02 DisBASKs or Doaa. 



care and attention, in housing, feeding, etc. , between tlie two. No. 

 doubt in-and-in breeding, and breeding for certain artificial or fancy 

 points, generation after generation, weaken the constitution, and 

 make dogs more likely to succumb to distemper. The dainty- 

 feeding pup, the pot-bellied, and the ricketty are the sort that most 

 frequently die, and that irrespective of breed. 



Equally common is the impression that it is an absolute necessity 

 of dog life that each animal should suffer from this disease. But it 

 is not so ; many never pass through the trying ordeal. Still, it is 

 quite a wise thing to inquire before buying a young dog whether he 

 has been "through distemper." 



Causes of Distemper. — These may be said to divide themselves 

 into the immediate and remote, the evident and the obscure ; but 

 then it must never be forgotten that " the eye sees only that which 

 it brings with it the power of seeing " ; and a cause self-evident to 

 the veterinary pathologist would by no means be apparent to the 

 casual observer. The disease has now been so long established in 

 our kennels that there appears to be an hereditary tendency in some 

 strains to it ; but this predisposition must be encouraged by some 

 generating cause, although so slight that it would not affect another 

 in which the disease was not inherent. Badly drained and ill -venti- 

 lated kennels, and especially if added to these conditions there is a 

 want of thorough cleanliness, are the natural homes of distemper. 

 Exposure to damp and oold, bad or injudicious feeding, whether poor 

 food or excess of it, predispose to it, as it often follows on common 

 oolds and derangement of the digestive and other organs, the 

 immediate result of such treatment. Contagion is, however, the 

 only cause. Distemper being a specific disease it cannot originate 

 spontaneously ; it is due to a epecifio virus. Spontaneous origin, no 

 matter to what applied, is, to say the least, doubtful. 



I leave the above standing in this edition, because it fairly 

 represonts the state of knowledge and belief concerning distemper 

 when ihis book was first published thirty years ago. Indeed, I 

 might say that the errors in it are given witi an unwillingness of 

 consent, and an evident strong bias in favour of some specific " gene- 

 rating cause," although the nature of that cause was unknovm to 

 me. My mistake was the mistake of the time — the veil had not 

 been lifted, which, now removed, reveals to us the true and only 

 cause of distemper. 



At the time I wrote, and since, veterinarians of eminence wrote to 

 the same effect. Professor Law says, " change of climate, teething, 

 and contagion are the causes." Professor J. Woodroffe Hill says, 

 "contagion, badly-drained and iU-ventilated kennels, exposure to 

 damp and oold, insufficient feeding, poor food, over-feeding (particn- 



