CHAPTER XI 
DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS 
To diagnose a case of distemper in its early stages is 
frequently very difficult for the clinician, unless he is 
given some history of recent contact—direct or in- 
direct—with a confirmed case of distemper in the neigh- 
bourhood. Failing this, he must either await the onset of 
some one or more of the typical symptoms or judge the 
case on its merits. For instance, should the animal 
be a puppy living in or near a town, or be constantly 
associated with dog-breeders or people attending dog 
shows, or have recently come from a dogs’ home or 
dog bureau, the practitioner would have reason to be 
more than usually suspicious of the malady he had to 
deal with. 
I regard it now as an infallible rule (and advise its 
universal adoption) to treat any of the following devia- 
tions from health as distemper, until such time as it can 
be proved they have no connection with it. 
Early Warnings of Distemper—An unwillingness to 
play or feed, malaise, shivering, thirst, unusual desire to 
sleep, and to be as close to warmth as possible, vomiting, 
an eruption on the hairless parts of the body, slight 
diarrhoea, indurated mucus in the corner of the eyes, 
slight huskiness, or the occurrence of fits; any of these 
conditions, either individually or combined, should lead 
one to suspect distemper, and (for safety’s sake) to isolate 
the animal, until time has been allowed for the appear- 
ance of more pronounced and diagnostic symptoms, or 
until the primary indisposition has passed entirely away. 
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