52 THE D18M8K8 OF THE D00. 



most rapidly in flesh; he endeavours to keep in a warm place 

 and away from observation, and in the earlier stages may 

 vomit freely, and usually is troubled by a husky cough. 

 Distemper is a disease the prognosis of which is attended 

 with a very great deal of uncertainty j sometimes the 

 antemia " pulls the animal down " to such an extent as 

 to make it seem probable that he will be utterly unable 

 to survive the attack, and yet he suddenly takes a turn 

 for the better, and improves with the greatest rapidity. 

 Not rarely in the earlier stages of the disorder he suddenly 

 seems to improve, his fever is less, his membranes clear 

 up, and he seems to be progressing most favorably until 

 convulsive twitchings, or deficient power in the hind 

 limbs, or extreme excitability indicate the imminence of 

 the nervous system becoming involved, either in the form of 

 epileptic fits, chorea, or paralysis. It is noted that espe- 

 cially dogs of fancy breeds and high nervous tempera- 

 ment are liable to epileptic fits when suffering from 

 distemper ; the least excitement, even an angry word to 

 another dog, will sometimes bring on this complication. 

 In the earlier stages these fits, especially when they are 

 not recurrent and paroxysmal, are looked upon as not a 

 bad sign, but when they occur in more advanced cases 

 and rapidly succeed one another, the patient is generally 

 ultimately killed by them. In their phenomena and mani- 

 festations the epilepsy, chorea, and paralysis differ little 

 from those affections when they are due to other causes. 

 The paralysis is generally paraplegia and usually precedes 

 the fatal result. More rarely the symptoms shown in 

 these nervous cases are those indicative of brain pressure, 

 and the patient may walk round in one direction continu- 

 ously in a state of stupor for some time. 



Young dogs suffer most from the intestinal form, which 

 seems determined by irritation from the presence of 

 worms in the bowels, or, perhaps, reflexly by teething. 

 There is generally in the disorder a tendency to looseness 

 of the bowels, and the evacuations, at first laden with 

 mucus, are liable to become dark coloured and of most 

 foul odour. When blood begins to appear it indicates 



