DISTEMPER. 138 



and condition, and occasionally vomiting. The eyes are weak and sensitive to 

 light, and there is often a little gummy discharge which collects along the edges of 

 the lids; the breath is offensive, and the teeth become furred. Diarrhea may, or 

 m.ay not, occur. If the illness is only some passing ailment the temperature will 

 soon be normal, and the dog assume his usual condition. But the temperature, even 

 in distemper, after two or three days, may go down to normal; but do not be de- 

 ceived by this, and think the dog is all right, but look out for some of the other 

 symptoms mentioned, and if the dog is in for that disease they are sure to appear, 

 and the fever will return again in a couple of days or so. 



''People often think a dog cannot have distemper without there is a discharge 

 from the noise: this is a mistake, but it certainly does occur in most cases, though 

 it does not appear as a rule until the dog has been ill for some time. If the lungs 

 become affected the breathing is short and Quick, not panting with the mouth 

 open, the chest is tender on pressure. At first there is no cough, but after two or 

 three days there is a suppressed painful cough, with retching. The pulse is often 

 much accelerated, the beats varying from one hundred and ten to one hundred and 

 forty per minute. In some cases the pulse is very slow, and may only be forty-eight 

 to the minute; of course, this refers to a big dog. A pulse of this kind is worse 

 than a fast one with pneumonia. When it is between sixty and seventy in a small 

 dog it is also serious with lung complications. The hearts action in' dogs is very 

 frequently intermittent even in health. The eyes during distemper are often a 

 source of anxiety, and in those dogs with prominent orbits, as spaniels, pugs, etc., 

 there is always an inclination for ulcers to form, which are extremely painful." 



The following was written by "WESTERNER" and published in Field and Fancy. 

 We cannot know too much on this most dreaded disease so I give the article entire: 



DISTEMPER IN DOGS. 



"Rich year brings around its popular dog shows, and in these days when noth- 

 ing is thought of high prices being paid for good specimens in most all the breeds, 

 many of which after winning fame in nublic competition succumb to distemper, 

 The American public is in need of some sound advice, which will, if faithfully fol- 

 lowed, save the lives of innumerable dogs, it is said that whoever discovers a sure 

 specific cure for distemper in dogs will have made his fortune, for probably 60 per 

 cent of all the thorougnbred dogs bred annually die of this dread disease, at periods 

 generally following the large shows in Eastern cities. The following practical sug 

 gestions and observations based upon the experience of many years of breeding and 

 raising, are likely not new to some owners, but will be found inmost helpful by the 

 yearly increasing number of novices, and result in an absolute knowledge of how to 

 avoid fatal results. 



"We know that distemper commonly develops during the first year of life, 

 either at periods known to be associated with teeth formation or approaching 

 physical maturity. 



"Primarily, distemper, at its inception, showis a disturbed and inflamed condi- 

 tion of the membraneous tissue of the alimentary canal. It is likely a condition 

 corresponding to t>phoid, as some maintain, its germ certainly finds ready culti- 

 vation in the unhealthy conditions which result from worms. Its first usual symp- 

 tom is a hard bronchial cough, with some retching, irritated by excitement or nerv- 

 ousness, all no doubt caused by the stomach's disturbed membraneous condition. 

 Whether at two or three months, or at six to ten months, or any age, the first thing 

 to cio when this cough appears is to chain the dog up in some inside quarters where 



