326 DOGS AND ALL ABOUT THEM 



the way for the distemper poison ; (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 perfect cleanliness ; 

 (4) the predisposing causes which have come more immediately under 

 my notice are debility, cold, damp, starvation, filthy kennels, un- 

 wholesome food, impure air, and grief. 



The Age at which Dogs take Distemper They may take distemper 

 at any age ; the most common time of life is from the fifth till the 

 eleventh or twelfth month. 



Symptoms There is, first and foremost, a period of latency or of 

 incubation, in which there is more or less of dullness and loss of appetite, 

 and this 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 conjunctiva; of the eyes 

 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. 

 The temperature should be taken, and if there is a rise of two or three 

 degrees the case should be treated as distemper, and not as a common 

 cold. 



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 partially diagnostic of the malady, namely, increased heat of body 

 combined with a rapid falling of! 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, and there is often vomiting 

 and occasional attacks of diarrhoea. 



Now in mild cases 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 not only with /ever, but speedy emaciation. 



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 often forbid his movements. If the ear 

 or stethoscope be applied to the chest, the characteristic signs of 

 pneumonia will be heard ; these are sounds of moist crepitations, etc. 



Bronchitis is probably the most common complication ; in fact, 



