Your Dog and Your Cat 



Infectious Diseases 



Distemper. — This is the most dreaded of all dis- 

 eases affecting dogs. It is an influenza-like ailment 

 of unknown cause. It is highly contagious and 

 occurs in dogs of all ages, but is more frequent in 

 young animals. Distemper is easily disseminated 

 and actual contact with sick animals is not necessary 

 for infection. The virus is spread freely wherever 

 dogs are collected in large numbers. Dog shows 

 and kennels are very common mediums for spread- 

 ing the disease. However, the infection can be 

 gathered in the street or carried on the clothing. 

 Unsanitary quarters are favorite breeding grounds 

 for infection, and the vitality of dogs kept under 

 such conditions is so lowered that they become easy 

 victims to the disease. Distemper occurs more often 

 in young animals, because their powers of resistance 

 are not sufficient to combat the infection. Puppies 

 hampered by improper feeding, worms, or rickets 

 possess much less vitality than healthy ones. 



Symptoms. — Discharge from the eyes and nose, 

 sneezing, coughing, high fever, loss of appetite, and 

 diarrhea are the general symptoms. The dog may 

 have a heavy bronchitis or a pneumonia. The dis- 

 ease may be confined to the digestive tract. Pus 

 blisters are often found on the belly and groin. 

 Involvement of the nervous system is often evi- 

 denced by twitching of a group of muscles or by 



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