DISLOCA TIONS — DISTEMPER 



Dislocations are not matters that the amateur surgeon 

 can attend to with any reasonable hope of success, and 

 therefore in cases of this sort of injury the only course 

 for him to adopt is to send at once for professional 

 assistance and meantime do the best he can for the patient. 

 This consists of keeping the dog as quiet as possible, as 

 naturally if he moves about the pain and inflammation 

 extend, and the labours of the surgeon are increased, 

 with additional suffering to the animal. The part affected 

 may be kept cool by the application of wool or soft cloths 

 which have been soaked in cold water ; and pieces of fiat, 

 thin wood may be collected in order that splints can be 

 ready without any unnecessary delay should it be necessary 

 to use them. For the same reason it is wise to have starch 

 at hand, and bandages also, if there are any on the 

 premises. (See Bandages.) 



Distemper. — This is undoubtedly a most fatal disease 

 if' it is not taken in time, and many dogs which recover 

 from it bear traces of its effects for the rest of their lives. 

 It is both infectious and contagious, and hence very easily 

 conveyed from an affected animal to a healthy one. As 

 a consequence most dogs suffer from distemper. The 

 disease usually attacks puppies ; but it is not correct to 

 believe that all dogs must have it, and in, rare instances 

 an animal has been known to suffer from it more than 

 once. 



The first symptom of distemper to be detected by the 

 dog-owner who is not familiar with the diagnosis of 

 diseases is a peculiar husky cough, accompanied by a 

 loss of appetite and retching. The temperature rises 

 rapidly, indeed the dog has been feverish from the first, 

 but the fact has probably not been noticed, and acute 

 diarrhoea is usually present. The dog loses condition fast, 

 and frequently the breathing becomes laboured. Occa- 

 sionally fits occur, and if so the case at once becomes 

 most serious, if not positively hopeless, and even if the 



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