Distemper] 7 * [Distemper 



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 

 unless 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 pressure. 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 accelerated, the beats varying 

 from no to 140 per minute. In some cases the 

 pulse is very slow, and may only be 48 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 60 and 

 70 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 

 an inclination for ulcers to form, which are 

 extremely painful. 



The worst complications of all in distempers 

 are those affecting the nervous system ; the 

 brain and its membranes may become inflamed, 

 and fits follow, or the spinal cord and its 

 membranes attacked, and paralysis or chorea, 

 or perhaps both, occur. These complications 



