CAUSE.—Worms, indigestible or decomposed irritating food, compaction or obstruction, calculus, strictures of the intestines or it may be due to liver complication and animals swallowing sharp bones, etc. Several forms of poisoning may produce Colic.
SYMPTOMS.—The dog evinces severe abdominal pain, usually with constipation and often vomiting. As a rule, there is no fever or quickness of the pulse. The pain, which is spasmodic, is relieved on pressure as the dog prefers to lie on his abdomen in many instances. The dog frequently eats green grass as this causes him to vomit, which is nature’s method of relieving the digestive tract of irritating material.
TREATMENT.—In cases which are not very severe, the application of hot cloths to the abdomen frequently affords relief. Ginger, ten to twenty grains, dissolved in a teaspoonful of water may relieve a mild attack, but when the above treatment fails the following is recommended: Fluid Extract of Cannabis Indica, one dram; Chloroform, one dram; Tincture of Capsicum, ten drops; Oil of Peppermint, ten drops; Morphine, three grains; water, quantity sufficient to make one fluid ounce. Give ten to fifteen drops every hour, if necessary. A physic is indicated in the majority of cases of Colic for the purpose of removing irritants or obstructions from the intestines. Calomel, one to two grains, is a very efficient drug, while Castor Oil is given with great difficulty and it should be administered only where diarrhoea is a complication of Colic. Rectal injections of warm water is very beneficial in the treatment of intestinal obstructions. It is good practice to give a dog some vermifuge after an attack of Colic, as worms frequently produce it.
CAUSE.—Insufficient exercise, overfeeding or feeding decomposed or irritating foods. Dogs are predisposed to indigestion as they frequently swallow a large quantity of indigestible food without masticating it. Poor care and exposure to cold also frequently produce Constipation.
SYMPTOMS.—Constipation is often a complication of other diseases, the feces is dry-looking and may be more or less covered with a mucus. A prominent symptom is straining, attempts to defecate, the appetite is greatly impaired, the dog acts dull and stands with the head down or goes off to some quiet place and lies down. Protrusion of the rectum or piles may occur, especially if the animal has eaten freely of dry, indigestible food. Colicky pains are sometimes manifested. Constipation occurring from causes other than a complication of diseases seldom takes on a serious form.