distance, had bitten a child who was
caressing him, and had been in consequence killed on the spot; nothing,
therefore, of his history was known), had it not been for this unfailing crite-
rion, which I found to exist, in this instance, in its full force, and (nun which
I was led, without fear of error, to decide that the dog had been rabjd.

P

228 RABIES CAN IN A,

fallen under my notice, in some degree or other, they have still
been present ; while, in those cases where the animals had been
suffered to die of the disease, I never remember one in which the
morbid appearances were not considerable. The inner surface, or
rugous coat, is often livid, and not unfrequently sprinkled over
with pustular prominences : it is not unusual, likewise, for it to
exhibit sphacelated ulcerous patches. I have seen it actually per-
forated by the mortification present. The outer surface is seldom
wholly free from inflammatory marks either, particularly along
the great curvature ; and such is the intensity of the inflamma-
tion, that T have seen blood extravasated between the mem-
branous and muscular coats. There are seldom many fluid con-
tents present,— the mass of iugesta usually absorbs what may be
there ; but when any such are found, they invariably consist of a
dark-coloured liquor, not unlike coffee grounds.

The intestinal tube is often found with strong marks of disease
also ; but the frequency of these is not equal to the stomachic af-
fection. It is seldom continuous, but rather in contiguous patches,
principally affecting sometimes one and sometimes another of the
intestines. The villous surface is frequently gangrenous, and the
outer or peritoneal portion, from the coagulable lymph thrown
out, is often found adhering to other portions. Sometimes intus-
susception exists, but constrictions and twistings are still more
frequently present. Occasionally, the tube is altogether empty,
but it is more frequently found partially distended with hardened
feces, and not unfrequently with worms. The degree of inflam-
mation between the stomach and intestines is not always corre-
spondent ; on the contrary, when the one has been very highly in-
flamed, it has not been unusual to find the other less so, but
variations in the state of the stomach are less frequent than those
in the bowels. I have usually found, when the appearances of
this symptomatic enteritis have been intense, that such cases,
during life, had exhibited torpor, distress of countenance, affec-
tion of the parts of deglutition, great scratching of straw to the
belly, paralysis, and all those characteristics more immediately

OR CANINE MADNESS.

229

appertaining to what is called, by sportsmen, dumb madness.
On the contrary, when the intestines have been but little inflamed,
and the stomach likewise not intensely affected either, but the
lungs extremely so ; such cases, during life, have been charac-
terized by great irritability, a desire to rove, and those appear-
ances common to raging madness. Mr. Youatt seems not to
have met with many cases of very intense intestinal affection :
but when I was familiar with it some years ago, the bowels some-
times exhibited the principal share of inflammatory violence. Se-
veral notices of this kind, made on the intestinal morbid marks,
are now before me. One dated 1812, states, that a dog, the pro-
perty of the Duke of Sussex, which I was requested to see, gave
unequivocal signs of rabies, of which he died. When opened, the
stomach was but little inflamed, but the intestinal tube through-
out, particularly the stomachic half, was gangrenous, and exhi-
bited intussusception in various parts: Great marks of intesti-
nal inflammation are noticed by Dr. Gilman, and by many of
the French writers who have given the post-mortem examination.
The remaining abdominal viscera are often found to participate
in the affection. The mesentery is sometimes seen clotted with
grumous spots, and adhesions are formed between the parts from
the coagulable lymph thrown out. The liver, pancreas, spleen,
and omentum, but particularly the former, are often inflamed.
The kidneys usually escape, neither is the bladder in general at-
tacked, but the urine contained is often deeply tinged with bile
from the hepatic affection.

The bodies of those dogs, who die of this disease, soon become
putrid ; but there is no peculiarity of smell attending them :
neither are they so offensive as I have often witnessed them in
other cases of inflamed bowels, particularly of that kind produced
by mineral poisons. I have frequently offered to a healthy dog
various parts of the body of rabid dogs, but I could never dis-
tinguish any marks of dread or disgust ; I am, therefore, con-
vinced that, living or dead, there is nothing in the smell that

p 2

230 RABIES CANINA,

characterizes rabies from one to the other, as has been so often
alleged, among the other vulgar errors held forth.

Inquiry into the Morbid Action op the Rabid Virus.

Having already endeavoured to shew that the rabid poison is
onlv received into the system by the actual insertion of it by
means of an abraded surface, it will now be our endeavour to in-
quire its modus operandi when received there. This subject has
occasioned a diversity of opinions ; one of which is, that the
rabid virus is at once mixed with the blood by the absorption of
the lymphatic vessels, and that it afterwards exerts its morbid
agency principally on the nervous system, and on other parts
sympathetically. I long entertained an opinion that the rabid
poison entered the circulation as soon, probably, as it was received,
exactly in the same manner with the poisons of venomous reptiles
and other morbillse. Some sympathy, however, seems to be kept
up with the bitten part, without the agency of which the virus
can never germinate into fatal action. The wound, therefore,
when first received, not being under the immediate action of the
morbid matter, heals as other common wounds ; but, after an un -
certain period, a secondary and lymphatic inflammation arises
within the part, a new morbid compound is formed, and all the
symptomatic appearances which follow are derived from the ab-
sorption of this newly generated poison. The most popular opi-
nion, however, of the day is, that which considers the virus re-
ceived, as remaining stationary within the wounded part" until

n It remains perfectly undecomposed. The absorbents are actively at work
i„ removing every thing around. The capillary vessels are depostting fre h
L t but it seems to remain the same. Whatever else is use ess or would
be h juHous, is taken up, and the tissue or the fibril on winch .ho v.ru,
res is modified or changed; but this extraneous and fatal body bids defiance
o a .' he powers of nature. It enters not into the circulation or ,t would ne-
cessarily undergo some modification in its passage through the ■ able
m^ vessels and glandular bodies which are scattered through the frame It
3d excite some morbid action; or if it Were not thus employed, or ,n the

OR CANINE MADNESS.

231

it is excited into action by some irritation in such part ; from
whence it is carried along the sensible and irritable fibre to exert
a particular morbid action on certain organs ; to all appearance,
on the sensorium itself: for the sensations which arise in the
bitten part, as an invariable precursor to other morbid phenomena,
follow the course of the nerves, rather than of the absorbents ;
and we do really find the first constitutional symptoms are of
nervous origin. Our principal authorities, I believe, unite in con-
sidering it as a disease of the respiratory nerves, principally ex-
pending itself on the cervical, dorsal, and lumbar portions of the
spinal column ; and such I believe it to be altogether, in the hu-
man subject : intrinsically, it may be so in the brute constitution
also (as Dr. Clutterbuck would ingeniously derive every fever
from inflammation of the brain) ; but in the brute subject I am
disposed to think it unites itself with a specific phlegmasia, little
known to the human12.

purposes of renovation or nutrition, it would be speedily ejected. It lies for an
uncertain period dormant; but at length, from its constant presence as a foreign
body, it may have rendered the tissue or nervous fibril more irritable and sus-
ceptible of impression; or it may have attracted and assimilated to itself ele-
ments from the fluids that circulated around it." — Pamphlet on Rabies, p. 25.
Whatever are the principles of its action, the surrounding parts evince the pre-
sence of a stimulus, which usually first shews itself in the general texture by
slight inflammation, attended often with intolerable itching in the dog, which is
betokened by that constant licking and even gnawing of the bitten part, which
has been noticed as a common symptom of rabies in that animal. In the human,
this first acknowledgment of the incipient action is also, 1 believe, invariably
present : in Mrs. Duff's case, a pimple first appeared on her nose, being the spot
which a favourite Newfoundland dog had scratched and then licked, in the com.
mencement of his rabid attack. This pimple troubled her by its smarting, itch-
ing, and throbbing, three days before the more active symptoms appeared. In
Metcalf's case, shooting pains, directed from the hand towards the head, pre-
ceded the more active symptoms ; and something of this kind, I believe, would
be found to accompany every one, in some degree or other, were the circum-
stance particularly attended to. In horses, cattle, and swine, this secondary in-
flammation is equally common and even more striking: they will rub, bite, and
tear their bitten parts with violence, and in them the local irritation is long
kept up after the disease is fully formed.

M Mr. Youatt appears to entertain an opinion of the complete identity of the
rabid disease in every animal whatever, and consequently in man as the head
of them all. He certainly argues the point most ingeniously, it must be owned ;
yet the analogy appears rather strained, although, with the above admissions, it

2:32

RABIES CANINA,

The Medical Treatment, Curative and Preventive of

Rabies.

The curative treatment of rabies in the dog has hitherto
proved invariably unavailing, neither has it been found other-
wise in any other animal ; while the few successful cases on re-
cord of a favourable result from any means tried on the human

will be hard to deny his premises ; which are such, that it would be doing both
the author and the reader injustice to give in any other form than his own.
" Rabies," he says, " is a nervous affection, and particularly of the respiratory
system of nerves, or those which are employed in the instinctive and involuntary
actions connected with respiration, and which serve to associate many of the
voluntary muscles in the discharge of the same function. These nerves arise
from the medulla oblongata, in which, or on its membranes, inflammation is al-
most invariably detected. They do not spring from the same columns with the
other spinal nerves; and they have roots peculiarly constructed, and following
one another in an uniform line, as if they were leagued in the performance of
the same office. They are the portio dura of the seventh pair, distributed over
the face; the glosso-pharyngeus, which supplies the pharynx and the tongue;
the par vagum, wandering to the pharynx, the larynx, the heart, the lungs, and
the stomach; the recurrent, ramifying on the muscles of the larynx, and the
membrane of the glottis; and the spinal-accessory given to the neck and
shoulder, and reaching even to the loins. The twitchings and contraction of the
eyelids, the strabismus, the spasms of the cheek, and lips, and face, and the
paralysis of the muscles of the lower jaw, sufficiently prove an affection of the
portio dura. The protrusion of the tongue, the enlargement of (he sublingual
and other glands, the inability to swallow, and the alteration of the voice, im-
plicate the glosso-pharyngeus. The increased circulation, the laborious re-
spiration, the peculiar inflammation of the pleura, and the constant and often
intense inflammation of the stomach, are attributable to the par vagum. The
involuntary barking, the husky grating inspiration, the frequent inflammation of
the trachea, the uniform inflammation of some part of the glottis in the quad-
ruped ; and the dreadful excitation of the membrane of the glottis, with all the
horrors of hydrophobia in the human being, testify that the recurrent nerve lias
not escaped: while the hurried and uncertain action of the fore extremities, and
the palsy of the region of the loins, are clearly to be traced to the spinal ac-
cessory. These nerves anastomose freely with the cerebral nerves, therefore
cerebral affection soon occurs. There is a state of general and extreme excita-
tion, a very peculiar wandering and delirium, and, in some animals, fits of savage
and uncontrollable ferocity. They likewise unite and blend with the ganglionic
nerves, and thence proceeds altered secretion ; a morbid secretion of the gastric
juice occasioning the strangely perverted appetite of the dog ; and a still more
depraved secretion of the saliva, converting that bland and innocuous fluid into
the direst poison."

OR CANINE MADNESS..

233

hydrophobia, have a veil of obscurity thrown over them that
damps our confidence, and leaves us to hope only that time may
yet afford us a remedy13 for this dreadful scourge. The extent to
which this inquiry has already been carried, will prevent a cir-
cumstantial detail of the various medicinal agents which have
been used as curative of rabies. I shall only cursorily notice
them, and reserve myself for those that, fortunately for man and
brute, are found efficacious as preventives against such attack;
pausing only to observe, that my account will combine both the
human and brute treatment, that I may render these pages more
extensively useful, as well to the public, as to the practitioner in
brute medicine, whose opinion will be often sought for, where
the owners of rabid animals have been unfortunately wounded by
them. Here, as I have often found, the timely benefit of judicious
advice, and even the application of proper preventive means,
have gained unbounded gratitude, and a consciousness of being
eminently useful.

The most ancient remedy on record for the rabid malady, after
it had actually appeared, was cold bathing, which it was usual
to apply to the extent of a temporary drowning ; but, although it
is handed down to us, that it occasionally proved successful,
these accounts are not now relied on1*. 1 tried it on two rabid
dogs to the extinction of life almost, and it certainly suspended
the progress of the complaint for some hours ; which I attribute,
not to any specific virtue in the bathing itself, but to the shake
given to the constitution : for it is remarkable, that any great vio-
lence offered from accidental causes15, during the progress of the

13 "Nec desperandum tamen ob exempla jam in aliis venenis constantia, de
inveniendo hujus singular is veneni anlidolo singulari." — Doerhaave, Apho-
rism H46.

14 Celsus recommends it, and gives instances of its successful application.
Euripides is one who was said to have been cured by it.

is During the roving* of a rabid dog, it is to be expected that he will meet
with severe beatings from other dogs, and, not unfrequently, he will be subject
to violent attacks from human persons, from whom he may, however, eventually
escape, although severely handled. I have had many opportunities of observing
dogs, after their return, which have been so treated, and I have invariably found

RAUIES CANINA,

disease, particularly in its early stages, in every instance appears
to beget a new action, which, for a time, arrests the progress of
the rabid one, and suspends its more active symptoms for a
longer or shorter period, usually in proportion to the violence
done. The morbid poison, however, soon resumes its ascend-
ancy, and the fatal issue is only protracted, but never removed.

Warm bathings have been also fully tried, both in ancient and
modern times, with no better success. Bleeding largely was an
ancient remedy, which has been revived by the moderns ; and on
the authority of some reputedly successful cases, but now ques-
tioned, I was induced to try it to its fullest extent (ad deliquium)
on two or three rabid dogs. Mr. Youatt has done the same, and
in every instance with a mitigation of its violence, but in no one
of permanent benefit16. It therefore appears to act in these in-
stances, as in all others where much violence had been committed
on the constitution, by a suspension of the morbid action of the
disease. Of electricity and galvanism, as applied for the cure of
rabies, I have no experience : it has, however, been fully tried in
the human subject without success. Vinegar, which, in Ger-
many, was said (but I believe erroneously) to have arrested the
human disease, has failed in dogs in every instance in which it
has been made use of. Mercury I have also tried to its fullest
extent, and in most of its popular forms, without the smallest be-
nefit. Camphor and opium, both by the mouth and per ano, have
proved equally inert in these cases17. With the belladonna I

that an absence of the more active appearances of disease has followed for
two or three days ; and that, in some cases, to such a degree as to deceive those
around, and make them consider the recovery of the animal as certain; but
gradually the complaint has returned with all its violence.

16 M. Gossier, Professor of the Veterinary School of Lyons, also employed
bleeding on three dogs to deliquium, .without success. It is, however, to be
remembered, that in the human subject it is said to have cured the complaint in
one or two instances in India: and in a case related in The Lancet, it protracted
the fatal course to the fourteenth day: and though the Asiatic cases are rather
doubtful, it has evidently some restraining power.

17 Professor Dupuytren injected opium in solution into the veins of two rabid
dogs, but without any alleviation of the symptoms. — Disscri.dc Ch. Busnout,
Paris, 1814.

OR CANINE MADNESS.

succeeded no better ; and the alisma plantago, or water plantain,
has proved equally unsuccessful with Mr. Youatt, who however
observes, that it usually mitigated the symptoms ; as did also
the belladonna. The Scutellaria lateriflora, so highly recom-
mended by Dr. Spalding, of New York, Mr. Youatt has not suc-
ceeded with ; but he yet considers that it deserves more trial,
from the decided effects it produced in the cases on which he
tried it. The internal and external exhibition of the volatile
alkali has not been more fortunate, although the analogy of its
beneficial effects, in cases of poisoning by the bite of the cobra
de capello, had raised hopes of its proving useful here also18.
Cauterizings, scarifyings, blisterings, &c, have been applied to
the bitten part in the human subject after the attack, but without
avail. From the known property of arsenic in lessening the
spasm of epilepsy, something was hoped from it in the hydro-
phobic spasm of the human, but it has not answered the expecta-
tions formed. — See Med. Chirurg. Trans., p. 393 ; Lond. Med.
Rev. for March and April, 1793. On rabid dogs I have fre-
quently tried it, and, from its decided capability, evinced on each
trial, of suspending the complaint, I was once also led to hope
much from it; but repeated experience has proved that its benefits
are not permanent1^ but act only like other violent means.
Chlorine has been said to remove the hydrophobic symptoms,
but late trials have shewn the fallacy of the assertion. The
same has happened to sulphuric acid, with which a Dr. Skuderi
pretends to have effected several cures of hydrophobia, by its
internal and external administration. More recently also the
guaco has been tried on both the human and brute subjects ; but

18 Tissot strongly recommends the eau de luce, and says, " II calma l'agita-
tion, occasion un seur abondant et fit disparoitre les symptoms." — Avis au
I't uple, torn, i, p. 179, 8vo, Paris.

19 I have given it, in these cases, in very large doses, as five, six, and even a
greater number of grains, and have been surprised how little disturbance it
seemed to produce; probably from the stomach being already affected with a
specific inflammation, by which it was rendered less likely to be acted upon by
occasional causes.

236

RABIES CAN1NA,

although it had a temporary effect in mitigating the symptoms
in both, yet the fatal termination was the same. There is, there-
fore, reason to believe that we have no authenticated case of the
true rabid malady having yielded to any treatment, either in man
or beast, after it had actually made its attack.

The preventive treatment. — Here, fortunately for mankind, we
stand on 'vantage ground, as we are able, in most cases, by the
adoption of judicious means, to insure the safety of the bitten,
when we can distinctly ascertain the wounded part; which in
brute subjects, it is evident, it is more difficult to do than in the
human. The prophylactics, that both interest and ignorance
have extolled and brought into use, are innumerable : very few
of them, however, have deserved the smallest confidence ; on the
contrary, they have lulled into a fatal security those who have
relied on them20.

The oldest prophylactic with which we are acquainted, is
suction. We have very ancient records of its employment, and,
if we can believe these legends, a particular family enjoyed the
privilege, or devoted themselves to this process of drawing, by
the application of the mouth to the wound, the poison inserted by
a venomous animal21. A ligature has also been recommended to
stop the progress of the rabid poison, but, according with the
present theories, it can have no preventive efficacy whatever.

Cold-bathing, but particularly sea-bathing, as a preventive, is

20 Boerhaave complains of these impositions. "Nop jEschrionis apud Ga-
lenum et Oribasium arcano de cancris combustis; nec Scribonii Largi famige-
rata opiata ad rabiem Siculorum ; nec Peregrini consilio de pelle hysnae; nee
JEiW, Rufi, Possidonii, cinere cancrprum cum theriaca; nec j aetata Palmario
mcdela; vel nimis laudato Mayerno, Grew, et venatoribus stanoo cum Mithri-
datio; nec in somniis sacris revelata radice cynorrhodonis; aliisve in coelum
elato Iichene cinereo terrestri pimpinella, jecore rabiosi canes exusto, ct
similibus exceptis."

2' Celsus strongly recommends this practice, and brings forward (he family
of Psycllcs to prove how free it is from danger: "Non gustu, sed vulnere
nocent." — "Ergo quisquis exemplum Psylli secutus, id vulnus exsuxerit, et
ipse tutus erit, et tutuin hominem prsestabit." — De Medecin. lib. v, chap, ii,
sect. 12. — Fothergill, Heister, and Vaughan, have spoken favourably of suction
as a preventive.

OR CANINE MADNESS.

237

a practice also of great antiquity, and, even yet, the uninformed
classes place implicit reliance on it. Its incapability of insuring
safety was, however, early noted; and Palmerius, Ambrose
Parey, Desault, and others, were at much pains to discredit the
practice : nevertheless, both hot and cold bathing long retained
some powerful advocates1. However respectable the authorities
in its favour, . the lamentable experience of many who have
trusted to its efficacy, even when performed, as Van Swieten has
it, ad sufficationem usque, but too well proves. Among the
well-informed, therefore, no reliance is now placed on it.

Mercury has long been employed as a prophylactic. Sau-
vages must have been greatly deceived by its ill-deserved repu-
tation2. Sir G. Cobb's famous Tonquin remedy, so highly ex-
tolled by Claude Duchoisee, in India3, was prepared from the
native and factitious cinnabars, with musk. Turpeth mineral,
which is a sub-sulphate of this metal, was highly extolled by
Tissot4, and has been very generally used among the dogs of
this country. Many other authorities of note have extolled the
preventive efficacy of mercury, from its power in counteracting
the effects of the syphilitic poison5 ; but as it has entirely failed in
man and beast, under every advantage of administration, so it has
ceased to be relied on as solely sufficient to guard the constitu-

' " Protinus in balneum amittunt, eumque ibi desudare, duin vires corporis
sinant, vulnere aperto quo magis ex eo quoque virus distillet." — Celsus de Med.,
lib. v, c. 47. Tulpius is warm in his commendation of sea-bathing: "Neque
vidi hactenus quemquam (licet viderim plurimos) cui tempestive in mare pro-
jecto quidquam sinistre postmodum evenerit, sed salutari hoc remedio vel
llocci facto, vel tarde ac timide adhibito, dedere niulti irreparabiles supina?
suae incuria; poanas." — Obs. Med. lib. vii, c. 20.

2 " J'ignore que ce remede ait encore manque."-— Ch. d'QZuv. p. 148. Noso-
logia, torn. ii.

3 "Ilommes, femmes, enfans, Indiens, Portugais, Francois, &c. &c. plus
de trois cents persomies, sans qu'un seul, a ete afflige du phis petit symptom
de rage." — Now). Meth.pour le Trail, de Rage, 21.

4 Avis au Pcuple, torn, i, p. 156. A celebrated sportsman says, " During
twenty-one years that 1 kept hounds, I nev er knew itfail."— Treatise on Grey-
hounds, 2d edit. p. 88. — It was also Mr. Beckford's favourite remedy.

s Dr. Moseley appears to be one of the last advocates for the use of mercury
extended to a slight salivation : but even he recommends the use of caustic to
the wounded part in conjunction with it.

238

RABIES CAN IN A,

tion6. Neither has arsenic any more claim to the character of a
preventive than it has as a curative.

Dr. Mead's pulvis antilyssus, composed of lichen cinerens and
black pepper, has wholly lost its reputation, although, during
his practice, he expressed a wish that he knew as certain a pre-
ventive for any other disease. The Ormskirk Remedy is also ano-
ther striking proof how easily a reputation may be gained, and
how undeservedly : for although palpable instances of its failure
are numerous, it once enjoyed great reputation, and is even yet
occasionally trusted to. The wafer plantain (alisma plantago)
has also proved one of those unfortunate articles offered to notice,
which only served to raise hopes it was doomed never to realize.
As it came recommended by a Russian counsellor of state, M.
Jalowsky, at the express direction of his government, it met
with a cordial reception, and a full trial in England and else-
where, but everywhere it proved fallacious, both as a preventive
and cure.

To enumerate all the other articles, particularly of the vege-
table world, that at some period or other have been deemed pro-
phylactics, would be endless. Among the most popular we may
mention the eglantine, or wild rose ( rosa sylvestris, Linn.)?, pim-
pernel (anagallis)*, deadly nightshade (atropa belladonna^,

6 Leroux, Oudot, Raymond, Lafond, Majault, Enaux, Chaussier, and
Morveau, are neighbouring authors who have denied the efficacy of mercury in
this case ; and, among ourselves, I believe all our best authorities, almost
without exception, do the same.

7 The wild rose seems to have been a remedy of much repute in its day
(Baudot, Mem. de la Soc. Roy., 1783). In a communication to the Royal
Society of Medicine of Paris, M. Provost details the virtues of its inner bark.
And, among the Sicilians, its spongy excrescences (bedeguar) are considered
a powerful antidote to the rabid poison (Museo di piante rare du P. Boconi).
According to Pliny, its virtues were revealed by an oracle; from whence we
may learn, that a preventive efficacy was long ago attributed to it.

8 An account of its supposed anti-rabid virtues may be seen by consulting
Hist, de la Med., Sprengel, torn, ii, p. 48; (Euv. de Bourgelat, Reflex, sur la
Rage Voy. Journ. d'Agricult. p. 109.

9 As long as the time of Pliny, the belladonna has been used as a remedy
against rabies. Apulei also notices it ; and in later times, Munch also, Hist,
de la Soc. Roy. de Med., 1783, 2d part. At the present time, Mr. Youatt at-
tributes some preventive efficacy to it.

OR CANINE MADNESS.

231)

rm(ruta)™, garlic (allium sativum), sage {salvia), daisy (bellis),
vervain (subena), fern (pohjvodium), wormwood (artemisia ar-
borescent), mugwort {artemisia vulgaris), betony {betonica), and
the tree-box (&m#z<s)u.

10 Rue was a very ancient favourite prophylactic, and it still enters into
many of the country nostrums and drinks against madness. It formed also an
ingredient in the celebrated powder of Palmerius.-See Andry's account or
celebrated remedies.

11 The tree-box is one of the oldest internal preventives made use of. Men-
tion appears to be made of it in the writings of Hippocrates ; Galen and Celsus
likewise speak of it, It has continued to be used from that time to the present,
and it forms the active principle in the remedy common in several counties, but
in none more than in Hertfordshire, where it is known under the name of WeWs
drink, from the family name of the persons who prepare it. The rue which
enters into it, in equal proportions, I have not the same dependance on. The
buxus, or box, has long been known in India also, and is still used there as a
preventive of rabies ; but it is, I believe, the dwarf box that is there used ;
and is usually united with a decoction of the horns of the rhinoceros.

I had long known that a family of the name of Webb, living in the neigh-
bourhood of Watford, prepared and sold what is called a drink, as a remedy
against rabies generally. The many assurances I had received, relative to its
efficacy, supported by facts apparently authentic and conclusive, gave me
reason to suppose that it really possessed some preventive properties ; but, till
the year 1807, I had not embraced any opportunity of putting its qualities to the
test of experiment. About that time madness proving very prevalent, and the
public curiosity becoming very much excited on the subject, my attention was
awakened to the importance of such a remedy, even if it had only some mode-
rate pretensions. To endeavour, therefore, to ascertain the grounds on which
the reputation of this remedy stood, I went to Watford, and prosecuted my
inquiries with such success, that, from one of the two brothers who had dis-
pensed it, I gained the original recipe, which had been before verified on oath
before a magistrate. The public anxiety was then such, that, united with the
knowledge that I had particularly directed my attention to the subject, it would
have enabled me to realize a very considerable sum, had I chosen to keep the
recipe a secret and vended the compound ; but no such thought entered my
mind : humanity required that it should be universally known ; and the day after
I returned from Watford I communicated to the public at large, by various
channels, the recipe, with all I could learn at that time of its operation, &c. :
the original communication may be seen in full in the Medical Review for De-
cember 1807. The following method of preparing it is,an improvement on the
original formula; the proportion and mode of administration agree with the
country instructions: —

Take of the fresh leaves of the tree-box 2 ounces

Of the fresh leaves of rue 2 ounces

Of sage half an ounce;

240

RABIES CANINA,

My opinions on the efficacy of the buxus or box as a prophy-
lactic of rabies have been long- before the public ; and if palpa-

Chop these finely, and, after boiling them in a pint of water to half a pint,
strain and press out the liquor. Beat them in a mortar, or otherwise bruise
thein thoroughly, and boil them again, in a pint of new milk, to half a pint, whicli
press out as before. After this, mix both the boiled liquors, which will make
three doses for a human subject. Double this quantity will form three doses
for a horse or cow; two-thirds of it is sufficient for a large dog, calf, sheep, or
hog: half of the quantity is required for a middling sized dog; and one-third
for a small one. These three doses are said to be sufficient, and one of them
is directed to be given every morning fasting. Both human and brute subjects
are treated in the same manner, according to the proportions specified.

In the human subject I have never found this remedy produce any effects
whatever, except a momentary nausea from disgust : to prevent which from
operating disadvantageous^, the old recipe directs it to be taken two or three
hours before rising, by which method it will be less likely to be brought up
again, as otherwise so large and unpleasant a dose might be. Neither in any
animal, except the dog, have 1 ever witnessed any violent effects from its ex-
hibition. In dogs, however, I have frequently seen it produce extreme nausea,
panting, and distress; in two or three instances it has even proved fatal : but,
as it is probable that it is more likely to be efficacious when its effects on the
constitution are evident ; and as, at the same time, it is proper to guard against
these effects becoming too violent; so it is prudent always to begin with a
smaller dose than the one prescribed, and to increase each succeeding one un-
til it shews its activity, by sickness of the stomach, panting, and evident un-
easiness. Under such a plan, perhaps, five doses are not too much.

Between the years 1807 and 1817, this preparation was administered, under
my direction, to nearly three hundred animals of different kinds, as horses, cows,
sheep, hogs, and dogs* ; the latter in by far the greater proportion. It may
naturally be presumed, that ungrounded fear operated in some instances, and
that it was given to animals who were suspected only to have been in danger.
Some of the remainder, it may also be supposed, would have remained safe, had
nothing been done for them. In others, washings, cauterizations, &c, had
been added to the box remedy; yet, still a very considerable number,
after all these admissions, must have remained exposed to the preventive power

* I have administered, in the course of my practice, this remedy to nearly fifty human
persons also ; hut as most of those joined with this treatment the excision or cauterization
of the wounded part; and as, in others, the rabid virus would not probably have taken
effect, so I lay little stress on these proofs of its efficacy ; although three or four of these
persons, at their own express desire, trusted solely to it. Its efficient properties appear
unequivocally proved by the numerous instances of canine safety which followed from its
use. Mr. King, a veterinary surgeon of deserved eminence, who lives at Stanmore, in the
very centre of the range of Webb'sdrink, observes of it, " Ihave known it fail frequently
among animals ; but of the many hundreds of persons that must have taken it, no indi-
vidual, to my knowledge, lias suffered hydrophobia." Veterinarian, No. I, p. 32. Mr.
Youatt also in his pamphlet remarks on the properties of the box, " That it had undeniable
efficacy in preventing the disease. The majority of the dogs to whom it was exhibited
were saved."

OR CANINE MADNESS.

241

ble failures Lave convinced me that, like all other means of pre-
vention attempted through the medium of the constitution, it
ought never to supersede the more certain means of the destruc-
tion of the bitten part, yet I have witnessed enough of its powers
to convince me, that it may be resorted to with much reasonable
hope of success. The importance of any preventive means which
could thus be gained through the medium of internal administra-
tion to the brute, would be very great ; for the detection of all the
bitten parts in animals with a covering of hair is self evident : I
have searched a dog known to be attached (and by the future
consequences proved to have been bitten) over, most carefully,
for an hour, without being able to find any puncture ; and
even if one or two should in such a case be discovered, how many
chances there are that others may remain unobserved ! But inas-
much as human safety is of infinitely greater consequence than
that of the brute creation, so a prophylactic which held out a
reasonable ground for dependance, although it did not amount to

of this preparation alone, out of which number only nine or ten cases of its
failure occurred. In a few of these it is reasonable to suppose that the me-
dicine was not all got down, or otherwise was returned ; but five or six of them
were palpable and fair instances of failure, the medicine haying been all given
and retained. It is remarkable, that, of these palpable failures, the majority
were wounded in the head — one of these was a horse, bitten in the lip; which
further agrees with what I have already remarked, that the inoculation more
certainly takes effect, and the disease makes its attack earlier, when received
in the head than elsewhere. It is unfortunate that this remedy should be so
bulky, and so nauseous. Its bulk often renders it difficult to give to a dog,
particularly without waste; its nauseous taste also makes it very liable to be
brought up again: either of which circumstances must, of course, render its
efficacy doubtful. To obviate these inconveniences, I endeavoured to condense
the dose, by making an extract of these plants, but particularly of the box, in
which plant I believe the efficacy principally, if not wholly, exists ; but which
practice I afterwards abandoned, from a belief that it somewhat destroyed the
efficacy of the remedy. Mr. Youatt, however, has continued the use of the ex-
tract of box alone under a different impression. If the dose can thus be ren-
dered small and pleasant, it is a great advantage ; but if it cannot be diminished,
without its qualities suffering, the inconvenience must be put up with, and the
animal must be made to swallow the whole, after which he should be attentively
watched, to observe whether it is retained on the stomach. If it is returned,
the dose must be repeated until it does remain.

•2-L2

RABIES CANINA,

perfect security, would be still of immense value in some cases in
human practice, as I have very often witnessed. Under this
impression, I have united with my detail the preventive repu-
tation it has, as regards the human as well as the brute subject^ ;
and, with the same view, I would introduce to the reader Mr.
Youatt's account of the skull-cap (Scutellaria lateriflora), first
brought into notice by Dr. Spalding, of New York, who says he
has administered it, with invariable success, in no less than eight
hundred cases ; and in several of these cases the disease had
actually commenced its career. His method of giving it was, by
infusing a tea-spoonful and a half of the powdered leaf in a quart
of hot water ; of which, he ordered half a pint to be taken morn-
ing and night, omitting the dose every third day, when a mild

12 As justly observed by Mr. Youatt, the imputation of quackery is very ge-
nerally associated with the recommendation of these preventives. But is there
not some exclusiveness in this, not creditable to the medical character ? arc-
there really no antidotes 1 is a known introduction of the syphilitic poison in no
way prevented but by a destruction of the whole mucous surface exposed to its
contact 1 on the contrary, is not an early administration of the mercurial pre-
ventive in most instances a sufficient safeguard against even the external ul-
ceration, and always against the constitutional ravages ? Are all the accounts
of immunity from the poison of serpents by internal means fabled ? Let the
chances be ever so small of a prophylactic property in any internal remedy, they
should be cherished and employed ; and foul befal him who, for personal gain,
would keep the knowledge of any such matter a secret. He, indeed, would be
a quack; let the profession hunt him down without regret: but let them not as-
sume (fallible as all our opinions on medicine are proved to be) that there is
no "balm in Israel;" no constitutional means of rendering the system non-
susceptible to the received virus. Boerhaave thought there might be ; analogy
gives us reason to expect there is ; then let our endeavours to bring it to light
be general, and not fettered with school prejudices or professional exclu-
siveness.

Granted, as it ever must be, that the removal of the inoculated portion should
supersede all other preventive means; are there no cases where it is imperative
to lay hold also of every other assistance, as in extensive lacerations, where the
complete extirpation is rendered doubtful, under every caution ? when the eye-
lids are wounded also, or where insuperable dread exists to an operation, which
may involve the whole limb 1 such cases do occur; and also the most apparently
judicious application both of the knife and caustic has failed. Might not these
cases have been saved, had some other preventive been also added to the treat-
ment 1

OR CANINE MADNESS.

243

purge of sulphur was given. Mr. Youatt has, however, found it
more efficacious to combine the belladonna in the proportion ot
half an ounce to a pound of the Scutellaria ; of which he observes,
" The result has been, a medicine which I cannot, dare not, call
a specific, for it has failed ; but the use of which, in cases of
doubt and fear, I would most earnestly recommend." For dogs,
he begins with a drachm ball for one of a moderate size, containing
two scruples of the Scutellaria, and about two and a half grains
of the belladonna : this is given morning and night. On the se-
cond week, two balls are given ; on the third, three ; and this plan
is continued for six weeks. The animals seldom cease to eat, but
they rapidly lose flesh. The proportions made use of for the
human subject, Mr. Youatt does not mention ; but Dr. Spalding's
account will furnish a sufficient hint. Thus it may be hoped,
that, between these apparent preventives, some security may be
gained, even in those distressing cases where the extirpation
cannot be carried to a sufficient extent without endanfferino- life,
or exciting a dread which would be insupportable, &c. &c.

Of prophylactics whose inefficacy have been sufficiently dis-
proved, there are yet a sufficient number ; and such have been
drawn from the animal as well as the mineral and vegetable
kingdoms. The scarabei, or beetle tribe, particularly the cock-
chaffer, or may-bug (scarabceus melolontha, Linn.)13, the blister
fly14 (meloe vesicatorius), and various testacea15, are of this kind.
The liver of the animal by which a person has been bitten is a
remedy as old as the time of Pliny, who speaks himself of its effi-

13 fVeikard, Thesaurus Pliarmaceuticus Galeno-chtmictts, 1626. If we
credit other accounts handed to us, these insects were no less famous in Spain,
Germany, and Prussia, than in France.— (Atidry, p. 271.)

'< Aricenna and Matthiolus wrote expressly on the virtues of this meloe,
as an infallible remedy for the rabid malady. Werthof and Andry also no-
tice it.

15 As the testacea, particularly calcined crabs, were used so long ago as the
time of Galen, and were recommended by Sennert, it would seem that an early
confidence was placed in absorbents. It was this confidence, probably, that
produced the Ormskirk medicine, which appears to be only the earthy absorbents
coloured.

Q

244 RABIES CANINA,

cacy. We have it also recorded, that Paimerius forced his .
patients, who had been bitten by a rabid wolf, to take the dried
blood of the animal.

The Destruction of the wounded Part the most certain

Preventive of Rabies.
From what has already been stated with regard to the ratiouale
of the rabid inoculation, it will readily appear, that, provided the
virus be immediately taken into the circulation, it must yet return
to the part it was originally received by ; and it must there com-
mence a new irritation, by which some new morbid compound is
generated ; and it is the absorption of this compound that is
alone capable of producing the malady. Again; on' the more
popular theory, that the rabid virus does not enter the constitu-
tion, but lies dormant in the part where it was first received ; it
is still the same, as regards the preventive treatment; which it is
evident is only eifected with certainty by the entire removal of the
inoculated portion; because, that being absent, no new morbid
compound can be formed on the first supposition, nor can any
local excitement arise on the second.

Provided, therefore, that the wounded part or parts are com-
pletely destroyed, the patient will, to a demonstration, be rendered
as secure as though never bitten ; which is a most consolatory cir-
cumstance in a consideration of this dire disease.

It is also rendered doubly so, since the rationale of the action
of the morbid virus teaches us, that it is indifferent at what time
this removal takes place, provided it be within the limits of the
inoculation and those of the morbid symptoms. This circum-
stance is of immense importance to the human subject ; and it is
as fully supported by facts, as consistent with the theory laid
down. I am as confident on the subject, as a very long ex-
perience and close observation of innumerable cases can make
1 that not only is the destruction of the bitten part a certain
preventive, but that such removal of it is as effectual at any tunc
previously to the symptoms appearing, as at the first moment after

OR CANINE MADNESS.

245

the bite. My professional education as a human surgeon being1
not altogether unknown to the public, it is not to be wondered
at, that this recollection, when united to some notoriety which
attached to my attention to this particular and then prevailing
disease, and to my vast opportunities of observing it, should
have produced some direct confidence in my opinion. It, there-
fore, often happened, that, from being consulted about the
rabid animal, I was next advised with about the wounded
owner or attendant. It often occurred also, that when the
case wfcs submitted to any other surgeon, my attendance was
likewise requested; by which means I have seen, comparatively,
nearly as much of human as of brute practice, in the preventive
treatment of rabies. I have myself operated on upwards of fifty
persons, who had been unquestionably bitten by rabid dogs, and
on a few bitten by cats, every one of whom did well ; and which
statements I make, principally to enforce dependance on the
practical truths which have preceded, and on those directions
which are to follow.

Although the removal of the bitten part may be undertaken
at any time short of the attack, yet as it is always uncertain at
what time this secondary inflammation may take place, so it is
prudent to perform the excision, or cauterization, as soon as is
convenient ; but it is frequently a matter of great importance to
the peace of those unfortunately wounded, to know, that, when
any accidental cause has delayed the operation, it may be as
safely done at the end of several days as it would at the first
moment of the accident. I have myself repeatedly removed the
bitten parts many days, and not unfrequently weeks even, after
the original wound had been perfectly healed up ; yet the opera-
tion has always proved completely successful. Of the methods
employed for the extirpation of the bitten parts, the actual cau
tery, the potential- cautery, and excision, are employed, and have
each of them their advocates.

The actual cautery was employed by the ancients, who burned
the parts with heated iron, sometimes with brass, silver, or gold.

Q2

246 RABIES CANINA,

Some of the moderns have also favoured its use ; and as it is a re- .
medy immediately at hand, it is not an ineligible one, particularly
where the unnecessary dread of after consequences, from imme-
diate absorption, is fixed in the mind, and also where other assist-
ance is not at hand. When, likewise, the wound is of a deter-
minate form, and superficial in extent, the actual cautery is a
ready and convenient method, particularly with regard to horses,
cows, and other large animals, who are not easily restrained. In
such cases, a budding iron, so called among farriers, is an appro-
priate instrument; or even a kitchen poker, or any other iron
whose surface can be adapted to the form of the wound, when
beated red hot, may be used.

Caustics, or the potential cautery, can be applied under many
forms. The caustic potass, or potash, formed into a solid body,
and then called lapis infernalis, is a very powerful escharotic;
and, when an extensive surface not in the neighbourhood of very
important parts is to be destroyed, it may be employed ; but, it
should be remembered, that it liquefies speedily, and therefore,
when great nicety is required, and a slow destruction of parts is
advisable, as about the head, or in the vicinity of important
vessels and nerves, it is less eligible. It is also supposed that it
becomes decomposed by the blood, and loses much of its activity.
If caustics be used, Mr. H. Earl recommends strong nitric acid,
which by its fluidity might extend itself in every direction, and
would therefore be very proper where there was extensive lacera-
ration The nitrate of silver, usually called lunar caustic, lique-
fies less speedily, and is equally powerful, provided a longer tune
be allowed for its operation. In some cases it is recommended to be
powdered and sprinkled over a surface, or to be inserted within a
deeper wound, mixed with an equal part of other matter, to lessen
its potency, and an adhesive plaister then applied over to confine
its effects. This method, as regards animals, can only be ad-
visable when a very extensive laceration with numerous jagged
edges and sinuosities exists, particularly in the neighbourhood of
such important parts that the knife cannot be wholly depended on :

Oil CANINE MADNESS.

247

in all others, this plan would occasion so much pain and resist-
ance on the part of the animal, as to defeat its intention, by being
rubbed or torn oft*. I have, through a very long practice, adhered
to the use of this form of caustic, as the most manageable and
effective of all the escharotics. It may be cut or scraped to any
shape, and long habit has enabled me to make the eschar thick
or thin, deep or superficial, at pleasure. In a word, it is slow but
certain. Muriate of antimony, called butter of antimony, is a
very favourite application with some practitioners, particularly
with the French16 : it is applied by means of a piece of linen
or lint fastened to a probe, or by aid of a camel's-hair pencil ;
the surface of the wound being then smeared over with it. As
its action begins immediately, and, after a few minutes, is con-
fined to the parts it is applied to only, so it is evident that it is a
more eligible application for extensive lacerations, and wounds
of uncertain depth and extent in animals, than the powdered
nitrate of silver. Potass and lime are sometimes also used as
escharotics. The mineral acids, and mercurial preparations, as
the oxymuriate and red nitrate of quicksilver, are now and then
also employed in this way.

The use of caustics has been objected to, as not carrying the
destruction of parts far enough, the formation of the eschar pre-
venting the further progress of the caustic agent, but this I am
convinced is not a cogent objection. If the nitrate of silver be
formed into a point, and a moderate friction be kept up by it over
the eschar, the decomposed portions are removed by the rubbing,
and the cauterization goes on to any depth or extent required.
In penetrating wounds, made by the canine teeth, the probe
having detected the course of the wound, the knife may be pro-
perly employed to dilate it, and render it accessible to the
approach of the caustic ; in which case equal certainty is gained

16 "Le beurre d'antimnine (hydrochlorate d'antimoine) est preTerre a tous
lea caustiques que nous avons citCs, par Leroux, qui l'a propose par Sabatier,
par Portal, et par Enaux et Chaussicr, parccque son action est prompt." —
Trolliel, p. 311.

•248

RABIES CANINA,

by one as by the other, with less loss of substance. It has also
been objected to caustics, that they may dilute the virus, and carry
it farther within the wound ; but, if previous active ablution
of the wound has taken place, it may be supposed no virus but
that involved within the fibre will remain. It is truly said,
that caustics cannot be so conveniently applied to the bottom of
a deep wound ; but in these cases the knife can be first em-
ployed in dissecting out the whole cavity, with all its surround-
ing parts. A much more imaginary objection has been urged to
the use of caustics, particularly to those formed of the caustic
alkalies, which is, that in their action they unite themselves
with the morbid saliva, and with the decomposed animal matter,
form together a saponaceous mass or eschar, which may retain
the virus, and keep it ready to be acted upon by a new absorp-
tion. That such a fear, however, is groundless, will appear, when
it is considered that the agent employed, be it what it may,
which is equal to the destruction of the animal solids, must also
of necessity be more than sufficient to decompose the animal
fluids also, and totally deprive them of any morbid activity ; and
this we find to be actually the case with rabid virus mixed with
even diluted caustic matter, as has been exemplified in the experi-
ments of Huzard, Dr. Zinke, and others, where such matter en-
tirely failed to excite rabies : it must, however, be acknowledged
that all these experiments require repetition.

Excision of the part, after the rabid bite, is practised by most
of our eminent surgeons of the present day, in preference to cau-
terization. I have no doubt but that they do so on principle;
but I have never yet seen occasion to alter my preference of the
caustic : and Mr. Youatt, whose practice has been very extensive
in these cases, gives it his decided approbation also. It must,
however, at last rest in a conviction, that each of these modes
may be supposed at some times the preferable one ; and that oc-
casions will occur, where they may be advantageously united.
As each claims some advantages over the other, so each also on ns
some disadvantages. A skilful surgeon, therefore, will bind hha*

OR CANINE MADNESS.

249

self to neither, but will act according to circumstances. The
partizans for the use of the knife argue, that the operation of
excision is quicker, and can be applied more extensively. It is
certainly, where much is to be done, more quickly performed ;
but when it is so done, unless perfect ablution has removed all sur-
rounding virus, may not the very instrument winch is to insure
life be sowing the seeds of death, by making a fresh morbid ino-
culation at ever}1, section ? To prevent this, therefore, when ex-
cision is absolutely necessary, it is prudent, after every stroke of
the knife, to wipe the blade carefully ; but it would still more
certainly avoid danger, were the whole excised cavity well soak-
ed with a caustic fluid, as a strong dilution of nitric acid : and,
alter all, it would make surety double, were the whole surface
touched with the lunar caustic1''. Towards animals, particularly
of the larger kinds, where dispatch is requisite, and where defor-
mity and a destruction of parts are not of so much consequence,
excision may be considered preferable. In the neighbourhood of

"In one of the engagements between the English and French in the expedi-
tion to the Helder, a spent bullet tore away some substance from the root
of the nail of the ring finger of my right hand, which wound, after it had
healed, left an indented surface of extreme sensibility. This part was to prove
the heel of Achilles to me ; for exactly in the centre of this hollow did a rabid
terrier indent its fang very deeply. Sensible of the danger accruing from a
bite received in a part already so susceptible, I knew I had little prospect of
safety, without destroying all the parts around. I immediately, therefore,
alter well washing it, scooped out a portion, which embraced the sides of the
cavity made by the tooth, and which penetrated also beyond the extent of its
point. Into this I poured nitric acid; and then having dried it, I passed a
blunt point of nitrate of silver over the whole surface, and forcibly pressed it
into the bottom of the wound. As the eschar formed and hardened, I raised
it, and renewed the application. It was not until an hour and a half thus pain-
fully occupied, that I considered myself safe. I was also twice bitten after-
ward-!, to which wounds J simply applied the lunar caustic, as they were more
superficial : but I am led to detail the practice I pursued in the first case, pur-
posely to shew that excision and cauterization may be with great propriety
united : for though I greatly prefer the caustic in general cases, yet here was
one wherein, without enlarging the wound by the scalpel, it might have been
difficult to have passed the caustic to the requisite depth; or to have removed
what I considered was necessary of the former morbidly tender sides of the old
wound.

250

RABIES CANINA,

large bloodvessels, nerves, &c, it is evident that the knife must
be used with extreme caution; whereas the caustic maybe ap-
plied freely with much less fear, as the eschar which starts up
protects the parts underneath, and enables them to reinstate
themselves previously to sloughing, if they should be slightly in-
jured. The caustic gives little pain, and, by removing the slough
formed, it may be carried to any depth, and to any extent, with
the certainty of destroying the virus as it prooceeds.

The flow of blood, during excision, is very apt to obstruct a
proper and clear view of the extent of the injury ; and a conse-
quence follows, which I have frequently witnessed among sur-
geons in operations on the human subject, which is the removal
of a much larger quantity of substance than is absolutely neces-
sary. With the caustic, nothing of this kind happens : proceed-
ing deliberately, every portion of wounded surface is taken in
succession, until the whole inoculated part is destroyed, but
no more.

Process of operation for the Rabid Bite. — When a dog, or
any other animal, has been attacked by one that is rabid, it is
evident that a difficulty presents itself which does not exist in the
human subject under similar circumstances. The incapability of
pointing out the wounds that may have been received, and which
the hair may prevent from being observed, renders it necessary
that a very minute examination of every part of the body should
take place, by turning the whole hair deliberately back; after
which, to remove any rabid saliva that may adhere to the hair,
the animal should be washed all over, first with simple warm
water, and, next, with water in which a sufficient quantity of either
potash or soda is dissolved, to render it a moderate ley, in doing
which the eyes must be carefully guarded. Having finished this
operation, which will render the dog, or other animal, secure
from accidental virus hanging about; it might increase the
safety of the operation, if the wounds were bathed with an arse-
nical solution, made by pouring four ounces of water on two
drachms of arsenic: in many instances, a mere ablution of them

OR CANINE MADNESS.

251

with an arsenical solution of greater strength than here noted,
has been trusted to solely as a preventive, and which, from the
results, appeared sufficiently so ; but prudence ought not to stop
here.

After these precautions have been attended to, therefore, pro-
ceed to the actual removal of the bitten part by whatever mode
may appear most eligible to the operator. A sportsman who
might choose to act for himself, would find a ready one, when the
wound was a simple puncture, or punctures made into the hide
of ahorse or dog, to thrust in a blunt-pointed iron, heated to a red
heat ; after which, the part might be further treated with any es-
charotic he may have at hand, as muriate of antimony (butter of
antimony), sulphate of copper {blue vitriol), &c. &c. The regu-
lar practitioner, if acting under my directions, would in the case
of simple punctures adapt a portion of nitrate of silver {lunar
caustic) to the shape and size of the wound : this he would insi-
nuate by degrees into it, making it embrace the sides fully, and
extend it completely to the bottom, where it should be worked
around sufficiently long to insure a complete destruction of the
inoculated surface. A lacerated wound I would recommend to
have its ragged edges removed, and its sinuosities enlarged, that
the caustic may reach every part of the wounded surface ; which it
is evident must be most particularly attended to. As the slough
hardens during the process, remove it by means of a probe, and
then retouch all the parts. In operating on a human subject, 1
always repeated cauterization at the end of every second or third
day for at least twice. By applying the caustic gradually at
first, the pain it gives is by no means intense, and it even lessens
the further it is proceeded in. If much heat and pain follow,
envelope the whole part in a poultice. There is every reason to
suppose that keeping up a continued discharge in the part, after
the entire destruction of wounded surfaces, is unnecessary ; I
never practised it myself, and I have had no reason to regret the
omission.

Having thus reached the close of the practical detail, I shall

252 RABIES CANINA,

finish this important subject by offering a few remarks, calculated,
1 would hope, to ease the minds of many individuals, on some
material points which are apt to occasion much unnecessary
dread, and much false alarm. I would first notice, that, by a very
distorted view of the risk incurred by association with him, the
dog, at once our faithful friend, gallant protector, and useful
servant, is in danger of being proscribed altogether. Many of
those who are otherwise warmly attached to the animal, yet dare
not indulge in the pleasure of his company, from a totally unne-
cessary dread, grounded on a supposition that he can become
rabid, from a variety of other circumstances besides the bite of
another affected dog. I would beg to assure those who think
thus, that they are entirely in error: nothing but a successful
inoculation can produce it ; nor, out of those actually bitten, do
more than a third probably become mad, even when an effectual
inoculation has been made; thus, there is little reason for all
the alarm that is felt. The disease never makes its first appear-
ance with any mischievous tendency : indeed, so little danger is
there from the early stage of the complaint, that I should enter-
tain no fear whatever, were I confined altogether day and night
in the same room with half a dozen dogs, all duly inoculated
with rabid virus. The slightest degree of attention will always
detect some peculiarity in the affected dog's manner — some depar-
ture from his usual habits : and this may be observed one day at
least, commonly two clays, before the more active symptoms com-
mence, or before any mischievous disposition shews itself ; and
which, at the worst, is not often practised towards those they
are habituated to, if not meddled with. In a great number of the
cases that occur, no mischievous disposition at all appears to-
wards human persons through the whole complaint, except it be
called forth by opposition and violence ; which consideration
tends to reduce the danger still more materially. It ought, like-
wise, in no small degree, to lessen the dread and fear of this ma-
lady, that, even when the worst has happened, and a human per-
son has been unfortunately bitten by a rabid animal, still that a

OR CANINE MADNESS.

253

ready, simple, and efficacious remedy is at hand, the application
of which is attended with little inconvenience, while the conse-
quences are certainly productive of all the safety that can be
wished for. On this immediate part of the subject, however, I
am well aware, that intense mental dread is often excited. From
simple fear of the consequences, many have died ; many others
have been rendered temporarily insane, and some permanently
so. Would I could instil into such minds the uncertainty of the
disease appearing at all ; that is, even when no means have been
used ; and the perfect security they may feel who have submitted
to the preventive treatment detailed. 1 have been bitten seve-
ral times, — Mr. Youatt several also; yet in neither of us was
any dread occasioned : our experience taught us the absolute cer-
tainty of the preventive means ; and such 1 take on me to pro-
nounce they always prove, when performed with dexterity and
judgment. It unfortunately happens that these prejudices and
fears are too often very deep rooted, and even immovable. What is
then to be done ? Is nothing to be attempted ? Yes : we will hope
that a physician may be found for the mind also, in the judicious
medical attendant on the case ; to whom I hardly need hint, that,
in those desperate instances of mental excitement, it is totally in
vain to argue down the needless dread and imaginary dangers
fostered in a distempered mind ; it is still more useless, it would
be even cruel, to be offended, or made harsh by them. No one,
I presume, would harass himself with fear could he avoid it :
fear weakens the mind, and it is remarkable that it often makes
its greatest inroads on an otherwise powerful one. Arguing here
is reasoning against fearful odds ; it is, in fact, offering reason
at the shrine of insanity ; for a person so impressed is, to all in-
tents and purposes, on that question, beside himself.

When I was engaged in practice, I was requested to decide on
a suspicious case of a dog, the property of a mercantile gentle-
man of great respectability and talent. I pronounced the dog
rabid, and he was destroyed. Some weeks afterwards I was
again requested to visit this gentleman, whom I hardly knew, so

254

RABIES CANINA.

great was the change in him during this short interval. He ap-
peared now bordering on the grave, and to which, had his mind
not been administered to, he would have gone. I had been al"
ready informed by his lady, that, soon after the dog alluded to
was dead, her husband became impressed with the idea, that, as
the animal had licked his hands, he was endangered, and should
most certainly become rabid also. He had applied to his usual
medical attendant, and had also consulted two, if not three phy-
sicians ; each of whom endeavoured to reason him out of his
fears, by assurances that he had incurred no risk at all ; that
nothing was necessary for him but to think no more about the
matter. Each visit produced the same assurances, and the same
faithlessness on his part : he retreated from business, forsook all
society, loathed his food, and passed his time in pacing his room,
waiting the attack.

How was it that not one of his medical advisers touched the
only chord that could vibrate on his distempered mind ? It was
clear that he was alive to one impression only, which was a con-
viction of his danger ; and consequently no advice could reach his
imagination which did not recognize the same ; and none could
arouse him which did not at the same time point out, with great
confidence, a ready and certain means of averting this fancied
danger. On this principle, with the consent of his lady, I acted ;
and when I had heard from himself the particulars of his case,
that he was certain it was impossible he could escape from hy-
drophobia, having had both his hands repeatedly licked by his
dog ; and that, in fact, he already felt the poison at work, which
would soon do its worst ; 1 could but be concerned to observe
what havoc one idea only, constantly and erroneously entertained,
could make even on a strong mind. 1 however treated the mat-
ter most gravely, condoled with him on the danger incurred, and
which I abstained from in anywise lessening ; but, at the same
time, I ventured on an assurance, that, imminent as it was, it was
not too late to avert it : on the contrary, that long after the time
which had elapsed in his case, I had treated several others, every

VIPER BITE.

255

one of which had terminated successfully ; and that, if he would
submit to have the whole surface of the back of both hands cau-
terized, I would ensure his safety. He immediately fell in with
this idea ; it was a call from the grave, as it were : and I pro-
ceeded at once to prepare for the operation by softening his
hands in warm water ; after which I smeared them over with the
fusible caustic potash, so as effectually to erode the cuticle, with-
out entering very deep. Both hands were then wrapped in poul-
tice : he took a gentle opiate that night, and a laxative in the
morning. I repeated the process the second day, but more
slightly, and again on the fourth day. The day following the
first operation I dined at his house, when he ate the first solid
food he had tasted for a fortnight, was composed, and even
cheerful ; in tine, from that time a new turn was given to his
thought; hope took the place of fear ; next, certainty succeeded to
hope ; and, in three weeks, he was again in his counting-house.

VIPER BITE.

In every quarter of the globe but Europe, dogs are exposed to
the venomous attacks of snakes, whose bite is instantly mortal.
The viper is the only animal of this kind in Britain capable of in-
flicting a wound attended with serious consequences, and to
which dogs become exposed when hunting. In these cases, the
bitten part swells enormously, and the animal expresses great
distress and suffering : at length he becomes affected with torpor,
or, in some cases, with convulsions, when death commonly en-
sues. But it is not often that these bites are fatal, particularly
when proper means are resorted to for obviating the effects. These
means consist in freely rubbing the bitten part with volatile
alkali, or with the spirit of hartshorn mixed with oil; giving also
seven, ten, or twelve drops of the volatile alkali, or otherwise
forty drops to a large dog, of the spirit of hartshorn, in a tea-
spoonful or two of sweet oil, every hour, until the amendment is
evident.

:>5(>

WOUNDS.

The venomous stings of Hornets, Wasps, and Bees, may be
relieved by applying the vegetable blue used to colour linen.
Laudanum also, or vinegar or brandy, will, either of them, often
remove the pain and inflammation speedily.

CLASS IX.
External and Local Inflammations.
WOUNDS.

Dogs are liable to become wounded in various ways, and their
wounds, however bad, are not, generally, much attended to,
from an opinion that the animal's tongue is the best dressing.
This is very questionable : in some instances, I am certain, no
application can be worse to a wounded dog than his own tongue.
Whenever dogs are at all inclined to foulness, as a tendency to
cuticular complaints is called, a sore, so licked, is sure to be-
come mangy, and to be aggravated by the licking.

Wounds into the chest or belly should be closed up as soon as
possible, to prevent the external air from penetrating : a stitch or
two made in the integuments is proper ; over which, some adhe-
sive plaister, and a bandage over that, may be applied. If the
intestines protrude in a wounded belly, and the bowels are them-
selves wounded ; first, neatly stitch up the intestinal opening,
and return the gut: then close the wound in the integuments,
leaving the thread which united the gut, if long enough, hang-
ing without the external wound.

In wounds of arteries or veins, the haemorrhage should be
stopped by pressure : should that not succeed, take up the vessel
with needle and thread. Wounds into joints occur from cuts,
and often from stabs : great inflammation is apt to follow, and
the dog is often lamed for life. If the synovia escapes by a very
minute puncture, and the inflammation is not yet very extensive,
treat exactly as in horse practice, by firing with the budding iron.

WOUNDS.

257

If the wound be a lacerated one, and not already much inflamed,
place over it a pledget of lint, and over that a thick paste of lin-
seed meal ; after which, baudage the whole up moderately tight.
Should the inflammation be great, reduce that by a common
poultice, and then endeavour to close the joint as above.

Jn all extensive and lacerated wounds, a stitch or two should
be made with a larg^e needle and thread, as it will reduce both
the sore and the scar ; but, as such stitches soon ulcerate out in
the dog, so the edges should be still further secured by slips of
sticking-plaister. A recent wound should be cleansed from the
dirt, and then covered up : when it begins to suppurate, dress
with any mild ointment. In thorn wounds, or others made with
splinters, carefully examine that nothing is left within them;
otherwise no attempts to produce healing will prove successful.
The most common wounds in dogs arise from the bites of others ;
and under any such circumstance, should any suspicion arise
that the dog was mad by which the wounded one was bitten, pro-
ceed as directed under Rabies. The wounds arising from com-
mon bites, in general soon heal of themselves : if, however, they
are very extensive, wash them with friars' balsam, to prevent
their becoming gangrenous.

Fistulous wounds, in glandular parts, often prove very obsti-
nate. In such cases, means must be taken to get at the bottom
of the sinus, and to raise a more healthy inflammation therein ;
which may be done, either by injecting something stimulant into
it, as a vitriolic wash, or by passing a seton through it. Some
fistulous wounds, such as those in the feet and about the joints,
will often not heal ; because either the bones, or the capsular
ligaments, are diseased : in such, the wound requires to be laid
open to the bottom, and to be stimulated with oil of turpentine,
or with tincture of Spanish fles, daily, till the diseased bone or
ligament is thrown off, when a healing process will immediately
commence.

258

ULCEROUS AFFECTIONS.
Dogs are subject to ulceration of various parts of the body,
and such state is dependent on very different causes. Cancer,
which is the worst ulcer we are acquainted with, is but little
common in the dog : those cases, however, in canine pathology,
that do approach its character, are noticed under the head Cancer.
Avery malignant ulcer sometimes breaks out in the lips, face or
neck, in distemper, and is there noticed. In virulent canker,
the internal, and sometimes the external ear also, becomes at-
tacked with extensive ulceration ; I have even seen it proceed so
far, as to destroy the dog. The eyes become frequently ulcerated
in distemper; but cure the distemper, and the eyes reinstate
themselves, although the ulcerative process was very considerable.

The Blain is an ulcerous affection of the sides and under sur-
face of the tongue, which sometimes extends into the cheeks : it
is often attributed by country people to being poisoned with
eating some herb, or by killing a toad or serpent, and by other
equally sapient causes. It is sometimes attended with constitu-
tional disturbance ; at others it interferes but little with it. In
the former case, give antimonial powder in doses of two or
three grains, twice a day ; when there is no constitutional dis-
turbance, attend then principally to the blain or vesicles which
will be seen as large livid bladders, studding the sides and
under surface of the tongue. Lay these open, and wash with a
solution of zinc or alum several times a-day.

Glandular parts in dogs are very liable to ulceration; the most
common among which are the teats in bitches.— See Scirrhus.—
The vagina, sheath, or bearing, and sometimes the womb also,
are found to be affected with a morbid ulcerous state, which is
very usually accompanied with a fungous excrescence, from
which blood exudes, or a bloody ichor. This disease partici-
pates more of the nature of cancer than any other to which dogs
are generally liable. — See Cancer.

The penis is likewise the subject of an ulcerous affection,

TUMOURS.

259

which is also commonly accompanied with a spongy fungous ex-
crescence, exuding a bloody ichor: hut it does not erode the
neighbouring parts, and appears to partake more of the nature
of a vascular warty substance, than that of cancer. This state
of fungous excrescence on the penis is often mistaken for a disease
of the kidneys or bladder. A few drops of bloody fluid appear
now and then to come from the dog ; and, as in the act of making
water, the last effort squeezes the fungus, and forces a drop or
two at that time, so it is concluded, that either the urethra, or
the kidneys, or bladder, is affected. But, if the dog be held,
and the prepuce stripped down, so as to expose the penis through-
out, there will generally be found one or more large fungous
knobs, from which this bloody secretion proceeds.

The cure consists in removing every one of these excrescences,
carefully and completely, with the knife, leaving no part of the
base or pedicle of each : having so done, sprinkle the excised
part with a little alum in fine powder ; and, unless the excres-
cence has been very considerable (when it will be necessary to
remove the prepuce every day to prevent an union of it to the
penis), the rest may be left to nature. In very slight cases,
where these fungi have appeared as warts only, which is not un-
common, I have removed them by merely sprinkling them daily
with powdered savine three parts, crude sal ammoniac two parts.
Other ulcerous affections are noticed under the head Wounds.

TUMOURS.

Dogs are subject to a variety of swellings or tumours. If we
commence our account with the head, we shall find that it is the
subject of a peculiar tumefaction, not very unlike human erysi-
pelas. In dogs of a gross, full habit, from natural plethora, or
from over-feeding, the head will sometimes become suddenly
enlarged, hot, tender, and painful, accompanied with thirst,
quickened pulse, and every mark of fever. In a day or two a
general eruption takes place, which proves to be a kind of acute

R

2m

POLYPUS.

mange. — See Mange. In distemper also, a phlegmonous tu-
mour occasionally forms upon some part of the face, generally
about the lower jaw, which soon maturates, but afterwards forms
an unhealthy and spreading ulcer. — See Distemper. The flap of
the ear is also subject to a very considerable tumour, containing
serum.— See Tumefied Flap of the Ear. The neck is likewise
subject to tumefactions. The principal of these cases arises from
an enlargement of the glands on each side of the windpipe, and
is called Bronchocele ; which see. The neck will sometimes also
become swollen from rheumatism. — See Rheumatism. On the
body, glandular tumours, or wens, will likewise form in various
parts : there is hardly any situation in which I have not seen
them, and extracted them from. — See Cancer and Glandular
Swellings. But the most frequent glandular tumours, are those
that form in the teats of bitches.— See Scirrhus. In old bitches,
particularly in spayed ones, there often appears a tumour, or en-
largement, on each side of the back about the loins ; which,
though it elevates the skin externally, yet is evidently more deeply
situated. These swellings arise from large accumulations of fat
about the ovaria.

POLYPUS.

Now and then an excrescence is found protruding itself from
some cavity, of an indeterminate form, but usually pendulous and
nipple-shaped. 1 have seen them in the nose, within the uterus
and the sheath of the penis, as well as pendant from other parts
also; but by much the most usual situation in which polypi are
found, is within the sheath or vagina of the bitch. When the
pedicle of the polypus can be reached to its origin, it may be taken
off by excision : when this cannot be conveniently done, still a
ligature may commonly be introduced around its base, and suf-
fered to remain till the whole drops off. I have frequently re-
moved polypi by both these methods, without future inconveni-
ence or reproduction.

2G1

TUMEFIED OR SORE FEET.

When the feet of dogs become sore by travelling, it is common
to wash them with brine ; but this is not altogether a good prac-
tice. It is better to bathe them with greasy pot-liquor, milk, or
buttermilk, and afterwards to defend them from stones and dirt,
by wrapping them up. When the feet become sore from any dis-
eased affection of the claivs, the proper treatment may be seen
under Mange, and under Cutting of Claws, in Class XII.

Occasionally, however, violent inflammation follows very hard
and continued travel, and the spongy balls of the feet take on a
slow suppuration ; the dog can hardly be moved, and his time is
spent in licking them : often he has strong symptoms of fever.
A poultice of linseed meal ought to envelop each foot, which
should be renewed once a-day ; if the dog gnaws it off, ap-
ply fomentations twice a-day; for it is essentially necessary
that a healthy suppuration should be established as quick as pos-
sible, otherwise a species of founder takes place, and the do°-

•11 •

will remain tender footed ever after. As soon as matter fluc-
tuates, open with a lancet. The claws by undue growth often
curve, and indent their points within the integuments, and occa-
sion tumefaction of a toe : this must be remedied by cutting,
away the indenting portion.— See Cutting of Claws in Opera-
tions. A tumefied toe or toes we occasionally meet with, where
around the base of the claw the secretory part or quick is swol-
len, inflamed, and excoriated. This is a mangy affection, and is
described with the anomalies of Mange.

HERNIAL TUMOURS.

As the dog may be the subject of most of the varieties of
hernia, so these tumours may be various; but that to which he
is naturally most prone, is epiplocele, and which tumour is by no
means uncommon in such as are very fat : the unclosed state of
the abdominal ring, and the very great dimensions of the omen-
tum, particularly when enlarged by an extraordinary quantity of

r 2

262

OPHTHALMIA.

adipose matter, and pressed on by other accumulations, as may
be supposed, very naturally incline it to be gradually pressed
through the ring, and to occupy the scrotal bag, where I have
seen the distention enormous. I never saw a case of strangula-
tion ; but, if such were to occur, without doubt it would shew
itself by the distention and colicky pains. The operation of the
taxis must be first attempted ; and should that fail, proceed to
dilate the stricture by which it is strangulated.

CLASS X.
Diseases of the Eyes.

OPHTHALMIA, OR INFLAMMATION OF THE COATS OF

THE EYE.

Idiopathic Ophthalmia.- Dogs are occasionally attacked with
inflammation of the coats of the eye or eyes ; in which case, there
is an impatience of strong light, the conjunctiva is red, and
when the affection is intense, the pupil itself is clouded with milky
whiteness, or otherwise, the bloodvessels of the opaque cornea
are seen in red lines extending over it. If this state of the pupil
is not present at the first, the continuation of the affection for se-
veral days commonly produces it: now and then, the humours of
the eye are seen to exhibit a reddish tinge ; but this is not fre-
quent. The causes of the affection are various : excitements of
any kind, as violent exertions, heat and cold alternating in ex-
treme degrees occasion it : thus I have seen it follow from plung-
ing into water when the dog has been very hot, and not accus-
tomed to the change.

Ophthalmia is also occasioned by external violence, and by
irritating matters settling within the eye ; or stings, &c. without.
These cases are known usually by one only being affected ; but
I have seen pointers, setters, and spaniels suddenly thus seized
after hunting in cover, from some poisonous herb ; in which case
it is seen in both eyes. Thorn wounds, scratches from cats,

OPHTHALMIA.

203

&c, are productive of it ; but it is commonly confined to one
eye.

The treatment is not dissimilar in principle in all these cases :
should the inflammation be very considerable, bleed, purge, and
keep low: foment the eyes with an infusion of poppy heads,
until the light does not distress the dog, when apply the following
wash several times a-day : —

Superacetate of lead (sugar of lead) half a drachm

Rose water 6 ounces.

When the inflammation is somewhat lessened, use the fol-
lowing : —

Sulphate of zinc 1 scruple

A weak infusion of elm bark 6 ounces

Brandy 1 tea-spoonful.

Sometimes the following has moderated the irritation when
other applications have failed: —

Tincture of opium half a drachm

Infusion of green tea 4 ounces.

All exposure to strong light, or other sources of irritation, as
foul housing, &c, should be avoided. In very bad cases, I have
sometimes scarified the insides of the eyelids, and even the white
part of the eye itself, by means of the point of a fine lancet, with
very great benefit ; and in others, where much obstinacy in the
complaint has shewn itself, particularly in foul-coated dogs, a
seton in the neck has done much good. After the active symptoms
have disappeared, should any opacity of the cornea remain, a
small pinch of a powder may be sprinkled into the eye once or
twice a-day, composed of one scruple of acetate of lead, and one
drachm of calomel.

Ophthalmia of Distemper. — This might be called a specific
ophthalmia, from peculiarities attending it : or it might be named
symptomatic, as being an accompaniment of a particular disease.
That it is very different from idiopathic ophthalmia is proved by
its consequences ; for while the remaining effects of the idiopathic
attack are in the ratio of the intensity of the inflammation, in ihe

264

CATARACT.

symptomatic they bear no proportion whatever to it. The dis-
temper, as an inflammatory affection of the mucous membranes,
might be supposed, a priori, likely to extend its affection to the
eyes also ; which it does in a marked degree, and with almost
invariable certainty ; so that distemper is frequently characterized
as a defluxion from the eyes and nose. The early symptoms of
this ophthalmia are not unlike those which betoken the idiopa-
thic attack ; except that a more early and more abundant appear-
ance of a purulent secretion is common. The injection of the
opaque, and the cloudiness of the transparent cornea, are, in the
cases I point at, intense ; to which very frequently succeeds, in
the very centre of the pupil, a minute circular speck of ulceration
that sometimes remains stationary during the distemper. At
others, it extends both in depth and breadth ; sometimes so much
as to evacuate the aqueous humour : when this occurs, there
usually follows a luxuriant sprouting of fungoid granulations,
which give great pain, and at last, to all appearance, totally dis-
organize the eye. It is now that the peculiarity of this ophthal-
mia shews itself ; for from this apparent ruin of the structure of
the eye it will gradually reinstate itself, and very often there
will not remain a trace of injury behind. The disease is most
frequently confined to one eye only ; bnt I have seen it in both.
The topical treatment of the ophthalmia of distemper is blended
with that of the idiopathic ; but the constitutional is referrible to
the treatment of distemper itself; for to cure that, is to remove
the ophthalmia.

CATARACT, OR OPACITY OF THE CHRYSTALLINE LENS.

The chrystalline lens occasionally loses its ■pellucid appearance
in dogs, as in ourselves, and from the same causes : a common one
is idiopathic ophthalmia ; that accompanying distemper but sel-
dom occasions it. In old dogs cataracts are by no means un-
common, from a breaking up of the strength of the parts; nor are
they very unusual either in younger dogs, being sometimes the

DROPSY OF THE EYEBALL.

205

result of external injury, and at others it steals on as a chronic
affection of the organ : but there is this difference between the
disease in the old and the young-, that, in the former, both the
eyes commonly become affected; whereas, in the latter, it is
usually confined to one only. In all these cases the before-de-
scribed powder may be blown into the eye; but it is very seldom
that any treatment arrests the final termination in blindness.

AMAUROSIS, OR PARALYSIS OF THE OPTIC NERVOUS

EXPANSION.

This is not a very common affection, but it is now and then
seen to follow epileptic fits ; and I have known it come on without
apparent cause also ; and I witnessed it once consequent to a
fall into a gravel-pit. It is not difficult to see the rationale of the
disease in these cases : nor are we led thereby to be very san-
guine in our hopes of cure. Local and constitutional tonics may
be applied, with stimulant applications to the back of the head.

DROPSY OF THE EYEBALL.

An accumulation of the liquid contents of the eyeball now and
then also occurs, which greatly distends the globe of the eye, and
by its pressure occasions an imperfect contraction of the iris. I
once punctured the sclerotic coat, and evacuated the fluid ; but
great inflammation followed, and the organ gradually wasted
away. 1 have also introduced both stimulants and absorbents,
but particularly calomel. I have tried electricity, pressure, setons,
and blisters ; and all without effect, except in one instance,
where a seton in the cheek, with calomel introduced between the
lids, appeared to gradually lessen the distortion of the globe : but
the owner grew tired of the trouble and chance of expense, and
destroyed the dog before the precise effect could be ascertained.
I have also seen accumulation, within the globe of the eye, of
blood, or extravasated and serous effusion adding to it. In one
such case I evacuated the engorgement by a couching needle,

2<>(J MANGE.

and the eye was saved. This might be called traumatic dropsy t
as being effected by a thorn stab.

EYELIDS, ULCERATED.

There is now and then a mangy affection met with which is
confined to the eyelids, attended with enlargement, ulceration,
and a loss of hair. I have seen it produce innumerable little
orifices, each of which threw out a muco-purulent fluid. In one
instance an extremely minute syringe had a fine canula adapted
to these secreting orifices ; by which a mild solution of nitrate of
silver was introduced every day. By these means, and appa-
rently by these only, could this disease be got under. In tlie
generality of cases which occur, the following will be found
effective : —

Ointment of nitrated quicksilver 1 drachm

Supei acetate of lead {sugar of lead) 20 grains

Spermaceti ointment 3 drachms.

Anoint the parts, night and morning, lightly with it, watching
the dog afterwards that he does not rub it into his eyes. Inter-
nal medicines will also assist the cure. — See Mange.

CLASS XI.
Diseases of the Skin.
MANGE.

This cutaneous affection is very common among dogs of every
variety, and is observed in his congeners, the fox and wolf also :
it is not altogether unusal to find a dead fox so mangy, as ap-
parently to have been destroyed by its virulence. It has been
compared to itch in the human, and not without justice ; as, if I
am not greatly mistaken, the canine mange is capable of produ-
cing the human itch : but, whether the human itch can be given
to dogs, is a point which my experience docs not enable me to

MANGE. 267

determine. The canine mange is a chronic inflammation of the
skin, dependent, in some instances, on a morbid constitutional
action : it is infectious also, from maisms produced from animal
exhalations ; and it is notoriously contagious from personal com-
munication with one affected. It is not, however, so completely
contagious, in all its varieties, as is supposed, for I have known
dogs to sleep with affected ones for some time without becoming
mangy ; but in the majority of cases it is otherwise ; and in some
the predisposition to it is such, that almost simple and momen-
tary contact will produce it. The mange which is received by con-
tagion is more readily given to another than that which is gene-
rated. The uniform presence of animalculi within the psoric
pustules has revived the idea that it originates in the attack of
acari.

Mange is also hereditary. — A bitch, lined by a mangy dog, is
very liable to produce mangy puppies ; but the progeny of a
mangy bitch is certain to become affected sooner or later ; and I
have seen puppies covered with it when a few clays old. The mor-
bid action by which mange is generated is excited in various
ways, and by various causes. When a number of dogs are con-
it fined together, the acrid effluvia of their transpiration and urine
begets a miasm productive of a virulent mange, very difficult to
be removed. Close confinement, with salted food, is even more
certainly productive of mange : thus dogs who have come from
distant countries, on ship-board, are generally affected with it.
Very high living, with little exercise, is a frequent cause : a state
nearly approaching to starvation is also not unfavourable to it.
In both these apparent contrarieties, the balance between the skin
and the digestive functions is not preserved, and the disease fol-
lows as a necessary consequence. The disease has some perma-
nent and fixed varieties ; it has also some anomalies ; but the pru-
ritus or itching is common to all.

TJie scabby mange, one of the most common forms under which
this eruptive complaint appears, is an extension of the secretory
pores of the skin in very minute red vesicles, that at first are dis-

268

MANGE.

tinct, but as they extend become pustular, confluent, and scabby.
Sometimes simple linear cracks of the cuticle seem to pour out a
serous fluid, which concretes into scab. It is occasionally confined
to the back; at others it is found principally in the joints of the
extremities.

The red mange, so called from a redness of both skin and hair
in the parts affected, is likewise not unfrequent, and partakes much
of an herpetic character. In this variety there is less pustular
eruption, but nearly the whole skin of the body, particularly in
white-haired dogs, is in a state of active inflammation : it is also
hot to the feel, and itches intolerably. In the red mange, the hair
itself becomes morbidly affected, and alters in its colour, particu-
larly about the extremities : it also falls off, and leaves the skin
bare, much thickened, and puckered into stubborn wrinkles.
Dogs with the strong coarse hair called wired are very liable to
this state ; in which a magnifying glass applied will often detect
innumerable minute ulcerations, covered by furfuraceous scales.

A direct ulceration of the sebaceous glands is another form of
mange, but is much less frequent than either of the former : these
glands in this state appear to become internally ulcerated, and
have their sebaceous outlet preternaturally enlarged. The affec-
tion seldom shews itself universally, but partially, as over the face,
around the joints, and in solitary patches over the rest of the body.
The diseased parts are tumid, shining, and look spongy ; from the
little openings of which a moisture, between mucus and pus,
issues. I have not observed this affection but in the larger breeds
of dogs ; and usually, I think, in pointers and setters. I have seen
it almost entirely confined to the eyelids, as noticed in Diseases
of the Eyes.

A cuticidar eruption, called surfeit, is a fourth appearance that
mange frequently assumes. It seems, in many cases, the con
sequence of some active inflammatory state of the constitution,
frequently of some great local internal inflammation ; in which
cases it puts on something of an acute form. It sometimes breaks
out suddenly in bitches after pupping; and in dogs newly re-

MANGE.

209

covered from distemper; in fact, any great vascular excitement
may produce it : thus, when a dog travels during a great part of
a very hot day, and becomes afterwards exposed to cold, a surfeit
is oftentimes the consequence. It is usually seen in the form of
partial blotches, it being seldom that it extends universally over
the body. In some cases there is little appearance of elevated
scab ; but large patches shew themselves, from which the hair has
fallen, and left the skin bare and rough from the branny scaly
eruption, which itches with more or less violence. Some sports-
men allege that a surfeit is sometimes occasioned by giving food
in a hot state. Salt provisions have certainly brought it on ;
and long-continued feeding on oat or barley meal has doue the
same.

Acute mange. — Besides that variety just noticed, there is yet a
more directly acute form of the complaint, which puts on an ap-
pearance not unlike erysipelas in some instances ; in others it is
a pure erythema, or red efflorescence ; but more frequently it is
accompanied with some ulceration. It commences by a direct fe-
brile attack, with panting, heat, and restlessness ; next some part
of the body (usually the head) begins to swell, which, the second
or third day, gives place to ulceration of the nose, eyelids, lips,
ears, neck, &cc. This ulceration proves superficial, but extensive ;
and continues a longer or a shorter period, as the treatment is
more or less judicious. Bleeding, aperients, and febrifuges, form
the constitutional remedies : the topical ones are tepid fomenta-
tions the first two days ; and, when the tumefaction has given
place to ulceration, the application of a cooling unguent of su-
peracetate of lead {sugar of lead), with spermaceti ointment, will
be proper. What remains of the affection, in a week or ten days'
time, may be treated as common mange.

The anomalies of mange are numerous; among them may be
reckoned the acute variety just noticed, but which was appended
to surfeit, from some similarity it possessed to that form of the
complaint. Local mange, as an anomaly, exists under as many
forms as the parts it attacks. Almost every eruptive complaint

270

MANGE

may degenerate into mange, such is the predisposition in all the -
carnivora to psoric and herpetic affections. Those that deserve
specification are canker both within and without the ear, which
will follow in due order.

Inflamed scrotum is of the mange variety, and partakes of the
nature of erysipelas, which see. — Ulcerated Eyelids, already de-
scribed with Diseases of the Eye, are of the like kind.

Diseased toes or claws. — The affection here meant is a singular
anomaly of mange of the following kind. One of them will appear
highly inflamed, swollen, and somewhat ulcerated, around the
claw. In such a case the dog employs himself in continually
licking it, which, instead of doing good, as is supposed, always
makes it worse. It is commonly mistaken for some accidental
injury ; and the owner is surprised to find, that neither the dog's
licking, nor his own attempts to make the toe sound, succeed.
The fact is, that this is simply a mangy affection, and may be
readily cured by applying the sixth ointment directed for the cure
of mange. If it should, however, prove very obstinate, the first
ointment directed for Canker on the Outside of the Ear may be
then tried with confidence. In either case, the foot must be sewed
up in leather, to prevent the dog getting at it, taking particular
care not to bind it up too tight : but the securing of the diseased
part from being licked is essential to the cure.

Mange is apt to be considered more troublesome than hurtful,
which is a great error ; for it is not only invariably hurtful, but
very often fatal also : when long continued, it frequently ends in
dropsy. It sometimes diseases the mesenteric glands, and the
subjects of it die tabid : neither in any case can it be neglected
with impunity. In sporting dogs it is injurious to their qualities
as well as their health: their scent inrariably becomes im-
paired, and their general powers are always weakened by its
irritation .

Treatment of mange. — Whatever similarity may exist be-
tween this complaint and the human itch in other respects, a very
great difference is observed between the obstinacy of the one, and

MANGE.

271

the ease with which the othermay be cured. Medical practitioners
among- the human consider the itcli as local ; but veterinarians, to
their vexation, will find mange constitutional ; too often very
deeply rooted also iu the dog. Like the human itch, it is, how-
ever, most judiciously treated by remedies that excite absorption ;
and sulphur, the grand panacea of the one, is also the general
application for the other : but, as mange exhibits greater va-
rieties, and is altogether more difficult of cure, it is seldom that
we can trust to this alone for that end. The following formulae are
adapted for the first described form of mange : —

No. 1. — Powdered sulphur, yellow or black 4 ounces

Muriate of ammonia (sal ammoniac,

crude) powdered half an ounce

Aloes, powdered 1 drachm

Venice turpentine half an ounce

Lard, or other fatty matter 6 ounces. — Mix.

Or,

No. 2. — Tobacco in powder half an ounce

White hellebore in powder half an ounce

Sulphur in powder 4ounces

Aloes in powder 2 drachms

Lard, or other fatty matter 6 ounces.

Or,

No. 3. — Powdered charcoal 2 ounces

Sulphur powdered 4 ounces

Potash 1 drachm

Lard, &c 6 ounces

Venice turpentine half an ounce.

Or,

No. 4. — Sulphuric acid (oil of vitriol) 1 drachm

Lard 6 ounces

Tar 2 ounces

Powdered lime 1 ounce.

Or,

No. 5. — Decoction of tobacco 3 ounces

Decoction of white hellebore 3 ounces

Oxymuriate of quicksilver (corrosive
sublimate) 5 grains.

Dissolve the corrosive sublimate in the decoctions, which should
be of a moderate strength ; when dissolved, add two drachms of
powdered aloes, to render the mixture nauseous, and prevent its

I

272 MANGE.

being licked off, which ought to be very carefully guarded against :
the best means for this purpose is a muzzle having a very fine wire
capping or mouth-piece, which will effectually prevent the dog
from getting his tongue applied to the ointment, which would
prove his almost certain destruction. When, therefore, the ap-
pfication contains mercury, tobacco, or hellebore, it is best not to
depend on the bitter of the aloes as a preventive to licking, but to
apply an effective muzzle, or otherwise to sew the dog up alto-
gether in a dress, watching him, however, that he does not gnaw
it off.

The formulae for red mange are as follow : —
No. 6.— Of either of the ointments already pre-

scribed, 1, 2, or 3 6 ounces

Mercurial ointment, mild 1 ounce. — Mix.

Or,

No. 7.' — Powdered charcoal 1 ounce

Prepared chalk 1 ounce

Superacetate, or sugar of lead 1 drachm

White precipitate of quicksilver 2 drachms

Sulphur 2 ounces

Lard 5 ounces.

In some cases, the mange ointment, No. 4, alternated with No.
6, one being used one day, and the other the next, will be found
beneficial. In others, benefit has been derived from the wash,
No. 5, united with Hme water. In slight cases of red mange,
the following has been found singularly successful : —
No. 8. — Oxymuriatc of quicksilver (corrosive

sublimate) powdered 6 grains

Sulphuretted potash (liver of sulphur) ... half an ounce
Lime water 6 ounces.— Mix.

The third variety requires a considerable difference in the
treatment. When the little spongy openings, piercing the cel-
lular tissue, will admit of it, they should be injected, by means of
a very minute syringe, with the wash No. 8. The general surface
should also be anointed with the following : —

No. 9.— Ointment of nitrated quicksilver 2 drachms

Superacetate of lead 1 scruple

Washed flowers of sulphur half an ounce

Lard 1 ounce.— Mix.

MANGE.

273

The fourth kind of mange, called surfeit, requires little variety

in the treatment, except that bleeding-, purging, with every other

part of a depleting treatment, are here more particularly necessary.

With regard to the external applications, it should be remembered

both in this, and all the otber kinds of the disease, that, when the

sores are very irritable, and much inflamed, it will be frequently

essentially necessary to allay the heat and inflammatory irritation

in them before they will bear any of the regular mange applications.

The best means of doing tins will be by anointing them with the

following for a few days : —

Superacetate, called sugar of lead 1 drachm

Spermaceti ointment 2 ounces.

When the irritation is allayed, proceed with the ointment No. 3,
or alternate this with No. 6.

Besides the fixed varieties before described, mange puts on dif-
ferent appearances in different subjects ; but they may be all re-
ferred to one or otber of these heads. Numerous domestic reme-
dies are in use, but, I believe, no one article acts so favourably
as several united ; and it may, perhaps, not be too much to say,
that the recipes already given will meet every variety : their effi-
cacy has been proved by long experience and a successful prac-
tice. Tobacco water is often used for the cure of this complaint,
and, in very slight cases, it frequently does some good ; but, un-
less used with extreme caution, it is a most dangerous remedy,
from the tendency all dogs have to lick themselves ; and, when
they do this with tobacco, the effects are often fatal, as I have
several times seen. Great caution is also requisite, for the same
reasons, with all kinds of washes in which there is any thing
active, as mercurials, &c. It is not an uncommon practice to dip
mangy dogs in the tanners' pits ; but it is a very filthy and not
often an efficacious one, except in very slight cases : in such in-
stances, an infusion of oak bark, with a little alum, would of
course do as well.

Having detailed the outward applications, it becomes neces-
sary to mention the internal remedies that are required. When

274 MANGE.

mange is generated, the constitution must be at fault to produce
it ; and, when it is taken, it will itself affect the constitution :
so that in all, except very slight cases indeed, some internal
remedies are requisite. In very full habits, and particularly in
red mange, bleeding is very proper18. I have also, in some in-
stances, experienced benefit from a seton placed in the neck as a
counter drain, particularly when the head has been much affected.
It is also very requisite to attend particularly to the food : what-
ever has been injudicious, both as to quantity and quality, should
be altered. Frequently a total change in the manner and matter
of feeding assist the cure very materially. — See the subject of

Feeding. Purges, when regularly administered, often prove very

useful ; for which purpose Epsom salts may be given, two or
three times a-week, in mild doses. But the most effectual inter-
nal remedy is a judicious use of alteratives. Red mange requires
the aid of mercurial alteratives. Indeed, they assist in every
variety of it, but this one can hardly be cured without. The
following formula is a good one : —

Black sulphurct of quicksilver (JElhiops mineral)... 1 ounce

Supertartrate of potash (cream of tartar) 1 ounce

Nitrated potash (nitre) 2 drachms.

Divide into sixteen, twenty, or twenty-four doses, according to
the size of the dog, and give one every morning or evening.
Any of the other medicines of this class, mentioned under the
head Alteratives, may be also used on these occasions.

In desperate cases the following may be tried, after the others
have proved unequal to the cure : —

Sulphuric acid (oil of vitriol) 10 drops

Conserve of roses ) (>unce

Flour of sulphur half an ounce.

Divide into eight, twelve, or fifteen balls, according to the size
of the dog, and give one every day.
,„ In the Philosophical Transactions, No. xxv, p. 451, is detailed a case
f a mangy dog successfully treated bj transfusing into him the blood from
a heaZ dog. How far a similar result would follow m other cases, ,s

doubtful.

MANGE.

275

Or the folio win o-: —

D

Oxymuriate of quicksilver 3 grains

Spring water 3 ounces.

Dissolve, and make twelve or fifteen doses of it, according- to
the size and strength of the body, and give one every night and
mornino-.

With regard to the manner and frequency of external applica-
tions, they should, particularly when liquid, be used every day-
The mercurial ones require caution, not only as already insisted
on, to prevent the dog from licking them, but also to watch that
salivation may not be occasioned by their use. When mercurial
preparations are licked by dogs, they are apt to occasion violent
and dangerous diahrroea. Not only, therefore, should the lickino-

1 w t>

be very carefully guarded against; but, when any danger of this
kind has occurred, a dose of castor oil should be immediately
given ; after which, astringents, with a small proportion of
washed sulphur in them, will prove useful.— In the use of the
unguents, it is necessary to remark, that they are too apt to be
smeared over the hair, without being applied at all to the skin
itself. It requires, at least, two hours to dress a dog thoroughly.
The hair should be parted almost hair by hair, and a small quan-
tity of ointment should be rubbed actually on the skin, between
the parted hairs, by means of the end of the finger. After every
part is done, the hair may be smoothed down, and the dog will
appear, when the operation has been neatly managed, nearly as
clean as though nothing had been applied. After three or four
dressings in this way he may be washed with soft soap and water,
and the ointment may be again rubbed in, and again washed off
every fourth day, until the cure is complete. In old and bad
cases of mange, it will be frequently requisite to continue the treat-
ment a very considerable time, to ensure a perfect removal of 'the
complaint. I once occasioned a very favourite setter, who had
had virulent mange five years, to be dressed every day, or every
other day, for ^extraordinary period of twelve months, before

276 CANKER IN THE EAR.

I could completely conquer the disease : but this determined per- -
severance effected a permanent cure.

CANKER IN THE EAR.

From confinement and luxurious living, dogs become subjected
to various complaints, that evidently arise from the formation of
too great a quantity of blood, and other juices; which, not being
spent in support of the body, find themselves other outlets.
Canker in the ear is evidently produced by this disposition in the
constitution to throw off the superfluity accumulated within. In
these cases, the dog is first observed to scratch his ear frequently ;
on looking within which a red granular appearance is seen, from
dried extravasated blood. If the complaint is not stopped in this
state, it proceeds to ulceration, when the internal part of the ear,
instead of being filled with dry blood as before, will be found al-
ways moist with purulent matter. The dog now continually
shakes his head from the intolerable itching ; and, if the root
of the ear is pressed, the pus within crackles, and much tender-
ness is expressed. When canker has remained long, the audi-
tory canal becomes closed, and the hearing lost : now and then
the ulceration penetrates deeply inwards, and destroys the dog.
I have also known instances where the ulceration has assumed a
cancerous appearance, and extended itself over the face.

This complaint appears to have also another source besides
over-feeding, heat, and confinement ; which is, the action of wa-
ter within the ears; for it may be observed, that all dogs who fre-
quent the water much are more disposed to canker than others.
Any kind of dog may contract it thus, particularly when aided
by artificial habits, as heat, confinement, and high living; but
Newfoundland dogs, poodles, and water spaniels, are liable to
it when not so artificially treated. Perhaps the length of hair
around their ears, not only keeps these parts hot, but also re-
tains the water within, and thus encourages an afflux of fluids or
humours, as they are termed, to them. That the water has this

I

CANKER IN THE EAR. 277

tendency is certain, for I have frequently seen it removed by
merely keeping- such dogs from the water ; that is, in those cases
where the feeding and exercise were proportionate, and the fatness
has not been inordinate.

The cure, it is rational to conclude, must be either simple or more
complicated, according to the cause producing the disease. When-
ever there is much fulness of habit, and the dog is very fat, or
when he has been subjected to much confinement in a hot close situa-
tion,, these circumstances must be immediately rectified. Absti-
nence and purgatives will reduce the fat ; a cooler situation must
be chosen, open and unrestrained ; full exercise must be allowed,
to assist also in giving another direction to the fluids. In those
cases where there are symptoms of a constitutional foulness, which
shew themselves by a red itching skin, stinking coat, and mangy
eruptions ; in such, in addition to exercise, a vegetable diet,
cleansing alteratives, and occasional purges, should be given. — See
Alteratives. In very bad cases a seton may be properly in-
troduced in the neck, and suffered to remain there, until the
benefit derived from it is very apparent. When the cankered
dog- is very fat, occasional bleeding is also beneficial.

External applications are likewise essential to the cure, and in
some mild cases are all that are necessary, particularly where it
may be supposed that swimming much, or too frequent washing,
may have principally tended to produce the complaint. In the early
stages, a wash composed of half a drachm of superacetate (sugar)
of lead, dissolved in four ounces of rose or rain water, is often
all that is necessary. A small tea-spoonful may be introduced
(previously warmed to a blood heat, to prevent surprise) night
and morning, rubbing the root of the ear at the same time, to
promote the entrance of the wash into the cavities. In more
obstinate cases, it is prudent to add fifteen or twenty grains of
vitriolated zinc (white vitriol) to the wash ; and if, instead of
water, a decoction of oak bark is made use of to form the wash,
it will greatly promote the end desired. In some cases, acetate
of copper (verdigris), mixed with oil, has proved beneficial when

s 2

278 CANKER ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE EAR.

introduced in the same manner. In others, submuriate of quick-
silver (calomel) and oil have produced amendment in the same
way. A very weak injection of the oxymuriate of quicksilver (cor-
rosive sublimate) has succeeded when every other application lias
failed. A very mild injection of nitrate of silver, as one grain to
two ounces of water, has done much good also.

CANKER ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE EAR.

Although this complaint bears the same name with the former,
in appearance it is very different. It consists of an ill-disposed
ulcer, which is usually situated on the lower edge of the flap or
pendulous part of one or both ears, dividing it into a kind of slit.
It seems to itch intolerably, and is therefore kept in a continual
state of aggravation by the shaking of the dog's head. It is not
a little remarkable, that whereas long-haired dogs (as Newfound-
lands, setters, and water-spaniels) are more subject to internal
canker of the ear ; so smooth-coated dogs (as pointers and hounds)
are the only ones, in general, affected with this outer canker.
Pointers and hounds who have been rounded, by having the flap
shortened, are less liable to it than those who have their ears of
the natural length. From this circumstance it is common to
round them after the disease has appeared ; but it frequently fails
to cure, unless the part taken off extends considerably beyond
the surface of the ulcerated slit. It is common also to burn out
the ulcer either with the actual cautery, or with some caustic sub-
stance ; but this also proves an uncertain remedy.

In full habits, and where over-feeding and confinement may be
supposed to have had any share in the production of the disease,
the same rules must be attended to, with regard to the constitu-
tion generally, as are detailed for the internal canker. But in
other cases an external application is usually found sufficient.
An unguent, made with equal parts of ointment of nitrated quick-
silver and calamine cerate, maybe applied once a-day, carefully
securing the ear from the injury occasioned by the shaking ol

TUMEFIED FLAP OF THE EAR.

279

the head, by a sort of head dress, during its use. Or the follow-
ing may be tried : —

Oxymuriate of quicksilver (corrosive sublimate)

very finely powdered 3 grains

Cerate of calamine (Turner's cerate) 1 drachm

Sublimated sulphur (milk of) 1 scruple.

In some cases, the oxymuriate of quicksilver has become more
efficacious in a wash, six grains being dissolved in four ounces of
water. Strong astringent lotions are sometimes useful, as alum
dissolved in a decoction of oak bark. When the disease proves
very obstinate, excision must be resorted to, taking care that the
whole, not only of the immediate cracked part, but also of its
tumefied edges, are included in the operation.

TUMEFIED FLAP OF THE EAR.

From a similar repletion of habit, and from the same attempts
in the constitution to find an outlet to the superfluous humours,
or fluids, the flap, or pendulous part of the ear, becomes not
unfrequently the subject of another complaint, which shews
itself by a tumour, whose prominent part is always on the inner
side. It sometimes swells to an enormous size, and occupies
the whole of the inner surface of the flap, which then presents a
shining tumid mass, so painfully tender and weighty as to prove
very distressing to the animal. It is most frequently met with
in those dogs whose external ears are long, as setters, pointers,
hounds, poodles, and spaniels. Attempts at dispersing these
tumours always fail ; for the collections are, from the first, less
phlegmonous than serous ; the only mode of relief is therefore to
evacuate the contents : but it is too common merely to make a
small opening for this purpose, which is almost certain to heal
immediately, and a fresh accumulation takes place of the same
bloody serum. The tumour ought either to be opened its full
length, and a pledget of lint introduced to prevent too hasty a
union of the outer edges of the sac; or a seton should be intro-
duced embracing the whole of the tumour, which should be suffered

280 ERYSIPELAS— WARTS IN DOGS.

to remain for a week or ten days. By this means, instead of a
discharge of serum, healthy matter will form in a little time 5
the sides will granulate and unite, and, on the removal of the
seton, the external lips of the wound will close firmly and
healthily. It is, however, a necessary caution to observe, that
it is not prudent to open the tumour until it exhibits its charac-
teristic shining appearance, with evident fluctuation. The future
recurrence of the complaint must be prevented by attending to
the constitution, as before directed. It is also proper to remark,
that all the affections of the flap of the ear are greatly aggravated
by the force with which they are rapped against the head by
shaking it; the pendulous part should, therefore, always be
secured in a kind of cap during the medical treatment.

ERYSIPELAS.

Dogs are subject to two inflammatory affections, not unlike to
human erysipelas. The one attacks the head, and is described
with Manse, and with Tumours also. The other affects the
scrotum, and shews itself by a very red irritable state of the
whole bag, which becomes swollen and excessively sensitive;
some excoriation is also present, and sometimes actual ulceration ;
and the poor dog finds it very painful and inconvenient to walk.
In this state it should be fomented with poppy head infusion ;
but no active mange application must yet be applied to it in this irri-
table state, which would greatly aggravate it: the only ointment
proper would be one made with acetate of lead, ten grains, and
elder ointment an ounce. As soon as the irritation is abated, then
proceed with it as mange. Both of these affections, being the
offspring of plethora and too great fulness of habit, require de-
pleting means to assist the external applications.

WARTS IN DOGS.
It is not uncommon for dogs to be troubled with warts on
some parts of the body ; the most frequent instances of which
are the lips, the penis, and the prepuce. These excrescences

VERMIN ON THE SKIN OF DOGS.

may be either cut off. or, when they exist in clusters, they may
be sprinkled with equal parts of crude sal ammoniac and pow-
dered savine ; which commonly effects their removal.

VERMIN ON THE SKIN OF DOGS.

As vermin are productive of mange, so the destruction of them
is a very proper consideration in canine pathology. Ticks will
adhere closely, and imbed themselves within the flesh ; these, it is
common to pull away with the fingers, which often makes a dog
shy of approaching his owner : if the tick be cut in two, it
destroys it, and gives no pain to the dog. Fleas irritate many
dogs almost to distraction, and render them obnoxious to their
owners also ; and I hardly know a more frequent enquiry than,
how to destroy them, and how they can be prevented from
accumidating in the coat. Washing the body well with soap-
suds, and directly afterwards carefully combing it with a small-
toothed comb, are the most ready means of dislodging these
nimble gentry. But it must be remembered, that the previous
washing is only to enable the comb more readily to overtake
them : the water does not destroy them ; for dogs who swim
every day are still found to have fleas. These insects are very
tenacious of life, and soon recover this temporary drowning ; the
comb, therefore, is principally to be depended on for their cap-
tion before they recover. But as washing is not, in many in-
stances, a salutary practice, and as, in many others, it is a very
inconvenient one, so it becomes a matter worthy of consideration
how to be enabled to destroy them without these means.

Sopping the skin with tobacco water has been recommended ;
but it has only a momentary effect, and it not unfrequently
poisons the dog. — See Mange. Innumerable other means I have
tried to drive away fleas, but the only tolerably certain one 1
have discovered, is to make dogs sleep on fresh yellow deal
shavings. These shavings may be made so fine as to be as soft
a.s a feather bed ; and, if changed every week or fortnight, they

2H2

TREATMENT OP FRACTURES.

make the most cleanly and wholesome one that a dog can real
on ; and the turpentine in them is very obnoxious to the fleas.
But, where it is absolutely impracticable to employ deal shavings,
it will be found useful to rub or dredge the dog's hide, once or
twice a week, with very finely powdered resin : if simply rubbed
in, add some bran.

CLASS XII.
Surgical Operations on Dogs, fyc.

TREATMENT OF FRACTURES.

The limbs of dogs are very liable to become fractured; but
the irritability of the constitution is so much less in these animals
than in ourselves, that they suffer comparatively but little on these
occasions; and the parts soon reinstate themselves, even without
assistance, though in such cases the limb in general remains
somewhat crooked.

The thigh is a very common subject of fracture ; and though
it appears a most serious bone to break, yet it is one that, with a
little assistance, commonly unites straight, and forms a good
limb. When a fracture has happened to the thigh, in case the
violence has injured the fleshy parts also, so as to produce tension,
heat, and inflammation, foment with vinegar and water until the
swelling is reduced. When this is effected, apply a plaister of
pitch or other adhesive matter, spread on moderately firm leather,
sufficiently large to cover the outside of the thigh, and to double
a little over the inside of it also. Then attach a long splent upon
this, which, if it reach from the toes to an inch or two above the
back, will be found to steady the limb very much. This splent.
must be kept in its situation by a long bandage carefully wound
round the limb, beginning at the toes, and continuing it up the
thigh ; when it must be crossed over the back, continued down
around the other thigh, and then fastened. This would, how-

TREATMENT OF FRACTURES.

283

ever, slip over the tail, without other assistance ; for which rea-
son it must be kept in its place by means of another slip passed
round the neck and along the back.

Fractures of the shoulder should be treated in a similar man-
ner.

lu fractures of the fore and hind legs, very great care is ne-
cessary to insure a straight union. As soon as the inflammation
and swelling will admit of it (sometimes there is little or none
trom the first), apply an adhesive plaister neatly and firmly
around the part ; then fill up the inequalities by tow or lint, so
tbat the limb shall appear of one size throughout, otherwise the
points of the joints will be irritated and made sore by the pres-
sure of the splents. After this has been done, apply two, three,
or four splents of thin pliable wood before, behind, and on each
side of the limb, aud secure them in their places by a flannel band-
age. In all fractures, great caution must be observed not to
tighten the part, by either the plaister or bandage, so as to bring
on strangulation of the vessels, which will be shewn by the swel-
ling. Should this, therefore, occur to a considerable degree, the
bandage must be loosened, or otherwise mortification may take
place. In fractures of the fore legs, a supporting bandage, with
side splents, should be kept on a longer time than is necessary
for fractures of the hinder ones. If this precaution be not ob-
served, the leg is apt to become gradually crooked, after the ap-
paratus is removed.

In cases of compound fracture, that is, where there is an open
wound, which penetrates to the divided bones, the same means
must be pursued as are practised in the human subject. Irritat-
ing pointed portions must be sawed off ; the loose ones should be
removed ; and every means must be adopted to close the wound
as early as possible : during which process, the bones should be
kept in contact with each other, and supported by soft bandages ;
until the cicatrization of the wound will allow of proper splents
and tighter bandaging. It likewise not unfrequently happens,
that a compound fracture, or even a simple one, when neglected.

284

TREATMENT OF DISLOCATIONS.

becomes united by a soft union ; that is, instead of the callus in-
terposed between the divided ends being bony, it proves cartila-
ginous only. In such a case the fractured bone never becomes
firm ; but, on the contrary, when examined, an obscure motion
may be felt, like an imperfect joint, which utterly precludes any
strength in the limb. I have frequently been consulted on these
cases, all of which have originated in the neglect of a proper
attention to the fracture at first.

The treatment here must be one of two kinds : we may either
open the skin opposite the fracture, and, laying bare the bone,
remove the soft portion interposed with a fine saw, treating the
case afterwards as a compound fracture ; or we may insert a
seton exactly through the soft cartilaginous portion, and keep it
open ten days or a fortnight. After this time the seton should
be removed, the wound closed, and the part treated as a simple
fracture. Either of these plans will usually prove successful,
and firmly consolidate the limb : but, when there is no lapping
over of the ends of the bones, the latter is the most mild and con-
venient, and equally certain of success.

TREATMENT OF DISLOCATIONS.
The joints most liable to this injury are the shoulder and knee
before, and the stifle and hip behind. The first step is to examine
whether there be a fracture also, which is frequently the case.
Under these circumstances the treatment is rendered more com-
plex, from the difficulty of reducing the dislocation, without using
too much violence to the limb. The mode of detecting this
additional evil is not difficult ; for if fracture is present, there will
be an evident roughness and grating of the bones, which will be
sensibly felt by the hand.

When it is attempted to reduce a simple dislocation, it is evi-
dent that the direction in which the dislocated bone is parted
from its socket should be first taken into consideration in the
means used for reducing it. A moderately firm extension should
then be made by two persons; one holding the body and one

CASTRATION.

285

part of the joint, and the other supporting the immediate dis-
located limb, at the same time giving the luxated end a direction
towards its socket. If this extension is sufficiently and properly
made, the dislocated bone will slip into its place, and render the
limb perfect. When the shoulder is dislocated from the arm,
which is a rare occurrence, the disjunction may be forwards or
backwards : it occurs generally forwards. The elbow may be
dislocated either inwards or outwards; but it happens more
frequently inwards, and it is seldom that it occurs without a frac-
ture also.

The hip joint is oftener dislocated than either of the former,
and it is most common for the head of the thigh bone to be carried
upwards and backwards, which makes the hip of that side sensibly
higher and posterior to the other, and renders it easily detected.
The muscles of the loins are so strong, that reduction of the thigh
is always difficult; however, a firm and judicious extension will
effect it. The hind-knee, or stifle joint, which is that next the hip,
is the subject of dislocation; and it more frequently occurs
inward than outward : this also, from the strength of the surround-
ing muscles, is often found difficult to reduce ; and it is but
seldom, likewise, that the elbow is dislocated without a fracture
also. When a dislocation has been reduced, a pitch or other
adhesive plaister should be applied around the joint to keep it in
its place, which may be further assisted by a proper bandage.
It may be useful to remark to the inexperienced practitioner,
that he can no way detect the presence of either dislocation or
fracture so well as by comparing the sound limb or joint atten-
tively with the unsound one.

CASTRATION.

It now and then becomes necessary to perform this operation,
from disease of the spermatic chord, or from scirrhous swellings
in the testicles themselves. Whenever such a necessity occurs,
although castration is not a dangerous operation on the brute
subject, yet it requires the assistance of a veterinary or a human

286

S PAVING.

surgeon. Each testicle should be taken out of the scrotum sepa-
rately, by an opening sufficiently large, when a ligature should
be applied, moderately tight only, around the spermatic chord,
about an inch and a half beyond its insertion into the testicle ;
the separation should then be effected by the scalpel or knife be-
tween the ligature and testis. It is sometimes performed without
the ligature, by making the division of the chord with a red-hot
knife, but the other is the neatest and safest mode. It saves the
animal much pain if the vas deferens be excluded from the liga-
ture ; and it is very easy to do so. The castration of cats is
sometimes practised to keep them from roving, or to increase
their size. For this purpose nothing more is requisite than to
make a slight opening on each side the scrotum, to slip out the
two testicles, and draw them away with the fingers. The rup-
ture alone of the spermatic chord prevents haemorrhage in them,
and no future inconvenience is felt. It is often found difficult to
secure a cat for this operation; but it may be easily managed in
two ways : — one by putting the head and fore-quarters of the
animal into a boot; the other by rolling his whole body length-
ways in several yards of towelling ; but the former is the most
secure and simple, for no animal is more intractable as a sur-
gical patient than grimalkin : though to administer medicines to
a pig, beats the cat hollow, as an obstreperous operation.

SPAYING.

This is so cruel an operation, that it should not be practised
but when there is a real necessity for it : when it is done merely
to convenience the owners, by preventing oestrum and breeding,
it defeats its own purpose. There are, however, cases when it
is actually requisite ; as when some peculiarity occurs that would
prevent a bitch pupping with ease and safety ; or when she has
been connected with, and is found to be pregnant by, a dog
much larger than herself: in which case, as she would probably
die in labour, it is not improper to remove the puppies in the
third or fourth week of gestation. The operation is performed

CANINE OBSTETRICS.

287

by making an opening in the flank of one side, when the ovaria,
being enlarged by pregnancy, are readily distinguishable, and
may be drawn out and cut off, first one and then the other ;
securing the ends by a ligature lightly applied to each surface,
but leaving- the threads without the wound, which is to be closed
by stitches and bandaging. Farriers often apply no ligature,
but content themselves with simply sewing up the wound, and no
ill consequence seems to ensue. Bitches, after they have been
spayed, become fat, bloated, and spiritless, and commonly prove
short-lived: for Nature usually punishes any considerable devi-
ations from her common laws ; and it is observed among animals,
when the great work of propagation is artificially stopped, par-
ticularly in the female, that, her sexual secretions failing to be
rightly applied, and her reproductive organs remaining unem-
ployed, the body becomes diseased.

CANINE OBSTETRICS.

DIFFICULT PUPPING.

Great numbers of dogs die every year in bringing forth their
young : a life of art has brought the human curse upon them,
and they seem, in common with their female owners, to be doomed
to bring forth in sorrow and pain. When bitches are at heat,
great care should therefore be taken to prevent their intercourse
with dogs much larger than themselves ; otherwise the size of the
father influencing the size of the progeny, they become dispro-
portionate to the parts of the mother, and she is often found un-
able to bring them into the world : thus it is that cats, being
all of nearly one size, seldom die in kittening. All dogs, that
are much domesticated and confined, appear particularly subject
to difficulty in bringing forth; consequently during pregnancy
much exercise should be given, as nothing tends more to easy
parturition than full exercise. Sometimes the constitution itself,
in these tender and artificial breeds, is not equal to the exertion
of labour; and sometimes false presentation increases the ob-

288

CANINE OBSTETRICS.

struction. Whenever a difficulty in pupping occurs, which lias
existed more than four or five hours, the bitch should be ex-
amined by means of a finger passed up the vagina ; and, if any
portion of a pup should be found to present itself, so as to be
within reach of the finger, a skein of worsted ought, if possible,
to be fastened around it ; and, during the throes or labour pains
of the animal, it should be gently drawn away. If it cannot be
reached in this way, a little longer time may be allowed ; but,
after all, should it not advance, a pair of forceps may be used to
assist the extraction. It is a good practice to give a laxative as
soon as any symptoms of pupping appear ; and, when delivery
seems much delayed, it will be prudent, in all cases, to bathe in
warm water, and to give nutriment if the labour is protracted:
occasional doses of laudanum united with asther must be given if
any convulsive appearances come on. The patience of bitches in
labour is extreme, and their distress, if not relieved, is most
striking and affecting. Their look is, at such times, particularly
expressive, and apparently imploring.

A wish to relieve them has very frequently engaged me in
performing the Cesarean operation ; but I never succeeded in
any one instance. I attribute this failure, however, principally
to the delay in the time, which humanity suggested ; and not to
the nature of the operation altogether, which is, however, suffi-
ciently dangerous. Whenever pupping is protracted considerably,
the young are found dead ; and in those cases where they have
been so for some time, from the effect of accident, they become
the sure occasions of a protracted labour. The dead foetus often
comes away piecemeal, sometimes many days after the natural
time, and occasions a very foetid ejection until the parts have
reinstated themselves. A very mild solution of the chloride of
soda, thrown up the vagina, will sweeten the discharge, and hasten
the expulsion of the remaining young. If the retention should be
continued to a very dangerous length, the same might be given
by the mouth with advantage, in very mild doses.

From a wish to rear too many young ones, persons are apt to

CROPPING.

289

overload the mother ; and thereby they often lose both parent and
progeny. The mother seldom shews the effect of the overburthening
at first ; but as the whelps begin to increase, and to require more
supply, her constitution becomes impaired, and the usual marks
of rapid exhaustion, convulsions, make their appearance. See
this subject fully described, with the medical treatment of it,
under the article Epilepsy. It is evident, therefore, that judg-
ment should be exercised in this particular ; and that the mother
should have no more young left to be suckled by her than her
constitutional powers are equal to. Such as are strong, healthy, and
have before brought up young, may find supply for four or five :
delicate ones are sufficiently burthened with three ; many can
only bear two : but in all cases feed the suckling bitch well, both
for her own sake, and the future health, strength, size, and per-
fection of form of the young.

CROPPING.

This custom is one that does not honour the inventor ; it may be
readily asserted, that nature gives nothing in vain. Beauty and utili-
ty appear in all, but in unequal degrees : in some, beauty is pre-
eminent ; while in others utility appears to have been the principal
consideration. That must, therefore, be a false taste which has
taught us to prefer a curtailed organ to a perfect one, without gain-
ing any convenience by the operation : the custom being, however,
now fixed, directions are proper for its performance. Young dogs
should not be cropped before the fourth or fifth week of their age :
when the ears are cut earlier, they sprout again, and the form of the
crop cannot be so well directed as when the ear is more deve-
loped. It is a barbarous custom to twist them off by swinging
the dog round, and the crop never succeeds so well as when made
by scissors, which should be large and sharp. — In cropping
terriers, begin at the hinder root of the ear, close to the head ;
and when this cut is carried through, one other cross cut from the
root at the front of the head, if managed with dexterity, will be
sufficient, and will make an exci llent fox crop, without torturing

1

290 CROPPING,

the animal with numerous trimmings. The less oblique the
second cut is carried, the more sharp and foxy will the crop
prove : the portion cut off, if laid on the remaining ear, will
serve to direct the operation in that also. A rounded crop may
be made at one cut. The cropping of pug puppies is the most
painful of any; the cuts must, in general, be repeated, and
carried close to the root of the ear; as upon the total absence of
external ears (which gives an appearance of roundness to the
head) is the beauty of the animal supposed to consist^. It is best
to crop puppies in the absence of the bitch ; for it is erroneous
to suppose that her licking the wounded edges does them good ;
on the contrary, it only increases their pain, and deprives the
young animals of the best balsam, the blood that flows from
them.

Rounding, which is a species of cropping, is also performed on
pointers and hounds, both as a prevention and cure of the canker;
but in rounding, only a portion of the flap is taken off. When
this operation becomes absolutely necessary for the cure of canker,
from all other means having failed (see Canker), care should be
taken that the cutting may go beyond the extent of the ulceration,
or the disease will return : when rounding is performed on a
number of dogs, it is, in general, done with a rounding-iron.

Tailing— When a dog is cropped, it is usual also to cut off a
portion of the tail. Dog fanciers, as they are termed, commonly
bite it off; but it were to be wished that a larger portion was
added to both their knowledge and humanity. The tail does not
grow materially after cutting, therefore the length may be pre-
viously determined on with sufficient accuracy, and cut off with a
pair of sharp scissors. If the ears and tail are cut off at the
same time, it is prudent to tie a ligature about the tail, to prevent

19 It is not a little surprising that this cruel custom should be so invariably
practised on pug dogs, whose ears are particularly handsome, and hang very
gracefully. It is hardly to be conceived how the pug's head, which is not
naturally beautiful, except in the eye of perverted taste, is improved by suffering
his ears to remain.

■

WORMING.

201

Hie effusion of blood, as sometimes the bleeding, from both ears
and tail together, will weaken the animal too much, and early
distemper may follow ; but, when the tail alone is cut, no ligature
is necessary. When a ligature is used, neither tie it too tight,
nor suffer it to remain more than twelve hours. On the twisting
off either the ears or tail, I will waste no invective ; for if the
cruelty does not strike the performer, I am sure no assertion of
mine, that it is far inferior in every point of view to excision,
and has for ever deafened many it has been practised on, will be
attended to.

WORMING.

This operation the veterinarian will probably be yet often
called on to practise, and the sportsman may still for a few years
indulge in the error of deeming it necessary for his dogs; it
therefore finds a place here, although I am not certain but that
my pages would have been more honoured in the omission than
by the insertion of it.

Method of worming dogs. — Secure a large dog on his back on
a table, bench, or form ; one of a middling size may be held in
the lap of an assistant ; a small one may be conveniently taken
into that of the operator. The mouth being held open by means
of two pieces of tape —one embracing the part immediately
behind the upper, and the other, that posterior to the lower canine
teeth — draw the tongue from the mouth, when, exposing its under
surface, a cuticular fold or eminence will present itself, occupying
its median line from the point to the base : open this with a lancet
through its whole extent, which will expose a minute fibrous
cord. Pass a blunt-pointed probe under it, and, carrying the
instrument from one end to the other, detach the cord from its
adhesions ; which done, divide it at one extremity, and carefully
drawing it forwards, with a tenaculum, divide the other also.
The uninitiated in sporting mysteries, may smile at all this mi-
nuteness of detail, and recommendation of caution, in the division
of a line of skin, and the extraction of a thread of ligament :

T

292

WORMING.

but all this is actually necessary to satisfy the prejudices of those -
who put faith in the operation. For with them, it is essential to
the prospective benefits of it, not only that the whole of tlie
worm (for which read frsenum), should be extracted; but that, if
possible, it should be done in one continuous mass.

In the removal of this cord by huntsmen, game-keepers,
&c, the violence used in stripping it off, puts its fibrous sub-
stance so much on the stretch, that when extracted its elasticity
making it recoil, gives it somewhat the character of the contrac-
tion of a dying worm ; and we may yet read of this appearance,
and its general form being adduced, as proofs of its vermicular
identity. And although now no informed person gives credence to
its being other than a portion of the canine tongue ; yet there are
many sporting characters, of education and ability, who still lend
themselves to an opinion, that there is some enigmatical property
inherent in this part, which renders its retention dangerous ; by
making the unwormed dog the subject of acute rabies, but the
wormed one the subject of the dumb variety. Of a piece with
this palpable error was that of Marochetti's vesicles in the same
vicinage ; which being also with him the hiding-place of the rabid
virus, it became as necessary, according to his doctrine, to de-
stroy them, as it was with the ancients (and yet remains with
some of the moderns) to remove the worm.

Now, as Marochetti's alleged discovery originated with the
Greeks, it would seem that the tongue was early destined to be
considered, in one part or other, the particular seat of rabies.
It has, however, fared very differently with these two errors ; for
while the vesicles are almost entirely discarded from every mind,
a certain connexion between this organ and rabies, modified, in-
deed, from that of the ancients, indulged in before the time of
Pliny (of the existence of an actual worm under the tongue)-0, yet

2" " La decouverte du Docteur Marochetti, cn supposant que e'en soit une, n'est
peut-etre pas aussi nouvelle qu'on pourrait le penser ; du moins est-il reconnu
que dupuis long-temps les Grecs tiennent que, lorsque quelqu'un a etc- mordu
par un animal cnrag6, il se manifeste sous la langue, vers lc neuvieme jour,
de petites vesicules designees sous le nom dc lysses, siegeant pres du frc in, et

WORMING.

2<)3

still exists. This modification, although it denies the existence of
a worm, yet acknowledges the presence of a part, the removal

particulierement a cote des veines. D'un autre cote, le plus anciennom connu
de la rage est celui de lygsa ou lytta, nora d'un ver qu'on a cru trouver sous
la langue des chiens, et auquel on attribuait Ie developpement de la rage ;
mais ce pretendu ver n'est qu'un petit ligament particulier aux chiens, et qui
sert a faciliter a leur langue Taction du lamessement, comme Morgagni et
Heydecker Pont fait voir. Ceux qui desireront d'autres eclaircissemens sur
cette circonstance d'organisation et l'etat pathologique que peut-etre on lui
presume, n'ont qu'a consulter le Journal de Medecine V&Urinaire et Com-
paree, torn. Ill, pag. 249, et torn. IV, pag. 153 ; ainsi que le Journal Pratique
de Mtdecine Vetirinaire, torn. I, pag. 495 ; et la Bibliothique Physico-6cono-
mique, numero de Fevrier 1817, pag. 146."

On the general structure of the fra?num, and its supposed connexion with ra-
bies, see Morgagni De Sedibus et Causis Morborum, torn. I, p. 67. Venet.
1761. Pliny likewise remarks on this, " Est vermiculus in lingua canuin, qui
vocatur lytta, quo excepto, infantibus catulis, nec rabidi firent, nec fastidium
sentiunt."— Hist. Nat. lib. xxix, c. 32. Paris, 4to, 1685. The classic author
of the Treatise on Greyhounds also quotes the uncertain author of the Cynoso-
phium, Ev rZ x.aTt» /*ejei t!j{ yXuie-trns aircv, Ses-^oic tkti Kati^erar yusrai ie
ilSos lx,Tviro)fx.a. a-xoS^rmoj ojuoiov VEUja) Xst/xaT, « ovy av^rarri nai la&n otovtotov

Tiai/xh mciii *uvo; awoxo^tt Ik t?; j/Xws-o-jic avTtiu Jtai 0£f awEus-Eic- He adds also,
from the Venatici Scriptores, an additional proof of the existence of this opi-
nion : —

Plurima per catulos rabies, inyictaque tardis
Prascipitat lctale malum : sic tutius ergo
Anteire auxiliis, et primas vincere causas.
Namquc subit, nodis qua lingua tenacibus hasret,
(Vermiculum dixire) mala atque incondita pestis.

Ille, ubi salsa siti percepit viscera longa,
iEstivos vibrans accensis febribus ignes,
Moliturque fugas, et sedem spernit amatain.
Scilicet hoc motu, stimulisque potentibus acti,
In furias vertere canes, ergo insita ferro
Jam teneris elementa mali causasque recidunt*.

Nil tamen usque adeo prodest, ac prima sub ipsum
Principium inorbi rescindere semina ferro.
Nam qua parte imo conjungi lingua palato
Cernitur, et fauces nativo concolor auro
Occupat, in rabiemque feros agit usque MoIossob
Vulnificus vermis, suffunditque ora veneno:
Quern si quis potuit ferro resecarc, potcntcin
in tonti abstulerit causam, stimulumque furorist.

• Oral. Fnlisci Cynoifcticon, 383.
f Hier. I'raeastorii Alcon. lti'J.

T 2

294

WORMING.

of which, while it cannot cure the disease in the individual, or'
prevent it, yet it can hinder his communicating it to others.

I would fain hope that the description I have already attempt-
ed of the rabid malady, will demonstrate that any state in which
the tongue of the dog may be found, is not special; that it is
only a state common to all the parts comprised in the fauces,
pharynx, and larynx ; and also of the bronchia? and stomach. I
have endeavoured to prove it a specific inflammation of all these
organs, particularly affecting their nervous tissues; and which
we know, by the symptomatic paralysis observed, and the morbid
sympathies present. It is impossible, therefore, that all these parts
can be generally affected, but that so large and so sensitive a
contiguous and even continuous mass as the tongue, must receive
its full share of the morbid derangement. We have seen that, in
one variety of the disease, the respiratory nervous tissues seem
to suffer particularly ; and that in the other (called dumb mad-
ness) the digestive are principally affected ; in which case, the
virus appears to act with more than ordinary violence on the
whole alimentary track ; and, as might be expected, with the
vast tumefaction which follows (in the fully formed stage of the
disease, but not until then) ; the dog finds a difficulty in closing
his mouth, with an effort sufficiently quick and powerful to bite.
This state of madness being as common as the raging kind, it
must frequently occur to dogs which have been wormed ; and
when such is the case, the lessened danger from the swollen state
of the mouth, and the actual diminished disposition to do mischief
in this variety of rabies, is attributed to the worming : I, however,
hope to be able to shew, that worming is most erroneously con-
sidered a preventive against madness. The error itself may pro-

Gesner, however, jealous for the reputation of the Greeks, observes that their
medical writers did not actually believe that this substance was a worm ; but
that by lytta, they understood the disease itself, and not this suspected portion ,.!
tongue. The Cynosophium in proof of this has, N^.«,.im,.«i»»pV
X*,«, «Wyp-, ™&yXr, *XX' h *oSiyP« o'v v&vrn <Wt*t.{, . ».
Su<raT0f, h Si \v<rat>. 6'« Bamrot <pifci — Cap. viii, sec. 53.

WORMING.

295

bably be regarded as a very innocent one, and it therefore may
be asked, Why take sucb pains to combat it ? Without laying
any stress on the propriety of combating all error whatever, I
would inquire, Is the error really a harmless one ? I could rea-
dily quote more than a dozen respectable authorities, who urge the
entire freedom from risk of rabies by worming. Among them I
would particularly instance the writer of that classic morceau, the
Treatise on Greyhounds, where we find—" As a preservative
against mischief, I can bear my testimony to its efficacy. I have
seen many and repeated instances of its preventing any injury
whatever in the strongest paroxysms of the complaint; and I
have confined dogs, who had died mad, and had been wormed,
with others of little value, for the express purpose of the experi-
ment, without the latter receiving any inconvenience whatever."

Mr. Daniel, a writer of no mean celebrity, has been at much
pains to enforce the same opinion ; and after these and many
other writers of repute, can we wonder that lesser sporting satel.
lites in abundance are seen to disseminate and keep alive this

mistaken notion ?

The dangerous tendency of the error I have witnessed in many
instances. I have very often had brought to me, or I have been
sent for to see, dogs labouring under the dumb variety of mad-
ness, which having bitten other dogs (and sometimes the owners
also), the circumstance has been the occasion of much surprise,
because their owners being fully impressed with the opinion that
wormed dogs (as they knew their own to be) were insured from
being at all dangerous, they had taken no precautions whatever ;
by which, either in their own persons, the persons of others, or
in their animals, they had incurred this dreadful risk. I again
assert, that I have known this error to have lulled the owners of
wormed dogs into a fallacious security which they have dearly
paid for in very many instances. Can it, therefore, be called
other than a very dangerous opinion to maintain ? and are we
not called on imperatively, by the cause of truth and humanity,
to combat it? and the more so, as the very weight of influence

296

WORMING.

which authorities of such respectability give to their statements, '
makes them pass for dogmas unnecessary to be further examined.
Sir W — m C — n says, " he can bear testimony to the efficacy of
worming ; and that he has seen many and repeated instances of
its preventing any injury whatever in the strongest paroxysms of
the complaint."

But unfortunately for the sufferers, however true it may be,
that when dumb madness is fully established, in many instances,
the dog really cannot bite ; yet it must be considered that it is
not from this stage of the disease only that danger is to be appre-
hended ; but it has been shewn that, for two or three days pre-
viously to the engorgement of the mouth, there are yet actual
symptoms characteristic of the complaint, which are almost in-
variably, 1 might say invariably, present. The tumefaction of the
throat is always preceded by a certain quickness of manner ; and if
there be not an actual mischievous disposition apparent, yet there
will be often seen some irritability of temper, which may make
such a dog resent a fancied affront, or fall on any of his compa-
nions he was not fond of— nay, his very caresses might sow the
seeds of death, if they fell on an abraded surface ; and in ken-
nels we know how frequently this variety in particular com-
mences by licking the penis, anus, or vagina of others. I have
not the smallest doubt of the complete veracity of the experiment

conducted by Sir Wm. C n, of confining rabid dogs,

which had been wormed, with others, and which have not be-
come rabid; but if this praiseworthy search after truth, displayed
by the ingenious Baronet, would stimulate him, or any other
experimentalist, to inoculate a number of both wormed and un-
wormecl dogs with rabid virus, and to shut up with each inocu-
lated dog a certain number of others not endangered, the
matter would soon be brought to an issue, and the truth would
be imperatively forced on the minds of those who thus err. In
the first place, the dumb variety, or the raging variety, would
either of them appear indiscriminately ; and equally so in the
wormed and in the unwormed subject : no preference for either

WORMING. 297

state of the disease would be seen in the mutilated or the unmu-
tilated tongue. In the second place, it would be found, that of
those becoming dumb-mad, the whole, probably without an ex-
ception, (if the experiment were made with others than lap-dogs,
or the meek and gentle breeds of close domestication) would be
found capable and inclined to inflict a fatal inoculation on the
dogs around him, in the early stage of the complaint. This, from
the°evidence of innumerable facts, I am confident would be the
result ; and it is this evidence so drawn, that emboldens me to
assert, that worming is altogether a fallacy, and is no immunity
whatever against the propagation of the disease by biting.

But this is not the whole of the error ; for further to establish
the complete efficacy of worming as a preventive of communi-
cating the disease in this way, it is necessary to maintain, that
every wormed dog, himself becomyig rabid, must of necessity
have the dumb variety only ; otherwise it is self-evident, the se-
curity is only partial and contingent. To maintain this, the ad-
vocates must, like the ancients, consider the under surface of the
tongue as a most enigmatical part indeed : but is this the case ?
So far from there being any connexion between this operation
and the variety of rabies which may occur, I am prepared to
assert (and I believe I may assert for Mr. Youatt also, whose
opinions arc on public record), that out of the many hundreds, or
rather thousands of rabid dogs we have seen, we never observed
that there was any priority of election for either variety in the
wormed or unwormed. It was very often a matter of inquiry
with myself, and I believe equally with Mr. Youatt, when we met
with the dumb variety, Had this dog ever been wormed ? and we
were so often answered in the affirmative, as, without other proof,
to be fully aware of its inefficacy. The same has fallen under
the notice of many other persons ; and 1 have met with several
observant sportsmen, who, having been so often deceived by its
unfounded pretensions, now never practise it. These tacts
ought to set the matter at rest ; for they are of constant occur-
rence, and as indisputable as frequent.

29$

WORMING.

Let us, however, for a moment call philosophy to our aid ; •
and then inquire how this matter can be otherwise than as we
state it. Let us try it by the aids of anatomy and physiology
first. Before we proceed to an examination of the part, we will
again review the various opinions entertained of it. The ancients
universally, and many of the moderns also, have considered it
as the specific seat of the virus : the most absurd of them re-
garded it as a poisonous reptile : some, convinced of the error of
distinct life in the part, have yet continued to look on it as the
germ of madness, which required only the fructifying power of
the rabid poison to bring forth its malignant fruit. Others there
are whose acuteness, though too great to allow them to adopt
opinions so truly absurd, have permitted themselves to be suffici-
ently led astray by sporting authorities, and by circumstances in-
apposite, as well as viewed through wrong media, to allow, with

Sir Win. C n, the immunity granted by worming to be

complete, but wholly derived " from a mechanical cause ;" that
is, "the tongue, from being swollen, hangs out of the mouth,
and, having lost its natural check by the removal of the liga-
ment immediately under it, the dog cannot withdraw it into the
mouth to bite." There is at once so much simplicity and appa-
rent probability in this last mode of reasoning, strengthened as it
is with facts, which, by a cursory observation only, might seem
to bear immediately on it, that renders it particularly calculated
to keep alive the error. Viewing it likewise in this way, and con-
necting it with the circumstance, that many, nay most dogs, with
the taciturn rabies, have some difficulty in biting in the advanced
stage of the disease; we can hardly wonder that this accom-
plished sportsman, as well as many others, should have adopted
the opinion stated. But if the experience of observers, whose
opportunities of marking facts has been an hundred-fold greater
than their own ; and if also the attention of such observers has
been specifically directed to this subject, and has turned out to be
in direct contravention to the opinion so formed, and to the facts
so mistaken ; it would then bespeak an adherence to error not

WORMING.

299

altogether becoming enlightened and candid minds to continue to
advocate so unfounded a doctrine.

This pseudo worm of the ancients, and stumbling block of the
moderns, has nothing unique about it : nor, as it exists here, is it
more than a type of many other integumental folds intended as
bridles or stops to the further extension, or to the displacement
of parts : thus we have, beside the freeman lingua, the f. labio-
rura ; the f. preputii ; f. clitoridis, &c. &c, which are all dupli-
catures of the surrounding membranes, purposely thus folded to
strengthen the adherences of such parts as are particularly liable
to be put on the stretch : and that such is their specific purpose,
is further demonstrable by some of them being adventitiously
strengthened by denser matter placed within the duplicature
which constitutes the bridle. In the dog's tongue, as already
shewn, a fasciculus of tendino-ligamentous fibres is enveloped
within the membranous fold, and which fibres, being attached by
their extremities to the apex and base of the tongue, assist in
operating its motions generally ; but principally in preventing a
retroversion of it down the throat, as might otherwise happen in a
convulsive spasm : it may also assist, but in a minor degree, the
lapping of fluids, as suggested by Casserius : and so far from this
part being peculiar to the caninae, the fact is, that it is found in
all animals where this organ is very moveable or extensile. The
human fraenum linguae is more minute ; but it is more strikingly
apparent, and in structure more dense even than that of the dog :
and here so evident is its use, that it would be torturing conjec-
ture to devise any other purpose for which it could be placed
there.

When, therefore, the more ingenious and intelligent of the
favourers of worming urge its adoption on the grounds of the me-
chanical properties of this part, they may seem, on a superficial
view, to take 'vantage ground ; but it is on a superficial view
only that it can so appear. I have repeatedly examined the frae-
num in the raging variety, both in living and in dead subjects.
1 have likewise done the same in the dumb variety ; and in both.

300

WORMING.

as regards the fraenulum, the appearances were the same ; for the
cicatrix made by the removal of it nearly filled up the linear di-
mensions of the median line to a similar appearance with that of
the unwormed dog. But I would ask, If the removal only of this
fasciculus of fibres acts so powerfully as to wholly prevent the
tongue, when swollen, from being withdrawn into the mouth ;
how is it, that the removal of it in worming, is never found to
offer the smallest impediment to the lapping of fluid afterwards ?
The frsenum is a salutary check to the lingual motions generally,
but to all retroverted ones particularly; yet it has nothing what-
ever to do with the partial incapacity to bite, as is most readily
seen by the attentive observer: for the dog aillicted with the worst
paroxysm of rabies even, can in all general cases lap ; conse-
quently he can also withdraw his tongue within his mouth : it is
the doubling up of his tongue into a spoon-shape, to carry the fluid
there, that he cannot effect ; but which difficulty is not the result
of the loss of the framum, but from the general engorgement of
the base of the organ in common with all the parts concerned in
deglutition throughout. It is true that this tumefaction, usually
present in the advanced stages of dumb madness, does prevent
many of them from biting ; but it does so equally in the unwormed
as the wormed dog, as I have witnessed and have particularly
observed in a great number of instances. There is not the
smallest difference between them. Further also; the wormed
dog, in every instance, can bite during the first stage of the dis-
ease. I have seen scores of such which have fatally bitten others
during the early part of the attack ; and many can, by an effort
of much excitement, as a stick offered to them, &c, bite through-
out the whole continuance of it.

I shall close this appeal by a summary of conclusions, pre-
mising once more on the absurdity of this error, that, if it has
been proved (and nothing is better substantiated) that the inocula-
tion by rabid virus gained from either variety of the disease, in-
discriminately produces either kind of it; how is it that the re-
moval of the lingual bridle only, whose effect is acknowledged <' to

ACUPUNCTURAT10N.

301

be mechanical only," is able to determine the form of the dis-
ease ; seeing that the characteristic marks of dumb madness are
not confined to the mouth, but consist of a series of morbid deve-
lopments, extended throughout the alimentary canal ; and even
affecting the cerebral functions differently to what is done by the
acute or raging kind ? Wow, I would ask, is all this to be ef-
fected by the removal of a ligamentous portion of the tongue.
Dumb madness, in particular, is not therefore the necessary re-
sult of worming, when a dog has been successfully bitten. Dumb
madness neither precludes a dog from lapping or biting, in its
early stages; nor does it invariably do so in its worst stages.
Worming, therefore, I positively affirm, is no safeguard what-
ever against the dangerous consequences of rabies : and the prac-
tice of it is not creditable to our present enlarged state of infor-
mation.

Worming is sometimes likewise practised on puppies, to pre-
vent their gnawing and tearing every thing around them, which
they are instinctively stimulated to, like the human infant, to
assist the development of the teeth, and also from wantonness and
a love of play ; and although, without doubt, worming, by
making the mouth sore, may for the time prevent such gnawing,
yet the dog recurs to it again as soon as the part is healed. I
therefore think it a useless operation here also.

ACUPUNCTURATION,

Or the puncturing some parts of the body with a pin, has
been practised with some appearance of benefit in chronic rheu-
matisms, and also in the chorea of dogs. In a long-continued
rheumatic weakness of the loins and hinder extremities, a needle
was introduced nearly half an inch into the muscular masses in
three separate parts of the back opposite the psoas muscles, with
but trifling amendment ; but the introduction of it into the inner
and outer surfaces of the thighs, rather more than half an inch,
was more beneficial. The practice, therefore, deserves a trial,
where other means have failed.

-302

BLEEDING.

Dogs are much benefited by bleeding in many diseases, as in-
flammations of the lungs, stomach, bowels, &c. In some cases
of mange, in the early stage of asthma, and in the epilepsy of
repletion, bleeding is very useful also. Dogs may be conve-
niently bled by the jugular or neck vein, with a fleam, or with a
common lancet ; but the latter is much preferable. A ligature
being put round the lower part of the neck, and the head being
held up, the vein will swell and protrude itself on each side of the
windpipe, about one inch from it. It will, however, be necessary
previously to cut the hair away, if it be very thick ; after which,
the puncture can be easily made with a lancet, the operator lean-
ing over the dog. Nothing is necessary, in general cases, to stop
jhe bleeding, but to remove the ligature ; nor is any pin, plaister,
or bandage, requisite for the orifice. When circumstances such
as the want of a regular operator, or when the amateur is called
on to deplete his own dog suddenly, as in the field, when the
means of venesection by the neck are not at hand ; in any such
case the ear may be punctured, or an incision may be made on
the inner side of the flap of it, choosing, if possible, the course of
a vein for the puncture, but avoid passing the instrument through
the ear. Or the tail may be cut in desperate cases ; but, when
this is done, it is better to cut off a small piece than to merely
make an incision underneath ; for I have seen, when this has
been injudiciously done, the whole tail in a state of mortification.
The veterinarian will find it necessary occasionally to practise
bleeding in the cephalic or superficial brachial vein, the plate
vein of farriers ; choosing the branch that passes along the front
of the biceps, toward the shoulder point. In all lamenesses of the
fore limb, the depletion is best made here, particularly in violent
shoulder wrenches. Strains of the loins, extensions of the arti-
culations of the thigh with the body, and with the leg also, as
well as muscular and ligamentous extensions of any parts of the
hinder limb, should be treated by extracting blood from the sa-

BLEEDING. 303

phena vein, which is found traversing the inner and fore part of
the hock, and an inch and a half or two inches above may be
fixed between the index finger and thumb of one hand, and then
punctured by means of a lancet in the other.

The quantity of blood drawn should be regulated by the size
of the dog : for a very small dog, one or two ounces are sufficient;
for a middling sized dog, three or four ounces ; and for a large
dog, five, six, seven, or eight ounces, according to the size and
strength of the patient, and the nature of the disease he labours
under.

BLISTERS, OR IRRITANTS.
These are very valuable medicaments in many of the com-
plaints of dogs, and in some instances they cannot be done without.
Irritants is a more critical term than bbsters, for these matters do
not usually vesicate and detach the skin, as in the human subject ;
but they irritate and inflame the surface sufficiently to answer
every purpose required. Irritating substances for dogs are vari-
ous ; but the best is that, in common use for the human subject,
which is made of Spanish flies, applied as a plaister, and care-
fully secured by a bandage. When, however, it is intended, as
in very active inflammations, to raise a speedy irritation, blister-
ing ointment should be made use of ; and, to render it still more
active, it may be thinned with oil of turpentiue. This should be
well rubbed into the skin, first clipping the hair close, and securing
a covering carefully over the part after : the application may be
repeated, in urgent cases, every three or four hours.

A very quick inflammatory effect on the surface may also be
raised by common table mustard spread over any part. In in-
flammations of the stomach, and particularly of the bowels, an
excellent method of irritating the skin may be practised by
means of a sheep's or any other hide newly stripped off, and
immediately applied and secured to the part. The skin of the
patient should, however, be first well stimulated with oil of tur-
pentine. In strains of the joints, and all muscular and liga-

304

CLYSTERING.

mentous extensions, after the acute symptoms of the inflamma-
tory ( stage are gone off, blisters will be found very useful in
promoting absorption of the lymph deposited, or, in other words,
of the remaining indurations, and in the restoration of the parts
generally. But when blisters are used, the dog must be very
carefully muzzled : not in the usual way, however ; for by mere
strapping, however close, the dog will insinuate his tongue out of
his mouth to lick the part. Nothing but a fine net-wire muzzle
will effectually prevent danger ; and for very large dogs, I have
made use of a perforated tin one.

CLYSTERING.

Clysters are of much importance in many cases of sickness in
dogs. They become a most powerful stimulant to the bowels in
obstinate obstructions, and in many instances of this kind they
alone can be depended upon for the purpose : for, when the ob-
struction arises from an accumulation of hardened excrement,
situated far back in the coecum or rectum, cathartics by the
mouth are useless, and, indeed, increase the danger, by forcing
more of the contents of the bowels towards the obstructed part.
In inflammations of the bowels, bladder, kidnies, or womb,
clysters have the additional advantage of acting as a fomentation.
Cases wherein they may be beneficially used as nutriment like-
wise, occur very frequently : as when there exists so obstinate a
sickness, that nothing will remain on the stomach ; or when food
cannot be passed by the mouth, as in locked jaw, in fractures, or
in wounds of the mouth, face, or throat. In all such instances,
clysters of broth, gravy, or gruel, will afford a very considerable
quantity of nourishment : a small proportion of opium, as twenty
drops of laudanum, may be given in each, to assist in retain-
ing it witbin the bowels. Astringent clysters, as starch, rice
water, alumine whey, infusion of red roses, or of oak bark, are
useful in violent loosenesses. Purging clysters may be made of
veal or mutton broth, with a portion of salt or moist sugar added :

BATHING.

305

the effect may be still further quickened by adding castor oil or
Epsom salts.

Clysters are very easily administered to dogs, and no apparatus
is so convenient for the purpose as the patent syringe of Reid :
a good domestic apparatus is found in the common pipe and
bladder also. The liquid used should be warm, but not hot ;
the quantity from three ounces, to six or eight, according to the
size of the dog, &c: the pipe should be greased previously to
its introduction, and the tail held down a minute or two after its
removal.

BATHING.

Both the warm and the cold bathings of dogs are attended, in
many cases, with the happiest effects. Warm bathing proves
an excellent aid in many complaints, and in some it is of
itself a sovereign remedy. In inflammations, particularly of the
bowels, it is highly proper. In lumbago and other rheumatisms,
which are very common to dogs, it is attended with the best
effects. In obstinate costiveness, it will often relax the bowels
when every other remedy has failed. When internal injuries
have been received from accidents, it unloads the vessels and pre-
vents inflammation. In pupping, sometimes great difficulty is
experienced ; in which cases the warm bath frequently relaxes
the parts, and the young become more easily expelled. In convul-
sions and spasms it is also excellent. In obstructed urine, from
an inflamed state of the neck of the bladder, it has proved a most
efficacious remedy.

When a warm bath is used for a dog, the heat should be re-
gulated according to the case. In inflammations it should be
considerable, and in rheumatisms also ; but it must be remembered
that, from habit, many human persons can bear, without inconve-
nience, a heat that would be most distressing to a dog ; conse-
quently, when it is attempted to ascertain the heat by the hand
alone, this circumstance should be considered. 100 to 102
degrees of Fahrenheit's thermometer is a very considerable heat
to dogs, and is only proper in violent inflammations and active

306 CUTTING OP CLAWS AND SCALING OF TEETH.

rheumatisms. For internal bruises, for spasms, or as a relaxant,
96 to 98 degrees is sufficient. The continuance in the bath is
also to be regulated according to circumstances. To relax, as in
the labour or pupping of bitches, in slight spasms, or in cases
where the animals are very weak, or when the bathing is to be
renewed daily, ten minutes is a sufficient time. But in suppres-
sion of urine, in violent spasms, costiveness, inflammatory affec-
tions, particularly of the bowels, fifteen or even twenty minutes
are not too much : should faintness and weakness come on, which
will be seen by the dog's panting and distress, let him be removed
from the water, particularly if it is a case wherein fainting would
be prejudicial, as in a pupping bitch, &c. The water bath
should come all over the animal, except the head ; and when any
one particular part is more especially affected, that part ought to
be rubbed, during the bathing, with the hand. The dog being re-
moved from the water, the utmost care should be observed to avoid
his taking cold by exposure. He should be first rubbed as dry as
may be by a change of cloths, and then be put into a clothes-basket,
wrapped up in a blanket, and there confined till thoroughly dry.

Cold bathing is also, in some instances, very useful, particularly
in the spasmodic twitchings that succeed distemper ; and in some
other cases of habitual weakness, as rickets, &c. : but, for dogs
in health, I am convinced that bathing is not so salutary as is
often supposed. — See the article Washing of Dogs.

CUTTING OF CLAWS AND SCALING OF TEETH.
Puppies are frequently born with deiv claws : sometimes they
are double. The dew claw is attached to a rudiment, more or less
developed, of an additamentary phalange or toe, situated on the
inner side, one to each foot, distinct from, and considerably above,
the other toes. These additamentary toes are frequently un-
attached to any corresponding metacarpal or metatarsal bone,
having only a ligamentary union ; but whether there is any bony
attachment or not, it is always prudent to cut them off in a few
days after birth, otherwise they become very troublesome as the
dog grows up; for the claw or nail attached to the end of each

CUTTING OF CLAWS AND SCALING OP TEETH. o"/

frequently turns in and wounds the flesh ; or, by its hook-like
shape, it catches into every thing the dog treads on.

The homy claws or nails of the true toes are also subject,
when dogs have not sufficient exercise, to become preternaturally
long, and, by turning in, to wound these toes likewise, and lame
the dog: such claws, when grown too long, are often attempted
to be cut off with scissors ; but unless the scissors used are
very short and strong, they are apt to split the horn. It is
better, therefore, to saw them off with a very fine and hard cock-
spur saw, and then to file them smooth ; avoiding to cut them too
close, or the vascular part may be entered on, and much un-
necessary pain given to the animal. Some dogs require their
nails to be cut every two or three months, or even oftener ; other-
wise they become very lame. Occasionally one claw is found to
be surrounded by a swollen and ulcerated portion of toe, as is
further enlarged on in Mange. The subject is only introduced
here for the purpose of observing, that when such a case has
proved very obstinate, I have sometimes found that the insertion
or root of the claw has itself become morbid ; and then has
assisted to keep up the irritation : in which instance it is necessary
to the cure to extract the claw, which a pair of strong forceps
will usually be sufficient to effect ; so diseased has the connecting
fibres become.

Scaling of Tartared Teeth. — The difference between the supply
of nutriment, and the exertions of lap-dogs, and of those that are
much confined, is such as to derange the digestive functions in many
ways ; and in none does it appear more conspicuous, than in the
accumulation of tartar around their teeth : See Diseases of the
Bones, p. 178. As this state invariably ends in the destruction
of the gums, so the teeth ultimately fall out : the breath of the
dog is also rendered insufferably foetid by it. The tartar must,
therefore, be removed, which is not difficult, by means of a set of
human teeth scaling instruments ; and as the tartar accumulates
again, the operation must be repeated.

308

aitccttoteS lUuStvattbe of the dftonttsntece.

As this work commences with a. frontispiece containing portraits
of dogs whose virtues and sagacity deserve commemoration, it shall
close with the recital of the immediate facts there graphically
alluded to. The upper portrait is that of a large one of the
water breed, whose owner (a German gentleman of fortune)
boarded and lodged in the house of a clergyman with whom I
was intimate. This gentleman's attachment to his dog was such,
that, whatever sum he agreed to pay for his own board, he always
tendered half as much for that of his dog, that thereby he might
insure him the treatment his fidelity so well merited. Travelling
in Holland, the German one evening slipped from off the bank of
a large dike into the water below, which was both wide and deep :
being wholly unable to swim, he soon became senseless; and when
restored to recollection, he found himself in a cottage on the
opposite bank of the dike to that from which he fell, surrounded
by persons who had been using the Dutch means of resuscitation.
The account he received from two of them was, that returning
home, they saw a dog swimming at a distance, seemingly anxiously
employed in dragging and sometimes pushing a mass he appeared
to have much difficulty in keeping above water, but which he
at length succeeded in getting into a small creek, and drew it
to land. By this time the peasants had advanced sufficiently to
discover that the object of his solicitude was a man, which this
animal, exhausted as he must have been, immediately set about
licking the hands and feet of. The peasants hastened across by
the nearest bridge, and conveyed the body to a neighbouring
cottage ; and which, on being stripped, was found to be deeply in-
dented by the teeth of the dog, both in the nape of the neck, and
in one of the shoulders also. The remaining scars the master
used to shew with much satisfaction; and nothing could shake
his firm conviction, that his dog had first suspended him by the
shoulder, but that, finding his head was not elevated above the
water, he had shifted his hold to the nape of his neck, tor the ex-

ILLUSTRATIVE ANECDOTES.

30.9

press purpose of so elevating it. And, however we may hesitate to
attribute this change of position to a motive so intrinsically in-
tellectual, yet we must respect his error, if it was one ; for where
i3 the mind that might not be warped by such a debt? If my
memory serves me aright, it was more than a quarter of a mile
that the dog had to swim with his master's body before any creek
offered ; and, when arrived there, he had still to drag it on a bank.

The lower portrait represents one of those remarkable instances
of intelligence and devotion to the service of man, for which the
shepherd's dog is so justly celebrated. This dog was the pro-
perty of a butcher and drover living in the neighbourhood of
Hexham ; much of whose business consisted in purchasing cattle
of all descriptions, and taking them weekly to Alston market, a
distance of nine miles. In so doing, this dog exhibited such
extreme adroitness, that at length, to fulfil a bet made, the dog
was entrusted alone with a mixed herd to take to this market,
which he did without the smallest mishap. Arrived at the end of
his journey, he drove the whole up the yard his master was accus-
tomed to take his cattle to ; and there he delivered them up to the
person who usually received them, by significantly barking at his
door. What more particularly marks the extraordinary sagacity
of this animal, is, that the tract over which he had to take his
charge was entirely an open moor, studded in many parts with
grazing flocks. When these intercepted his progress, he has
been seen to start forward, and, having stopped his own drove, to
chase the others to a distance, that he might proceed without
interruption or risk of intermixture. Satisfied of his ability and
fidelity, he was repeatedly, after the first essay, thus entrusted
alone, when circumstances rendered it inconvenient to the butcher
to attend himself; and it was stated that he never lost one. I had
no opportunity myself of seeing this dog, for a gentleman, hear-
ing of his exploits, had bought him ; but I purposely went over
the ground he used to travel, and visited the yard in Alston to
which he used to drive the cattle for delivery: and many persons

310 ILLUSTRATIVE ANECDOTES.

with whom I used to converse in Hexham, where I then resided,
had seen him ; and they all fully authenticated the facts as I have
stated them. A very interesting account of similar properties in
the tending of cattle in two dogs of this kind, is related by Mr.
Hogg, the celebrated Ettrick shepherd, in Blackwood's Magazine,
and also in Captain Brown's Sketches and Anecdotes.

The critical reader will probably be struck with a topogra-
phical discordance, between the engraved display, and the de-
scriptive account, in these illustrations of the qualities of the dog.
The dikes of Holland seldom present much rural beauty, and are
not often graced with impending foliage ; neither are fertile banks
and tall trees very commonly met with on the moors of the north:
but the fact is, that the sketches illustrative of the real spots,
which I gave for the guidance of Mr. Austin, were not so well
calculated to display his well-known talents as an artist, as the
embellished scenery wide h he furnished : and, it being then too
late to remedy the discrepancy, the reader will, I hope, be con-
tent to sacrifice a little truth to additional beauty. Probably it
will not be the first time he has done so, with his own consent : it
is forced on me.

INDEX.

A

ABSCESS of the eyes, 264
Adder, bite of, 255
Age of the dog, how ascertained, 65
Aloes, the best purgative for dogs, 87
Alteratives for dogs, their nature,

propert es, and doses, 81
Amaurosis, 265
Anasarca, 169
Anchylosis, 179

Anecdotes illustrative of the admi-
rable qualities of the dog, 308
Animal poisons, 190, 256
Antispasmodics, 150
Aperients, 86

Ascites, 166 — often brought on by

asthma, 128
Asthma, common in dogs, 126 —

causes, symptoms, consequences,

morbid anatomy, and treatment, 127,

131

Astringents, useful in looseness, 157 —
astringent clysters, 158 — astringent
injections for fistulous sores, 164,
257

B

Bag, or scrotum, swelled and inflam-
ed, 280— internally tumefied from
scirrhous testicles, 174

Balls, how to give them, 93

Bathing, when useful, 305 — warm
bathing, 305— cold, 306 — washing of
dogs, restrictions on it, 75 — medi-
cinal bathing, 305

Belladonna, its virtues as a prophy-
lactic against rabies, 243

Belli/ swelled, how to distinguish be-
tween pregnancy and dropsy, 45,
167

Bilious inflammation, 135 — bilious co-
lic, 135

Biles venomous, 190— of a rabid dog,
190 — of wasps and bees, 256

Bitches, heat of, 41— pregnancy of,
45 — how distinguished from dropsy,
167 — bringing forth,45 — when suck-
ling, subject to a very fatal kind of
fits, 145 — their teats liable to be-
come inflamed, 42 — often affected
by scirrhus, 171 — injuries to their
parts of generation, 44
Blain, an ulcerous affection of the

mouth, 258
Bladder, inflamed, 140
Bleeding, mode of it described, 302
Blindness, various causes of it, 262
Blistering of dogs, mode of, and

when required, 303
Blood, among sportsmen, what, 55, 59
Bloody stools brought on by various
causes, as distemper, 113 — mineral
poisons, 182 — and sometimes from
mercurial applications licked off the
body in cure of mange, 275
Boar hound, natural history of, 18, 19
Bones, diseases of, 177 — in the wry-
legged terrier made useful, 177—
fracture unconsolidated, cause of,
178— treatment of fractured bones,
282

Bones, their digestible properties, 74
— are useful as food, 74 — ^excep-
tions to this, 73

Bowels, various affections of them,
123

Breeding among dogs, 42 — heat or
oestrum of the females, 42 — breed-
ing shewn to be a healthy process,
42 — cautions and directions relative
to it, 44 — supcrfcetatlon not uncom-
mon, 45 — sympathies displayed, 48
— physiology of gestation, 49 —
breeding back, 50 — selection of pa-
rents, 55— breeding as a system pro-
ductive of very beneficial changes
on animals, 55, 02 — in-and-in sys-
tem of breeding, 57

Bronchocele, 173

{hill, dog, natural history of, 26

312

INDEX.

C

Calcular concretions, 179 — urinary,

179— vesica], 180
Calomel an alterative, 83 — a good

emetic in particular cases, 85 — a

useful application for diseases of the

eyes, 263

Cancer in general, 174 — of the sheath
and parts of generation in bitches,
175 — scirrhus much more common
than cancer, 174

Canine madness, 190, 255

Canine obstetrics, 287

Canker of the ear, internal, 276 — ex-
ternal canker, 278— cankered tu-
mour on the flap of the ear, 279

Castration, how performed, and when
proper, 285 — of cats, and how per-
formed, 286

Cataract, 264

Catarrh, 123 — of distemper, 97

Cathartics, 86

Caust ics, their use, 246

Cauterisation, how and when em-
ployed, 246

Chorea, 147 — of distemper, 117

Claws of dogs, 64 — occasionally dis-
eased, 261, 270

Chloride of soda as a cleanser, 288

Clusters, cases in which they are
beneficial, 304 — convenient medium
for nourishment, 304 — mode of
giving them, 305

Cold productive of inflamed lungs,
124 — of coughs, 123 — of inflamed
intestines, 124 — of rheumatism, 142

Colic, spasmodic, 152 — bilious colic,
135— a kind peculiar to rheumatism,
141

Condition of dogs, 78 — very neces-
sary for sporting dogs, 79 — mode of
getting them into condition, 79

Convulsions, 147

Costiveness, its consequences, 159,
132 — how removed, 159

Coughs, various kinds, 123 — causes,
effects, and treatment, 123— Cough
of distemper, 103 — of asthma, 127

Cough, a symptom of worms, 161

Cow pox, 122

Cramp, 149

Cropping, how performed, 289
Cross among dogs, what, 48
Crowfig, or vomic nut, a deadly poi-
son to dogs, 187
Cystitis, 140

D

Dalmatian dog, 19
Dane dog, natural history of, 19
Destruction of dogs, when necessary,
how best effected, 189

Dew claws, 64

Diarrhcea, or looseness, 155 — treat-
ment of it, 156 — a common accom-
paniment of distemper, 116 — a bad
kind occasioned by the use of mer-
curials, 275

Digestion, physiology of, in dogs, 67
— their organs fit them for the assi-
milation of nutriment from both ve-
getable and animal matter, 68

Diseases of dogs, 82 — general treat-
ment under, 82, 97 — specific consi-
derations in the pathology of, 82 —
in the effects also of medicines on
the canine constitution, 90, 91 —
mode of discriminating canine dis-
ease, 92' — tender and considerate
treatment requisite, 93 — method of
giving medicines, 93 — professional
attendance on, 96

Dislocations, treatment of them, 284

Distemper, detail of it, 97 — its apear-
ance, is it recent? 98— itsnature and
character, S9 — its causes, 101 —
symptoms, 103— fits of, 106, 117 —
pneumonia of, 108 — hepatic affec-
tion of, 109 — virulent stage, or pu-
trid, 110 — post-mortem appear-
ances, 110 — treatment of, 112 — vac-
cination no preventive to it, 122 —
inoculation with its own virus does
not mitigate it, 122

Diuretics, useful in dropsy, 168

Dog, natural history of, 11 — zoologi-
cal arrangement of, 14 — artificial
history of, 18 — divisions of, 17 —
matins, 18— spaniels, 21— dogues,
26— Varieties : Danish dog, 19—
greyhound, 19— spaniels, 22— New-
foundland, 23— hound, 24— terrier,
24— pointer, 25— shepherd's dog, 25
—bull-dog, 26— mastiff, 27— origin
of the dog, 28— arguments for and
against its purity, 29, 34— qualities
of the dog, 36" — is a rational annual,
37, 39— breeding and rearing of,
41 — general treatment of, 66— feed-
ing of, 66— housing of, 74— washing
of, 75— exercise of, 77— condition
of, 78

Dog, his moral qualities, 35, 39— is a
highly intellectual animal, 36 — pos-
sesses courage, mercy, fidelity, obe-
dience, and tractability, in an emi-
nent degree, 38, 308

Dressings for mange, 271, 274— how
performed, 275

Dropsy, 164— of the chest, 165— of
the belly, 166— of the skin, 168— of
the brain, 169— of the spine, 169—
encysted, 169— of the eyeball, 170,
265— hydatids, 265

Dysentery, 123

INDEX.

313

E

Ears, cropping of them, 289 — round-
ing them, 290— Ears cankered, 276
—the flap swelled, 27S

Emetics generally, 84 — 'dog grass
the most natural one, 84 — emetic
articles, 85 — useful in asthma, 129
— in distemper, 114

Enteritis, 131

Epidemics, distemper sometimes so,
100 — inflamed bladder proved so in
1810,140 — inflamed lungs also some-
times epidemic, 125

Epilepsy, 144 — of distemper, 106 —

' of bitches when suckling, 145

Epiplocele, 261

Eruptions, 109, 267

Erysipelas, 280

Exercise of dogs, 77 — consequences
resulting from a want of it, 77 —
how to teach them to exercise them-
selves, 77

Exostosis, 179

Eyes, diseases of, 262 — ulcer in, 262 —
idiopathic ophthalmia, 262 — oph-
thalmia of distemper ,263' — cataract,
264 — amaurosis, 265 — dropsy of the
eyeball, 265

Eyelids, ulcerated, 266

F

Fatness, excessive, 80 — its conse-
quences, and how to prevent it, 81

Feeding of dogs, 66 — physiology of
digestion, 67 — excessive feeding
productive of disease, 67 — various
kinds of food, 68 — bones proper, 74
— food properin sickness, 94 — mode
of administering it, 94 — clysters
often a convenient medium of con-
veying nutriment in sickness, 305 —
nutritious feeding particularly ne-
cessary in distemper, 117-118 —
feeding and exercise should be re-
gulated in relation to each other
according to circumstances, 66

Feet, sore, 261

Fever, 97

Fistula; in dogs, 163,257
hits in dogs, their various kinds and
causes, 144 — very common in dis-
temper, 106,117 — often arise in
otherwise healthy dogs, particularly
in pointers, setters, and spaniels,
from an excess of irritability, 144 —
from worms also, 144 — a very fatal
kind in bitches giving suck, 145
Flap of the car, swelled, 278
Fleas in dogs, how destroyed, 280
Fluids, morbid collections of, 164

Fractures of the bones, with theinode
of reducing them, 282— compound
fractures, 283

Fungous excrescences, 258, 280

G

Gastritis, 131

Gestation, or going with young, 45
Glandular swellings, 171, 176
Goitre, 173

Greyhounds, natural history of, 19 — ■
distemper particularly fatal to them,
103

H

Hemorrhage, 256

Hemorrhoids, 163

Hair, wire-haired dogs very liable to
be affected with mange, and the
white varieties most so, 268

Head, swelled, 259, 269, 280

Heat in bitches, 41

Hepatitis, 137

Hernia, 261 — epiplocele that most

common to dogs, 261
Hounds, various, origin and natural

history of, 24
Housing of dogs, 74
H u sk or cough, 123
Hydatids, 170
Hydrocephalus intemus, 169
Hydrophobia, 190 — a misnomer for

rabies in the dog, 190
Hydrorachilis, 169
Hydrops, 164
Hydrolhorax, 165

I and J

Impregnation, phenomena of it, 14—

anomalies in it, 46
Inflammation, 131, 257 — rheumatic,

140

Inflamed bladder, 140

Inflamed bowels, 131 — from costive-
hess, 132 — from cold, as enteritic or
idiopathic, 134 — bilious, 135 — rheu-
matic, 142 — inflammation of their
mucous surfaces, 123 — specific in-
flammation of rabies, 228 — from
mineral poisons, 182-186

Inflamed bronchia?, or cough, 123

Inflamed liver, acute, 137 — chronic,
138

/ ii flamed luiiffs, 124
Inflamed spleen, 139
Inflamed stomach, 131 — from poisons,
182— specific kind in rabies, 227

314

INDEX.

Instinct in animals, what, 36 — dif-
ference between instinct and rea-
son, 38

Intestines, diseases of, 123 — inflam-
mations of, 123, 131— wounds of,
256

Intussusception, 185, 228

Irritability of dogs great in sickness,
95 ■ — often productive of fits in
healthy dogs, 144

Jaundice common to chronic inflam-
mation of the liver, 138— and to dis-
temper, 109

Jaw, locked, 151

L

La. rut ires, 86
Lithotomy, 180

Liver, acute inflammation of, 137 —
chronic inflammation of, 138 — a par-
ticular kind present in distemper,
109

Looseness, or diarrhoea, 155, 182 —
very common in distemper, 116 — a
bad kind brought on by mercu-
rials, 275

Locked jaw, 151

Lumbago, 141

Lungs, inflamed, 124

M

Madness, 190 — history of, 191 —
raging, 216 — dumb madness, 220 —
see Rabies

Mange generally, 266— its varieties,
267 — the common or scabby, 267 —
the red, 268— psoric affection of
the sebaceous outlets, 268 — acute
mange, 269 — its varieties, 269 — is
local often, as canker within the
ear, 276 — as canker without the ear,
277— as inflamed scrotum, 270, 280
—as tumefied and ulcerated toes,
280 — treatment of mange, 271

Mastiff, 27

Medicines, mode of giving, 93 — dif-
ference of their action in the dog,
90

Mercurials easily raise salivation in
dogs, 82 — are apt to produce vio-
lent diarrhoea, or looseness, 275

Mesenteric glands, diseased in pup-
pies, 176

Milk in bitches, when not drawn off

apt to occasion scirrhus, 171
Mineral poisons, 182

N

Neck, swelled, from rheumatism, 1 12
— from bronchocele, 173

Newfoundland dog, natural history
of, 23

Nux vomica, its action on dogs, 187
O

Obstructions in the bowels, treat-
ment of, 87, 133 — clysters very use-
ful for this purpose, 304
(Estrum, or heat in bitches, 41
Opium, not always a poison to dogs,
186* — an excellent remedy in asthma,
130

Operations, surgical, 282— reducing
fractures, 282 — reducing disloca-
tions, 284 — castration, 285 — spay-
ing, 286 — assisting difficult pup-
ping, 2S7— cropping, 289— round-
ing, 290 — tailing, 290 —worming,
291— bleeding, 302— blistering, 303
— clystering, 304 — bathing, 305 —
cutting of claws, 306— scaling of
teeth, 307 — Cesarean operation, 288

Ophthalmia, idiopathic, 262— symp-
tomatic in distemper, 263

Ovaria, diseased, 170, 2C0

P

Paint, dogs often poisoned by the
lead in it, 184

Palsy, or paralysis, 150

Paracentesis thoracis, 165 — abdo-
minis, 167

Paralysis, or palsy, 150 — a common
accompaniment to many complaints,
106, 153, 221— of the optic nerve,
265

Penis liable to be affected with fun-
gous excrescences, 258
Phrenitis, symptomatic, 124
Physic for dogs, 86
Piles, 163

Pneumonia, idiopathic, 124 — com-
mon in distemper, 108

Pointer, his natural history, 25—
pointers and setters liable to tits in
hunting, 144

Poisons, 181— mineral, 182— methods
of detecting, 183— vegetable, 186 —
when necessarily employed, whai
are best, 187, 189— animal poisons,
190— treatment of cases of poison-
ing, 183, &c. . .

Pregnancy, 45— how distinguished
from dropsy, 167

Preventives against rabies, £<*), m,
244

Pug dog, natural history of, 26, 28
Pulse in dogs, where felt, 92— the

state of the circulation also detected

by the respiration, 92

INDEX.

315

Puppies, breeding and rearing of, 62
—diseases of, 64— how puppies are
rendered small, 54— how increased
in size, 54— their claws, 308— when
too numerous, produce fits in the
mother, 289 — have a spasmodic co-
lic, 155— mode of cropping and tail-
ing them, 289, 290— are injured by
much confinement, 64 — subject to a
tabid state, 176

Pupping, 287 — when assistance re-
quisite, 2S7 — Cesarean operation,
287

Purging medicines, 86, 133 — purg-
ing, violent, 116, 156, 185

R

Rabies, 190— origin of the term, 190
— history of it, 191, 195— erro-
neous opinions relative to it, 196 —
spontaneous origin, 196 — subse-
quently, by inoculation only, 198 —
causes of it, as advocated by some,
as heat, 200— seasons, 202 — nature
of the food, 202— privation of drink,
203 — what animals are the subjects
of it, 202 — what are capable of
communicating it, 203 — the rabid
virus contained in the salivary
glands, 205— how propagated, 207—
Time of its appearance, 210 — symp-
toms of it, 211 — acute or raging
kind, 216— dumb or taciturn kind,
220— -what other diseases liable to
be mistaken for it, 223 — post-mor-
tem appearances, 224 — morbid ac-
tion of the virus, 230 — treatment of
rabies, 232 — curative treatment,
232 — preventive treatment, 236* —
effects of the buccus, or box, 239 —
of the belladonna and Scutellaria in
combination, 243 — the destruction
of the wounded surfaces the best
preventive, 244 — methods of effect-
ing it, 251
Reason in animals, what, 37 — differ-
ence between reason and instinct, 38
Remedies, action of, in the dog, bears
little analogy to the same in other
animals, or to man, 90
Rheumatism, 140 — its varieties,140 —
causes of it, 142 — weather an effect
on it, 142 — treatment of it, 142
Rickets, 177 — common to puppies, 177
— in the wry-legged terrier pur-
posely propagated, 177
Rounding, among hounds, 290
Running round, a symptom of bowel
affection, 153

S

St. Anthony's fire, 280
81. Vitus's dance, 147

Salivation easily excited in dogs, 82
— its injurious consequences, 83

Salt forms a good domestic emetic,
85

Scirrhous tumours, 170— canine cha-
racters of, 171— scirrhous mammae,
or teats, 171— scirrhous testicles,
174

Scouring in doga, 155

Scrottim, inhamed, 270,

Scutellaria lateriflora, or skull-cap,

a preventive of rabies, 242
Selons, when beneficial in distemper,

115

Seller, his natural history, 23— setters
most liable to internal canker of the
ear, and pointers most to that ex-
ternal to it, 278 .

Shepherd's dog, natural history of,

Sickness, excessive, a symptom of poi-
soning, 182

Spaniel, his natural history, 22— long
lived, 66

Spasm, varieties and treatment or,
149 — spasmodic colic, 152 — the
same in puppies, 155

Spaying, 286

Splenitis, 130

Stings of vipers, hornets, wasps, &c.,
256

Stomach, inflammation of, 131— from
poisons, 182— specific kind in ra-
bies, 226— when full of an indiges-
tible mass, strongly characteristic
of rabies, 227

Stone in the bladder, 180— operation
or cutting for the stone, 180

Strychnos nux vomica, or crowlig,
187

Sulphur, overrated as an alterative,
83 — is, however, a remedy for
piles, 83

Superfcetalion, dogs capable of it, 45
Surfeit, 268
Swellings, 259

T

Tables mesentericus, 176
Tailing of puppies, 290
Tapping of dogs for dropsy, 167
Teats, scirrhous swellings of them in

bitches, 171— mode of preventing

them, 42

Teeth, as marking the age, 65 — dis-
eases of, 178

Tenesmus common in diarrhoea, 156
— often mistaken for piles, 163

Terrier, natural history of, 24 — short
lived, 66 — obnoxious to distemper,
103

Testicles, diseased, 171, 280 — mode
of castration, 286

X

316

INDEX.

Tetanus, or locked jaw, 151
Throat, swelled, 142, 173
Tobacco, a frequent poison to dogs,
273

Toes, affections of, 261, 270— sore from

travelling, 270
Tongue, ulcerous affection of, 258
Tumours, in general, described, 259
—of the head, 259— of the face, 260
—of the ear, 260— of the neck, 260
— scirrhous, 170— hernial, 261

U

Ulcerous affections in general, 258—
of the eye, 264 — of the eyelids, 266
—of the penis, 258— of the tongue,
258— of the flap of the ear, 278
Urethra in dogs, how placed, 180
Urine, bloody, symptomatic of stone
in the kidnies or bladder, 179— of
inflamed bladder, 140— of cancel ed
womb, 175— of fungus on the penis,
259

Uterus of bitches, diseased, 175

V

Vaccination, 122

Vegetable poisons, 186

Venomous bites of dogs, 190 — of the

viper, 255— of hornets, wasps, &c,

256

Vermin affecting the skin, 281

Vertigo, symptomatic of bowel af-
fection, 153

Viper bite, 255

Vitus, St., his dance, 147

Vomiting natural to dogs, 84 — some-
times excessive, from gastritis, 131
— from acrid poisons, 182

W

Warts, 259, 280

W ashing of dogs, 75 — when not dried
afterwards, a source of disease, 76

Water in the belly, how distinguished,
167— in the chest, 165

Weather an effect on dogs, 142

Wens, 171, 173

Worming described, 291' — no pre-
ventive against madness, 294

Worms, intestinal, described, 160' —
remedies for, 162 — are very com-
mon to puppies, 62

Wounds in dogs, accidental, how
treated, 256— fistulous, 257— into
joints, 256— into the chest or belly,
256

Y

Yellow disease of dogs, 109, 138
Yoitalt, Mr., his professional attend-
ance on dogs, 96— extent of his re-
searches into the rabid malady, 194,
242.

London I Printed by Complon and Ritchie, Middle Street, Clolli