602 THE BOOK OF THE Doc. 



(2) The healthier the dog, the more power does he possess to resist contagion. (3) When the 

 disease is epizootic, it can often be kept at bay by proper attention to diet and exercise, frequent 

 change of kennel straw, and by the use of disinfectants. (4) The predisposing causes which have 

 come more immediately under our notice are debility, cold, damp, starvation, filthy kennels, 

 unwholesome food, impure air, and grief. 



The age at which dogs may take Distemper. They may take distemper at any age, but 

 the most common time of life is from the fifth till the eleventh or twelfth month. 



Highly-bred dogs are, we believe, in some degree more liable to take distemper; at all events, 

 the disease is generally more severe with them than with low-bred curs. Certain breeds of dogs> 

 too, are apt to suffer from more severe complications than others the Newfoundland and St. 

 Bernard, for example. 



Symptoms. There is first and foremost a period of latency or of incubation, which may be 

 longer or shorter according to circumstances, in which there is more or less of dulness and loss of 

 appetite, and which glides gradually into a state of feverishness. The fever may be ushered in 

 with chills and shivering. The nose now becomes hot and dry, the dog is restless and thirsty, and 

 the conjunctivae of the eye will be found to be considerably injected. Sometimes the bowels are 

 at first constipated, but they are more usually irregular. Sneezing will also be frequent, and in 

 some cases cough, dry and husky at first. 



At the commencement there is but little exudation from the eyes and nose, but as the disease 

 advances this symptom will become more marked, being clear at first. So, too, will another 

 symptom which is partly diagnostic of the malady, namely, increased heat of the body, combined 

 with a rapid falling off in flesh, sometimes, indeed, proceeding quickly on to positive emaciation. 



As the disease creeps downwards and inwards along the air-passages, the chest gets more 

 and more affected, the discharge of mucus and pus from the nostrils more abundant, and the 

 cough loses its dry character, becoming moist. The discharge from the eyes is simply mucus and 

 pus, but if not constantly dried away will gum the inflamed lids together ; that from the nostrils is 

 not only purulent, but often mixed with dark blood. The appetite is now clean gone ; there is 

 often vomiting and occasional attacks of diarrhoea. 



Now in mild cases, and cases that have been carefully and scientifically treated from the 

 first, we may look for some abatement of the symptoms about the fourteenth day. The fever gets 

 less, inflammation decreases in the mucous passages, and appetite is restored, as one of the first 

 signs of returning health. More often, however, the disease becomes complicated. 



Diagnosis. The diagnostic symptoms are the severe catarrh, combined with not only fever, 

 but speedy emaciation. Simple catarrh may be, and doubtless is, often called distemper; but there 

 will be no confusion if we remember that in a simple cold there is but little, if any, emaciation, 

 and the disease is usually over and done with in a few days. 



Complications of Distemper. Although it seems Nature's wish in distemper to eliminate the 

 poison through the mucous membranes of the naso-pharyngeal passages, many causes may 

 combine to produce dangerous and often fatal complications. The first complication to be 

 mentioned is one we often find in dogs that have been wrongly treated, and too much reduced in 

 condition. We refer to extreme exhaustion, which sometimes carries the dog off as early as the 

 second week. 



Pneumonia, as we might easily imagine, is a very likely complication, and a very dangerous 

 one. There is great distress in breathing, the animal panting rapidly. The countenance is 

 anxious, the pulse small and frequent, and the extremities cold. The animal would fain sit up 

 on his haunches, or even seek to get out into the fresh air ; but sickness, weakness, and prostration, 



