358 KENNEL DISEASES. 
The best situations for taking the temperature are the mouth, groin and 
rectum; and preferably the latter, because, the air being excluded, the re- 
sults are more accurate. And when in the rectum the length of time that 
the thermometer should be in place during each observation is about five 
minutes. 
The fact should be emphasized that in health the temperature varies in 
these different places. It also varies somewhat in the breeds and sexes, at 
different ages, hours of the day, and under special influences; and such varia- 
tions should be kept in mind, otherwise undue importance would likely be 
attached to them. 
Taken in the rectum the normal temperature of mature dogs is about 
101°, in the groin about 100°, while in the mouth it is about 983°. In puppies 
the temperature runs a bit higher. As a rule in dogs in health there are fluc- 
tuations of between one and two degrees between sunrise and sunset; there- 
fore in the absence of a rise or fall of at least one degree there can rarely be 
real occasion for uneasiness. 
In other words, if taken in the rectum, only when the thermometer runs 
over 102° or falls below 100°, would suspicion of disease be justified from the 
temperature alone, unless it had kept up or down for a day or more; in which 
event some trouble somewhere within the system would be indicated. 
In taking the temperature in the rectum the bulb of the instrument should 
be pushed in to a depth of about one and one-half inches at first, and about 
one-half an inch more about two minutes before it is withdrawn, that accuracy 
may be a certainty, 
When the temperature is to be taken in the mouth, the muzzle of the dog 
should be grasped with the left hand, to keep his teeth together. Then the 
thermometer should be inserted between them and his cheek, until the most 
of it is well covered by the latter. In this situation, and in the groin, longer 
time is required for an observation than in the rectum, and it ought to remain 
in place nearly ten minutes. 
The temperature in the bowel is not often below roo° in health; and gen- 
erally, but not invariably, a fall to 97° would signify collapse, and that death 
was imminent. A rise to 103° would indicate the presence of moderate fever; 
while the fever must be very high when the thermometer recorded between 
105° and 106°. In case of a still greater rise the outlook would be indeed 
grave. 
Returning to the symptoms of distemper, if the temperature be taken after 
the signs of a common cold have appeared — sneezing, running at the nose, 
watery eyes, and cough— the thermometer will generally register 103°, or a 
little over, although the outward indications of the existing fever may be absent 
for a day or more; and the patient seem quite bright and lively, and indeed 
well but for his cold. 
