DISTEMrER IN THE DOG. 
685 
DISTEMPER IN THE DOG. 
By S. S. Baker, D.V.S. Chicago, Ill. 
A Paper Read before the Illinois State Veterinary Medical Association. 
In casting about for a subject on which to write a paper for 
your consideration, I decided to give you something in connec¬ 
tion with a class of patients that appear to have been entirely 
neglected by our essayists, although they come nearer being 
our friends than any other of the lower animals, viz., the dog. 
Distemper is one of the most common diseases that the dog 
is heir to, or, I might better say, the puppy, for it is, generally 
speaking, a puppy-hood complaint, dogs over one year of age 
rarely suffering from it, although age is no preventive. Of all 
diseases that canine flesh is heir to, distemper exacts the largest 
tribute. Distemper is a specific disease, and very contagious 
and wide-spread in its prevalence. It is of a catarrhal nature, 
usually affecting the mucous membranes of the head and ali¬ 
mentary tract. Some authors have described it as resembling 
typhus fever in man, influenza and glanders in the horse, but 
there is great diversity of opinion in this respect. Distem¬ 
per usually runs a definite course, and, when uncomplicated, 
generally terminates favorably, but when complicated I know 
of no disease that will make a man more tired than this. There 
is no specific for it, although the country is flooded with nos¬ 
trums that are advertised as sure cures, and every dog fancier 
has a different recipe that he claims will do the work. Distem¬ 
per is not a necessary disease. Dogs frequently pass through 
life without being afflicted with it, nor does one attack render 
immunity from a second. It is usually found most prevalent 
among highly-bred pampered dogs, and those that are closely 
inbred, the mongrel rarely suffering from it. The period of 
incubation is from four days to three weeks, and the period 
of duration from ten days to two or three months. 
Etiology .—That the cause is a germ or germs is quite cer¬ 
tain. It is a foregone conclusion that there is a virus of some 
kind, that has great vitality, and can be communicated from one 
