SYMPTOMS OF DISEASE. 21 
first pronounced signs of loss of condition. While smooth, glossy, full of lustre, 
and it lays well, the health of a dog must be good, or if he exhibits any abnor- 
mal signs they must have been recent, and the chances are that his disturbance 
is a mild one, and will soon be over. If, on the other hand, his coat is harsh, 
dry, and staring, he is certainly not in good condition, and must be the victim 
of actual disease, disorder, or faulty management. Indeed, the coat is such a 
sure index of the state within, oftentimes seemingly very trifling causes are quite 
enough to throw it away off in condition. For instance, deny dogs sufficient 
good pure, fresh drinking-water, and they are certain to fall off in coat, no 
matter how well they are otherwise treated. 
Bluish-black spots, appearing during the course of diphtheria or other serious 
disease of long continuance, are ominous; indicating a hemorrhagic tendency. 
The passage of darker-colored urine during acute attacks means merely that 
that excretion is condensed and concentrated, an uncommon amount of the watery 
constituent being disposed of in the body by the unusual heat. An excessive 
amount of urine suggests diabetes. Straining while emptying the bladder may be 
due to inflammation of the same or to prostatic trouble. Retention of the urine 
may be caused by obstruction, or by loss of power, — paralysis. The appearance 
of the urine may change very greatly and yet the subject remain in good health. 
That is, it may be considerably darker than in health, or quite colorless, and he 
still keep well. But when any change has persisted for a considerable period, 
trouble may with good reason be suspected. The quantity being scanty for sev- 
eral weeks, unless it be during warm weather, there is a possibility of kidney dis- 
ease. Blood but rarely appears in the urine except after accidents, which must 
be serious indeed to produce such a change. 
Constipation during fevers may be due to dryness of the intestinal matters, the 
water in the same having been drawn out and disposed of by the heat. But even 
in fevers, diarrhoea is more common than constipation after the first days. The 
latter is quite constant where digestion is sluggish and poor, the diet consists 
almost wholly of meat, and not sufficient exercise is allowed; the discharges are 
then usually dry, hard, and round. In peritonitis, or so-called inflammation of the 
bowels, slight diarrhoea usually first occurs, but constipation soon sets in. The 
appearance of the evacuations is sometimes instructive. Thus, when about the 
color of clay, there is trouble in or about the liver, and generally the passage of 
the bile into the intestine is stopped for the time being. When bile is poured into 
that canal in unusual quantities, the evacuations are very dark, and greenish or 
blackish. Diarrhoea may be due to gastric or intestinal irritations or inflamma- 
tions, or it may result from exposure and chilling the surface, improper food, poisons 
from the outside or others formed within the system, hard work immediately after 
a hearty meal, or from many other influences. Blood is occasionally evacuated, 
and then, if bright red and accompanied by much straining, the chances are many 
that a sharp piece of bone is making its way out. Very offensive evacuations sug- 
