REAKING OF PUPPIES. 531 



of which sickened within the week) were thorough and absolute isolation in the first place, so 

 as to preclude all possibility of contagion or infection in case of other diseases. We had a 

 lumber-room attached to the house cleared for a hospital, and fitted with a gas stove ; by 

 this means a steady even temperature can be maintained night and day, and this is a most 

 important feature in the treatment of distemper. All stuffiness in the air should be avoided, 

 for it must be remembered that in this disease the nostrils become charged with a thick fluid 

 which renders breathing very difficult. We invariably had the window open at the top, and 

 with the gas stove aided by a thermometer kept the room at a steady temperature of 

 60 degrees. The only food given was beef-tea with some bread soaked in it, and the only 

 medicine Rackham's distemper pills. Seeing is believing, and we believe these pills to be 

 almost infallible in the treatment of distemper, never having lost a dog when using them, 

 and knowing many breeders who share our opinion, we cannot resist alluding to them. 

 When the graver symptoms begin to subside solid food can be administered, and the dog 

 picks up wonderfully soon, though too premature an introduction to the cold outside is to be 

 deprecated after his confinement so long in a warm temperature. A friend we rather think it 

 was Mr. R. Fulton, of Brockley once told us of a food which he considered a capital change for 

 dogs suffering from distemper, and this was a number of fresh haddocks' heads put into a pot 

 and covered with water, to be boiled until the bones of the fish get soft and the water is 

 almost entirely absorbed ; this, when cold, forms a jelly, which is keenly appreciated by 

 the invalids, and seems to do them good. Our friend's theory was that the phosphorus 

 contained in the fish-bones assisted the medicine in curing the dog ; but be this as it may, 

 it is certain that no ill effects, but rather the contrary, resulted from giving it them. 



Allusion having thus been made to the two greatest plagues of puppyhood worms and 

 distemper there hardly remain more diseases to which they are peculiarly liable. Fits they 

 certainly often suffer from, but these almost invariably are the result of worms, and will subside 

 and disappear when the irritating cause of their presence is removed. Teething occasionally 

 troubles them, but seldom to any great extent, for puppies do not usually shed their first teeth 

 until nine months old, and then they are strong enough to bear the pain and annoyance the 

 cutting of their new ones inflicts upon them. Should the puppies, however, appear to suffer 

 from the swelling of their gums previous to the appearance of a tooth, it is well to lance the 

 inflamed part, especially if the gum appears abnormally hard. Not only does this give imme- 

 diate relief, but it helps the teeth to come up in a regular line, which in most varieties is 

 most desirable. 



The exercise and subsequent treatment of the whelps have been so thoroughly gone into in 

 the chapters on general management and exercise, that no further allusion to them is requisite 

 here. 



