132 KENNEL DISEASES. 
dogs whose lives have been indolent and luxurious. Asa rule, its existence is 
not suspected until well advanced and enlargement of the abdomen has occurred. 
Previous to this the appetite is impaired, the manner of the victim dull and 
sluggish, and there is progressive emaciation, which, associated with the en- 
largement, is strongly suggestive of the nature of the existing illness. In the 
majority of cases, eventually the tongue is nearly white, and at the same time 
the mucous membrane of the mouth and lips loses its healthy color and be- 
‘comes pale and yellowish. Jaundice is also noted in some cases, but only rarely 
is it very pronounced. The breath is usually offensive, and the eyes are dull 
and lustreless. Vomiting is frequent, the matter ejected being greenish. There 
is a tendency to constipation, with occasional diarrhoea; and the discharges are 
commonly clayey. The kidneys are indolent, and the urine scanty and high 
colored. As emaciation progresses, the skin thickens and becomes rough and 
scaly, and the hair dry and staring. Until the abdominal distention is suffi- 
cient to mechanically interfere with respiration, the breathing is unchanged. 
The pulse also varies but little until late in the disease. In certain cases, 
instead of being enlarged, the liver is reduced in size, and the abdominal dis- 
tention which then occurs is due to dropsy, while in most instances the extremities 
become dropsical as the fatal end is approaching rapidly. 
These symptoms nearly all point so directly to the liver that there is 
scarcely a possibility of mistaking at least the seat of the trouble; and since in 
all instances in which dropsy is due to disease of that organ a cure is well 
nigh out of the question, it is not necessary to go into the means by which 
a positive diagnosis can be made. 
The malady is relentless; and if the desire is to prolong life, good manage- 
ment in feeding, etc., must be the reliance. 
FATTY LIVER. 
When animals become obese, fat is deposited in the various organs as well 
as in the tissues of the muscular system. In the liver this condition is termed 
fatty infiltration; and if it is not corrected in time there is destruction of the 
liver-substance, which process is known as fatty degeneration. During the 
infiltration there is practically merely a storing away of fat in the liver-tissues, 
in consequence of which the affected organ becomes enlarged; but during 
degeneration there is atrophy, or in other words, a decrease in size. 
Fatty infiltration may be a part of general obesity; it may also be in con- 
sequence of habitual deprivation of sufficient exercise, or of over-eating, espe- 
cially of foods that are too rich in fats or in fat-producing substances. It 
also sometimes occurs in wasting diseases. 
