170 DISTEMPER 



I advise that all clogs coming from these places which have not had the 

 disease should not be returned home if there is any young stock in the 

 kennels that one does not wish to be infected, and the farther they are 

 kept away the better. Not only is this necessary, but a separate attendant 

 is required. If you have the same man, you may as well have the same 

 kennel. If these suggestions are adopted there will not be the least danger 

 of the disease spreading, and I feel pretty sure, if people would properly 

 isolate all distemper cases the disease might be almost, if not entirely, 

 eradicated from the country. 



"The first symptom of distemper is a rise of temperature — if a dog 

 is dull and off his food, take his~"temperature. It is best to take it in the 

 rectum, where the normal is about one hundred and one to one hundred 

 and one and one-half degrees Fahrenheit; if taken under the arm or inside 

 the thigh it is one degree lower. If the thermometer- registers two or 

 three degrees of temperature above normal you may be sure there is some- 

 thing wrong, and the dog should be isolated at once; and by doing this the 

 infection may often be prevented spreading. If the disease is distemper 

 other symptoms will soon develop, as a husky cough, loss of appetite and 

 condition, and occasionally vomiting. The eyes are weak and sensitive to 

 light, and there is often a little gummy discharge which collects along the 

 edges of the lids; the breath is offensive, and the teeth become furred. 

 Diarrhea may, or may not, occur. If the illness is only some passing ail- 

 ment the temperature will soon be normal, and the dog assume his usual 

 condition. But the temperature, even in distemper, after two or three 

 days, may go down to normal; but do not be deceived by this, and think 

 the dog is all right, but look out for some of the other symptoms men- 

 tioned, and if the dog is in for that disease they are sure to appear, and 

 the fever will return again in a couple of days or so. 



"People often think a dog cannot have distemper without there is a 

 discharge from the nose; this is a mistake, but it certainly does occur 

 in most cases, though it does not appear as a rule until the dog has been 

 ill for some time. If the lungs become affected the breathing is short 

 and quick, not panting with the mouth open, the chest is tender on pres- 

 sure. At first there is no cough, but after two or three days there is a 

 suppressed painful cough, with retching. The pulse is often much acceler- 

 ated, the beats varying from one hundred and ten to one hundred and 

 forty per minute. In some cases the pulse is very slow, and may only 

 be forty-eight to the minute; of course, this refers to a big dog. A pulse 

 of this kind is worse than a fast one with pneumonia. When it is between 

 sixty and seventy in a small dog it is also serious with lung complications. 

 The heart's action in dogs is very frequently intermittent even in health. 

 The eyes during distemper are often a source of anxiety, and in those dogs 

 with prominent orbits, as spaniels, pugs, etc., there is always a'n inclination 

 for ulcers to form, which are extremely painful." 



The following was written by "Westerner" and published in Field 

 and Fancy. We cannot know too much on this most dreaded disease so I 

 give the article entire: 



Distemper in Dogs. 



"Each year brings around its popular dog shows, and in these days 

 when nothing is thought of high prices being paid for good specimens in 

 most all the breeds, many of which after winning fame in public competition 

 succumb to distemper, the American pulic is in need of some sound advice, 

 which will, if faithfully followed, save the lives of innumerable dogs. It 

 is said (hat whoever discovers a sure specific cure for distemper in dogs 

 will have made his fortune, for probably 60 per cent of all the thorough- 

 bred dogs bred annually die of this dread disease, at periods generally 

 following the large shows in Eastern cities. The following practical sug- 

 gestions and observations based upon the experience of many years .of 

 breeding and raising, are likely not new to some owners, but will be found 



