Psychic Symptoms and Disorders. 1 1 



fectionate ; other breeds (bull/ mastiff, bloodhound) are lacking 

 in this character. All trained races take naturally to the occu- 

 pations of their ancestors. Some (horses, cattle and sheep) are 

 easily panic-stricken, (stampeded). Some (turkeys, roosters) 

 are not easily stampeded. Some (skunks), having effective 

 sources of defense, have little fear of man. 



Individual and racial mental dullness and torpor must 

 also be recognized. Some are stupid and slow, others alert and 

 quickly responsive. Some horses are not level-headed and be- 

 come uncontrollable in difficult situations. Some dogs are so 

 emotional as to endanger their lives from sudden heart trouble. 

 Some horses, dogs and cats will pine and die when separated 

 from their fellows or human friends. Extreme timidity, or 

 sudden rage may be so marked as to constitute a virtual morbid 

 phenomenon. Sluggish cerebral and mental action may result 

 from exhaustion, prostration, or dementia ; also from cerebral con- 

 gestion, pressure and degeneration ; or from poisoning by nar- 

 cotics, ptomaines , or toxins (opium, hyoscyamus, Indian hemp, 

 dourine, milk sickness, etc. It may come from profound ab- 

 sorption in another object, as when the rabid dog bears whipping 

 without a howl. 



Delusions or hallucinations are shown in the rabid dog 

 snapping at flies, or attacking his friend or master as 'an enemy, 

 as well as in other forms of delirium. Narcotics, such as opium, 

 Indian hemp, etc. , ptomaines, toxins, and (in dogs) essential 

 oils cause delirium by acting on the nerve centres. 



Vice in its various forms may become a genuine neurosis, the 

 animal losing control of its actions. 



Violence in the form of self-defense or aggression is seen in 

 mares in heat, in bulls or stallions under sexual excitement, in 

 animals roused by inconsiderate whipping, or in bulls looking on 

 scarlet clothing. 



Some high-spirited animals,, under extreme fatigue from over- 

 work, sometimes become violent but resume their docility under 

 rest and food. 



In all cases we must know the normal of an individual animal 

 to enable us to properly appreciate any apparent deviation from 

 the psychic form. No less essential is it to take into account 

 the environment and treatment of the patient. 



