146 



CLASS II. 



SPASMODIC DISEASES. 



EPILEPSY. 

 Epileptic Jits are of frequent occurrence in dogs, and may, like 

 those in ourselves, be considered both idiopathic and sympathetic ; 

 or, in other words, they appear constitutional at some times, the 

 result probably of particular organization, and at others are caused 

 by accidental irritations, as worms, metastasis in distemper, &c. 

 Blows on the head have made dogs subject to occasional attacks 

 of epilepsy ; and the nervous susceptibility of some is such, that 

 any unusual excitement, whether of joy or fear, will bring it on. 

 Sporting dogs, particularly such as are what is called very high 

 bred, in which the mental irritability is artificially increased, are 

 often the subjects of it when ranging in the pursuit of game, and 

 particularly such as have been previously confined much, from 

 the unprepared state of the brain to bear the unusual quan- 

 tity of blood determined to it. In some dogs, the mere plethora 

 of the constitution, or the fat accumulated, are sufficient to produce 

 an attack ; and such, without other excitement, if made to travel 

 an unaccustomed distance behind a horse or carriage, particularly 

 at a quick pace, fall into a fit, and from doing it unobserved are 

 frequently lost. Fear will often occasion an epileptic attack in 

 young dogs, or in dogs of any age, if previously debilitated by 

 illness. Worms are a very common cause of epilepsy in young 

 dogs; and teething in puppies. Distemper also ushers in its 

 attack sometimes by a fit of this kind, in which case it is not an 

 unfavourable symptom ; on the contrary, when epileptic fits occur 

 during the progress of the disease, they commonly destroy the 

 patient. The epilepsy of distemper may be readily distinguished 

 from the other varieties by the attendant symptoms of that disease 

 being present, as well as by the full detail of its peculiarities of 

 attjuck under that head (p. 116). 



