DOGS : THEIR MANAOBMENT. 149 



When the violence of the disorder has declined, the 

 skin generally peels, the cuticle is cut ofiP, and the hair is 

 scurfy. I have even known the soles of the feet to cast 

 their outer covering, and in one case three of the nails 

 were shed. The teeth, also, are coated with a thick fur, 

 and the breath is offensive ; but as the strength returns 

 at the same time, these circumstances are not to be 

 viewed in a serious light. In one or two instances, 

 where the system seemed to be so shaken that it retained 

 no strength to cast off the lingering remnant of the dis- 

 temper, mange has burst forth, and proceeded very 

 rapidly ; but it yielded with equal speed to mild external 

 remedies, and is therefore only to be feared inasmuch as 

 it disfigures the dog for a time, retarding the ultimate 

 restoration to health by further taxing the enfeebled 

 body. 



During the recovery from distemper, small and delicate 

 animals — terriers and spaniels — are very liable to faint ; 

 the dog is lively, perhaps excited, when suddenly it falls 

 upon its side, and all its limbs stiffen. A series of these 

 attacks may follow one another, though generally one 

 only occurs ; when numerous and rapid, there is some 

 danger, but, as a general rule, little apprehension need be 

 entertained. The fainting fits are of some consequence, 

 if they exist during a sickening for, or maturing of, dis- 

 temper. In pups that have not passed the climax of 

 the disease, they are not unseldom the cause of death ; 

 but, even in that case, I have never been convinced that 

 the measures adopted for the relief did not kill quite as 



