240 KENNEL DISEASES. 
CHAPTER IV. 
CHOREA. 
CHorEA, commonly termed St. Vitus’s Dance, is a nervous affection, charac- 
terized by irregular or jerking movements, over which the animal has no control, 
and which continue more or less pronounced all the time, excepting when he is 
sleeping. 
Much the largest proportion of the victims are puppies, or dogs that have but 
recently reached maturity. 
There is much uncertainty as to the causes of this affection, but since it 
occurs so often after distemper, that disease must have a very decided causative 
influence. It is evidently also sometimes brought on by fright ; and worms have 
been assigned as the cause, but whether rightly or not is not known. There 
appears reason for the belief that when the general health is impaired the liabil- 
ity of its occurrence is measurably increased. 
It may be quite extensive and involve several parts of the body, but as a rule 
it is confined to one set of muscles, or the head or leg. 
Chorea is one of the most obstinate affections which the owners of dogs are 
called upon to treat, and although it has been recovered from, the chances of a 
complete cure in any case are very small indeed. 
The purpose of treatment should be first, to overcome if possible any exist- 
ing derangements or impairments which may tend to aggravate the trouble, such 
as constipation, indigestion, worms, debility, etc., also to tone up the nervous 
system by means of a highly nutritious diet and other influences conducive to 
health if any such have been neglected. 
Of the many different remedies recommended for chorea, strychnia and 
arsenic appear the most popular. In using the former more than ordinary skill 
is required, for it is not likely to have the desired action unless the doses are 
steadily increased until the physiological effects of the drug are reached. Or in 
other words, the strychnia must be pushed until symptoms of poisoning are 
threatened. 
Obviously few non-professionals would care to go thus far, and if they did 
they might not stop at precisely the right point, therefore of the two remedies 
arsenic is the better for general use. 
Fowler’s solution is the preparation to be employed by the inexperienced; 
and for convenience it should be in slightly diluted form, as follows: 
