370 THE DOG IN DISEASE. 



not sent to shows at all. Again, no dogs should be ad- 

 mitted from kennels in which distemper has existed so 

 late as one month previous. Every exhibitor should be 

 required to sign a paper to this effect, and that the whole 

 kennel had been thoroughly disinfected and the dogs well 

 washed after the disease had disappeared, and also before 

 the show. All dogs should be washed two to three days 

 before a show, and this should be repeated after each 

 show. It can be so managed that neither their coats nor 

 their health will suffer (see page 122). 



Certainly it is unwise to allow any dog that has been 

 away on a journey, or has mingled with a multitude of 

 dogs, to return to his kennel without these precautions. 



If puppies are sent to shows, the greatest care in all 

 respects should be taken of them (see page 394). 



It will be noticed that distemper is apt to break out in 

 kennels during wet and cold or during muggy weather. 

 When the animals are much confined the conditions are 

 most favorable for the germs, or, at all events, least favor- 

 able for the dog ; hence the need of all precautions as to 

 fresh air, cleanliness, etc. The digestive tract must be 

 especially closely watched then. When dogs can not be 

 exercised on account of the weather, an extra amount of 

 grooming and massage, with less food and of a lighter 

 kind, will prevent many kennel troubles. 



It appears, then, that one of the seasons of the year 

 at which dogs are most liable to take distemper also co- 

 incides with one of the show periods in America ; so that 

 there is, so far as many of the most valuable dogs are 

 concerned, a double reason for the prevalence of distemper 

 at that time. 



