152 DOGS: THEIR MANAGEMENT. 



by experience will alone enable any man to pronounce 

 tbe presence of distemper in many cases ; while, perhaps, 

 without knowledge or practice any person may recognise 

 it in the generality of instances. 



The treatment is rendered the more difficult because 

 of the insidious nature of the disorder, and the uncertain 

 character of its symptoms ; under such circumstances, it 

 is no easy task to make perfectly clear those instructions 

 I am about to give. I am in possession of no specific ; I 

 do not pretend to teach how to conjure ; I am going only 

 to lay down certain rules which, if judiciously applied, 

 will tend to take from this disease that fatal reputation 

 which it has hitherto acquired. I shall be obliged, how- 

 ever, to leave much to the discretion of the reader ; for it 

 would employ too great a space, did I attempt to make 

 provision for all possible accidents and probable combina- 

 tions. 



The diet is of all importance ; it must be strictly attend- 

 ed to. In the first place, meat or flesh must be withheld. 

 Boiled rice, with a little broth from which the fat has 

 been removed, may be the food of a weakly animal, but 

 for the majority bread and milk will be sufficient ; which- 

 ever is employed must be given perfectly cold. Sugar, 

 butter, sweet biscuits, meat, gravy, greens, tea or pot 

 liquor either luxuries or trash must be scrupulously 

 denied in any quantity, however small. Skim-milk, if 

 perfectly sweet, is to be preferred, and coarse bread or 

 ship biscuits are better than the same articles of a finer 

 quality. These will form the diet, when the dog can be 



