SOME CANINE DISEASES AND THEIR REMEDIES. 679 



efficacious, but none are as safe, considering the fact that 

 the animal is sure to lap off much 'of anything put on. 

 This simple external treatment, when combined with the 

 internal already advised, if faithfully persisted in, will 

 often effect a cure. 



Eczema is not contagious, but in certain stages, where 

 there is much fluid thrown out by the eruption, the disease 

 can be communicated by actual contact. A sound dog shar- 

 ing the kennel of one affected is very likely to contract it. 

 This is one reason why eczema is so liable to be mistaken 

 for mange. 



In brief, how can one distinguish between sarcoptic 

 mange, eczema,- which is liable to be confounded, and 

 follicular mange? This is by no means easy. In the first 

 two diseases mentioned there is intense itching, while in 

 the last it is slight or wholly absent. There is a decided 

 difference in the appearance of the eruption, but a non- 

 professional is scarcely likely to note it, so other distinct- 

 ive symptoms must suffice. Follicular mange is a rapidly 

 progressive disease; loss of weight is quickly evident; the 

 pustules, as described, are peculiar; and, again, there is 

 the offensive odor, which is not a symptom in either of 

 the other diseases noted. The sulphur treatment, which is 

 curative in the other form of mange, has little or no effect 

 whatever in this. 



DISTEMPER, 



The belief that every dog must have this disease is a 

 popular one, as is the delusion that every child is fated to 

 suffer from scarlet fever, measles, whooping-cough, and the 

 like. As in all infectious diseases, distemper is prevent- 

 able and might be stamped out of existence; but its nature, 

 the ways in which it is transmitted, and the essential means 

 of prevention, are but little understood by the average dog- 

 owner. Considering these facts, also that it is highly in- 

 fectious, it is not surprising that a large proportion of dogs 

 sometime in their lives fall victims to the malady. 



Distemper never occurs in a dog unless he takes it, 

 directly or indirectly, from another dog suffering from it. 



