648 DISEASES OF CATTLE, SHEEP, GOATS, ETC. 



Rabid Dogs and Water. It is commonly believed that mad 

 dogs will not go near water, and in case such an animal is seen to 

 ford a creek or lake it is taken as proof that he did not have rabies. 

 This fear of water is a symptom usually marked in human cases, 

 but is never present in the dog at any stage of the disease. Animals 

 in the early stages when running about the country will cross bodies 

 of water without the slightest fear. Even after the throat becomes 

 completely paralyzed the animal will often constantly attempt to 

 drink water from a pail or bucket if placed within its reach, but, 

 owing to the paralysis of the throat muscles, swallowing is impos- 

 sible. 



Dog Days. The idea is prevalent with many people that dogs 

 are particularly liable to go mad during the so-called dog days, 

 which extend from the first of July to the middle of August. These 

 days are called dog days because they cover the period of time when 

 the dog star Sirius is above the horizon with the sun ; they have no 

 connection with the dog. On account of the clemency of the weather 

 dogs probably travel about during this season more than in winter, 

 and hence are slightly more liable to infection. Statistics, how- 

 ever, as well as our own experience about this section of the country, 

 show that the disease is present throughout the year, and seasons 

 have very little if any influence. 



Color of the Animal's Mouth. It frequently occurs after a 

 person is bitten by a dog that some friend will immediately look 

 into the mouth of the animal. In case the mucous membrane is 

 black, he will at once conclude that the bite is dangerous, even 

 though the dog appears perfectly normal ; but, if the mouth happens 

 to be red, he thinks there is no danger from the bite. This is entire- 

 ly erroneous. The black color is due to a normal deposit of pigment 

 in the mucous membrane of the mouth. It is present in a certain per- 

 centage of all dogs and has no connection with rabies. In this 

 paragraph the writer is not referring to the so-called black tongue 

 of dogs in the South, which is the vernacular name for dumb rabies, 

 resulting from the swollen, darkened appearance of the tongue fol- 

 lowing its extrusion from paralysis of the lower jaw. This will be 

 referred to in the section on symptoms. 



Lyssophobia. Many educated men, including some physicians, 

 claim that all cases of hydrophobia in the human family are the 

 result of wrought-up nervous excitement due to fear on the part of 

 the patient. While at times these symptoms, termed lyssophobia, 

 do occur in neurotic individuals who have been bitten by healthy 

 dogs, they are always hysterical in nature, cause no organic lesions, 

 and universally terminate in recovery. Thus lyssophobia is entirely 

 distinct from the real disease, which is universally fatal to the 

 human being. 



Spontaneous Rabies. In many instances the origin of an out- 

 break of rabies is difficult to trace. This has given rise to the opin- 

 ion that the disease may appear in the dog spontaneously, that it is 

 an intrinsic part of his being which may crop out at any time under 

 various extraneous conditions. This is as impossible as it would be 



