Dogs Manual: 2015

Thursday, December 31, 2015

When signs indicative of approaching fits are remarked

When signs indicative of approaching fits are remarked, small doses of mercury and ipecacuanha should be administered.

Grey powder	Five grains to one scruple.
Ipecacuanha	One to four grains.

When the symptoms denote the probable appearance of fits

When the symptoms denote the probable appearance of fits, although the appetite should be craving, the food must be light and spare. At the Veterinary College, the pupils are taught that the increase of the appetite at this particular period is a benevolent provision to strengthen the body for the approaching trial. Nature, foreseeing the struggle her creature is doomed to undergo the teacher used to say gives a desire for food, that the body may have vigor to endure it; and the young gentlemen are advised, therefore, to gratify the cravings of the dog. This is sad nonsense, which pretends to comprehend those motives that are far beyond mortal recognition. We cannot read the intentions of every human mind, and it displays presumption when we pretend to understand the designs of Providence. There are subjects upon which prudence would enjoin silence. The voracity is excessive, but it is a morbid prompting. When the fits are threatened, the stomach is either acutely inflamed, or in places actually sore, the cuticle being removed, and the surface raw. After a full meal at such a period, a fit may follow, or continuous cries may evidence the pain which it inflicts. Nothing solid should be allowed; the strongest animal jelly, in which arrowroot or ground rice is mixed, must constitute the diet; and this must be perfectly cold before the dog is permitted to touch it: the quantity may be large, but the amount given at one time must be small. A little pup should have the essence of at least a pound of beef in the course of the day, and a Newfoundland or mastiff would require eight times that weight of nutriment: this should be given little by little, a portion every hour, and nothing more save water must be placed within the animal's reach. The bed must not be hay or straw, nor must any wooden utensil be at hand; for there is a disposition to eat such things. A strong canvas bag, lightly filled with sweet hay, answers the purpose best; but if the slightest inclination to gnaw is observed, a bare floor is preferable. The muzzle does not answer; for it irritates the temper which sickness has rendered sensitive. Therefore no restraint, or as little as is consonant with the circumstances, must be enforced. Emetics are not indicated. Could we know with certainty that the stomach was loaded with foreign matters, necessity would oblige their use; but there can be no knowledge of this fact and of themselves these agents are at this time most injurious. Purgatives are poisons now. There is always apparent constipation; but it is confined only to the posterior intestine, and is only mechanical. Diarrhœa is certain to commence when the rectum is unloaded, and nothing likely to irritate the intestines is admissible. The fluid food will have all the aperient effect that can be desired. As to setons, they are useless during the active stage; and if continued after it has passed, they annoy and weaken the poor patient: in fact, nothing must be done which has not hitherto been proposed.

But it is not generally needed

To the foregoing, from two to eight grains of powdered catechu may be added should it seem to be required, but it is not generally needed. Opium more than has been recommended, in this stage, is not usually beneficial; and, save in conjunction with ether, which appears to deprive it of its injurious property, I am not in the habit of employing it.

I have been more full in my directions for diarrhœa than was perhaps required by the majority of cases. Under the administration of the ether only I am, therefore, never in a hurry to resort even to the liquor potassæ, which, however, I use some time before I employ the astringent pills, and during the whole period I persevere with the tonic. The diet I restrict to strong beef tea, thickened with ground rice, and nothing of a solid nature is allowed. Should these measures not arrest the purgation, but the fæces become offensive, chloride of zinc is introduced into the injection, and also into the ether given by the mouth. With the first, from a teaspoonful to a tablespoonful of the solution is combined, and with the last half those quantities is blended. A wash, composed of two ounces of the solution of the chloride to a pint of cold water, is also made use of to cleanse the anus, about which, and the root of the tail, the fæces have a tendency to accumulate. Warm turpentine I have sometimes with advantage had repeatedly held to the abdomen, by means of flannels heated and then dipt into the oil, which is afterwards wrung out. This, however, is apt to be energetic in its action; but that circumstance offers no objection to its employment. When it causes much pain, it may be discontinued, and with the less regret, as the necessity is the less in proportion as the sensibility is the greater. Should it even produce no indication of uneasiness, it must nevertheless not be carried too far, since on the dog it will cause serious irritation if injudiciously employed; and we may then have the consequences of the application to contend with added to the effects of the disease. When it produces violent irritation, a wash made of a drachm of the carbonate of ammonia to half a pint of water may be applied to the surface; and when the inflammation subsides, the part may be dressed with spermaceti ointment. The fits are more to be dreaded than any other symptom; when fairly established, they are seldom mastered. I have no occasion to boast of the success of my treatment of these fits. All I can advance in favor of my practice is, that it does sometimes save the life, and certainly alleviates the sufferings of the patient; while of that plan of treatment which is generally recommended and pursued, I can confidently assert it always destroys, adding torture to the pains of death. In my hands not more than one in ten are relieved, but when I followed the custom of Blaine none ever lived, the fate was sealed, and its horrors were increased by the folly and ignorance of him who was employed to watch over, and was supposed to be able to control. Let the owners of dogs, when these animals have true distemper fits, rather cut short their lives than allow the creatures to be tampered with for no earthly prospect. I have no hesitation when saying this; the doom of the dog with distemper fits may be regarded as sealed; and medicine, which will seldom save, should be studied chiefly as a means of lessening the last agonies. In this light alone can I recommend the practice I am in the habit of adopting. When under it any animal recovers, the result is rather to be attributed to the powers of nature than to be ascribed to the virtues of medicine; which by the frequency of its failure shows that its potency is subservient to many circumstances. Blaine and Youatt, both by the terms in which they speak of, and the directions they lay down for, the cure of distemper fits, evidently did not understand the pathology of this form of the disease. These authors seem to argue that the fits are a separate disease, and not the symptoms only of an existing disorder. The treatment they order is depletive, whereas, the attacks appearing only after the distemper has exhausted the strength, a little reflection convinces us the fits are the results of weakness. Their views are mistaken, and their remedies are prejudicial. They speak of distemper being sometimes ushered in by a fit, and their language implies that the convulsions, sometimes seen at the first period, are identical with those witnessed only during the latest stages. This is not the fact. A fit may be observed before the appearance of the distemper; and anything which, like a fit, shows the system to be deranged, may predispose the animal to be affected; but, between fits of any kind, and the termination of the affection in relation to distemper, there is no reason to imagine there is an absolute connexion. The true distemper fit is never observed early at least, I have never beheld it before the expiration of the third week; and I am happy in being able to add, that when my directions have from the first been followed, I have never known an instance in which the fits have started up. Therefore, if seldom to be cured, I have cause to think they may be generally prevented.

Let ether and laudanum be immediately administered

Diarrhœa may next start up. If it appears, let ether and laudanum be immediately administered, both by the mouth and by injection. To one pint of gruel add two ounces of sulphuric ether, and four scruples of the tincture of opium; shake them well together. From half an ounce to a quarter of a pint of this may be employed as an enema, which should be administered with great gentleness, as the desire is that it should be retained. This should be repeated every third hour, or oftener if the symptoms seem urgent, and there is much straining after the motions. From a tablespoonful to four times that quantity of the ether and laudanum mixture, in a small quantity of simple syrup, may be given every second hour by the mouth; but if there is any indication of colic, the dose may be repeated every hour or half hour; and I have occasionally given a second dose when only ten minutes have elapsed. Should the purgation continue, and the pain subside, from five to twenty drops of liquor potassæ may be added to every dose of ether given by the mouth; which, when there is no colic, should be once in three hours, and the pills directed below may be exhibited at the same time:

Prepared chalk	Five grains to one scruple.
Powdered ginger	Three to ten grains.
Powdered carraways	Three to ten grains.
Powdered capsicums	One to four grains.
Confection of roses	A sufficiency.

Not more than one drop to four pills

With these a very little of the tincture of aconite may be also blended, not more than one drop to four pills. The tonics ought during the time to be discontinued, and the chest should be daily auscultated to learn when the symptoms subside. So soon as a marked change is observed, the tonic treatment must be resumed, nor need we wait until all signs of chest affection have disappeared. When the more active stage is mastered by strengthening the system, the cure is often hastened; but the animal should be watched, as sometimes the affection will return. More frequently, however, while the lungs engross attention, the eyes become disordered. When such is the case, the tonics may be at once resorted to; for then there is little fear but the disease is leaving the chest to involve other structures.

This will be the quantity for one pill

This will be the quantity for one pill; but a better effect is produced if the medicine be administered in smaller doses, and at shorter intervals. If the dog can be constantly attended to, and does not resist the exhibition of pills, or will swallow them readily when concealed in a bit of meat, the following may be given every hour:

Extract of belladonna	A quarter grain to one grain.
Nitre	One to four grains.
James's powder	A quarter grain to one grain.
Conserve of roses	A sufficiency.

All kinds of mistaken cruelties have been perpetrated

When the lungs are attacked, all kinds of mistaken cruelties have been perpetrated. No wonder the disease has been so fatal, when it has been so little understood. I cannot conceive that any dog could survive the measures I was by my college tutor taught to pursue, or the plan which books told me to adopt. Needlessly severe, calculated to strengthen the disease, and to decrease the power of the animal to survive, as the general practice decidedly is, I entreat the reader to reject it. In truth, the involvement of the lungs is in distemper a very slight affair; no symptom yields more quickly or to milder means. Do not forget the diet, but let it be both low and small. The system cannot endure depletion, therefore we must gain whatever we can through abstinence. Do not starve, but be cautious not to cram the animal; only keep it so short that it remains always hungry. The meal must now never be full, or sufficient to satisfy the appetite, which is usually large. A loaded stomach would do much injury, therefore little and often is the rule. The amount for the day must be cut off in the morning; and during the day, at as many times as the owner pleases, it may little by little be offered, but no more must be allowed. If the dog should not be inclined to eat, which is not often the case at this particular period, the circumstance is hardly to be regretted; he is not, save under the direction of one qualified to give such an order, to be enticed or forced. As for medicine, let the following pill be given thrice daily:

Extract of belladonna	One to four grains.
Nitre	Three to eight grains.
James's powder	One to four grains.
Conserve of roses	A sufficiency.

The eye of a dull thick white color on its entire surface

The eyes I treat, or rather refuse to treat, upon the same principle. Whatever may be the appearance they present even though the animal should be actually blind, the eye of a dull thick white color on its entire surface, and the centre of the cornea ulcerated nevertheless I let them alone, and turn a deaf ear to the entreaties which call on me to relieve so terrible an affliction: I forbid even the discharge to be washed off. Nothing must go near them; but the treatment must be pursued as though we were ignorant that the parts were affected. Any excessive accumulation may be gently picked off with the fingers once a-day; but even this must be performed with the utmost caution, and in most instances had better be let alone. It can only be necessary in dogs that have very long hair which becomes matted and glued together upon the cheeks; for other animals it is not imperative. If the lids should be stuck together, the fastening substance may be removed; but it should not be too quickly done even then. All water, either warm, tepid, or cold every kind of lotion, or any sort of salve or powder will do harm, by either weakening or irritating the organs. As to bleeding, blistering, and setoning, which have been advised, they are contrary to the dictates of humanity, and as a necessary consequence, are injurious. In medicine, at least with the dog, that which is not kind is not good. With these animals the feelings are much safer than the reason; and a lady, consulting the impulses of her heart, would be more likely to save her favorite than a veterinary surgeon, who proceeded upon the practice of that which he supposed was his science. Let the eyes of the sufferer alone we cannot alleviate the pain, or shorten its duration. The disease regulates the torture, and to that we must give attention. If the distemper is conquered, the sight will mostly be restored; but if the eyes are tampered with, consequences may ensue which are not natural to the disease, but are induced by the crude and cruel prejudices of the doctor. The man who, during distemper, seeing an ulcer upon the cornea, under the imagination that by so doing he will set up a healthy action, presumes to touch it with lunar caustic, will in the resistance of the poor patient be rebuked, and, by the humour of the eye squirting into his face, probably be informed that he has accomplished the very object he intended to prevent, while a fungoid mass will spring up to commemorate his achievement.

But persevere in the tonic treatment

Of the cough, however distressing it may be, I take no notice. I do nothing for its relief, but persevere in the tonic treatment, and become more strict in my directions concerning diet. The cough is only one of the symptoms attendant on the disorder, and the measures likely to mitigate its severity will aggravate the disease; while by attacking the disorder, we destroy the cause, and with that the effect also disappears.

An ounce of the fluid is often sufficient

The above quantity will be ample for the largest dog one-eighth will be enough for a small animal and for a mere pup, an ounce of the fluid is often sufficient. In these cases, however, I always continue the injection until it is returned, the object not being to have it retained; but simply to lubricate the part, and thereby facilitate the passage of the fæces, while by distending the rectum, that intestine is stimulated to expel its contents. The ether and laudanum are introduced to guard against the possibility of irritation. If a more than usual disposition to costiveness be observed, twice a week a meal of liver, chopped very fine, is allowed; but even this should be given only after there is absolute proof of its necessity.

The time when such agents could be remedial has passed

Most generally, however, the dogs brought to us with the distemper have the disease fairly established before we see them. Then I never purge or vomit: the time when such agents could be remedial has passed, and if now used, though they will seem to do some immediate good, the after consequences are always to be regretted. The action of the purgative has scarcely subsided before the distemper assumes a more virulent form, and the probability of the termination is rendered more dark. During the distemper I pay little attention to the bowels; and, however great may be the costiveness, I never venture to resort even to a laxative, though, should I discover the rectum to be impacted with hard fæces, an enema may be employed. That which I use on these occasions is composed of gruel, to which some sulphuric ether and laudanum has been added.

Take of	cold gruel	One quart.
	Sulphuric ether	Four drachms.
	Laudanum	One scruple.

And the advantage gained by this mode of treatment is

Numerous are the cases which have thus been shortened by this method; and the advantage gained by this mode of treatment is, that if the measures employed be not absolutely necessary, they do no harm, and if required, they are those which are calculated to mitigate the violence of the disease; so for three or four weeks I pursue this course, and should all then appear well, I dismiss the case.

Of the liquor arsenicalis I take ten or twenty drops

Of the liquor arsenicalis I take ten or twenty drops, and adding one ounce of distilled water, mingled with a little simple syrup, I order a teaspoonful to be given thrice daily with the pills, or in a little milk, or in any fluid the creature is fond of. The taste being pleasant, the dog does not object to this physic, and it is of all importance that it should be annoyed at this time as little as may be possible.

Make into twenty pills and give three

Make into twenty pills, and give three daily.

At the same time I give the liquor arsenicalis, which I prepare not exactly as is directed to be made by the London pharmacopœia, but after the following method:

Take any quantity of arsenious acid, and adding to it so much distilled water as will constitute one ounce of the fluid to every four grains of the substance, put the two into a glass vessel. To these put a quantity of carbonate of potash equal to that of the acid, and let the whole boil until the liquid is perfectly clear. The strength is the same as the preparation used in human practice; the only difference is, the coloring and flavoring ingredients are omitted, because they render the medicine distasteful to the dog. The dose for the dog is from one drop to three drops; it may be carried higher, but should not be used in greater strength, when a tonic or febrifuge effect only is desired.

Choosing the lowest amount specified

Make into twenty-four pills, and give three daily; choosing the lowest amount specified, or the intermediate quantities, according to the size of the animal.

Often under this treatment the disease will appear to be suddenly cut short. With the action of the purgative, or even before it has acted, all the symptoms will disappear, and nothing remains which seems to say any further treatment is required. I never rest here, for experience has taught me that these appearances are deceptive, and the disorder has a disposition to return. Consequently strict injunctions are given as to diet, and a course of tonics is adopted:

Disulphate of quinine	One to four scruples.
Sulphate of iron	One to four scruples.
Extract of gentian	Two to eight drachms.
Powdered quassia	A sufficiency.

Medicinal measures are not to be so quickly settled

Medicinal measures are not to be so quickly settled. A constant change of the agents employed will be imperative, and the practitioner must be prepared to meet every symptom as it appears. The treatment is almost wholly regulated by the symptoms, and as the last are various, of course the mode of vanquishing them cannot be uniform. To guide us, however, there is the well-known fact, the disease we have to subdue is of a febrile kind, and has a decided tendency to assume a typhoid character; therefore, whatever is done must be of a description not likely to exhaust, depletion is altogether out of the question. The object we have to keep in view is the support of nature, and the husbanding of those powers which the malady is certain to prey upon: in proportion as this is done, so will be the issue. In the very early stage, purgatives or emetics are admissible. If a dog is brought to me with reddened eyes, but no discharge, and the owner does no more with regard to the animal than complain of dulness, a want of appetite, and a desire to creep to the warmth, then I give a mild emetic such as is directed, page ; and this I repeat for three successive mornings; on the fourth day administering a gentle purge, as ordered, page . The tartar emetic solution and purgative pills I employ for these purposes, in preference to castor oil or ipecacuanha, and during the same time I prescribe the following pills:

Ext. belladonna	Six to twenty-four grains.
Nitre	One to four scruples.
Extract of gentian	One to four drachms.
Powdered quassia	A sufficiency.

It must be strictly attended to

The diet is of all importance; it must be strictly attended to. In the first place, meat or flesh must be withheld. Boiled rice, with a little broth from which the fat has been removed, may be the food of a weakly animal, but for the majority bread and milk will be sufficient; whichever is employed must be given perfectly cold. Sugar, butter, sweet biscuits, meat, gravy, greens, tea or pot liquor either luxuries or trash must be scrupulously denied in any quantity, however small. Skim-milk, if perfectly sweet, is to be preferred, and coarse bread or ship biscuits are better than the same articles of a finer quality. These will form the diet, when the dog can be brought to accept them; and to rice, the favorite however great may be the pity he elicits, or however urgent may be his solicitations for a more liberal fare must be rigidly confined. If, after a few trials, the dog stubbornly refuses such provender, meat must of necessity be given, but it should be of the very best description, and rather underdone. Of this kind, it ought to be minced, and mixed with so much rice or ship biscuit as the animal can at first be made to eat with it; the rice or biscuit may then be gradually increased; and in the end the vegetable substance will constitute, at all events, the major part of the support. Water, constantly changed a circumstance too little attended to where dogs are concerned must be the only drink; the bed must be warm and dry, but airy. Cleanliness cannot be carried to too nice an extent; here the most fastidious attention is not out of place. Let the kennel be daily cleared, and the bed regularly changed at least thrice-a-week; straw or hay is better for the dog to sleep upon than cushions or blankets, which, being more expensive, are not so frequently replaced. Too much hay or straw cannot be allowed, but, on the other hand, it is difficult to regulate the quantity of the finer articles. In the last kind of bed the animal is often almost smothered, or else he scrapes them into a lump, and lies shivering on the top; whereas, when he has straw to lie upon, he can either creep beneath it, and shelter himself when sensible of cold, or expose himself to the air when oppressed by the fever. The sensations being the only guide, it is best to leave the dog, as much as possible, capable of obeying its instinct; but always let the bed be ample, as during the night the shivering generally prevails, and the cold fit is entirely independent of the heat to be felt at the skin, or the temperature of the season. Let the dog be kept away from the fire, for, if permitted, it will creep to the hearth, and may be injured by the falling cinders, when the burn will not perhaps readily heal. A cold or rather cool place is to be selected one protected from wet, free from damp, and not exposed to wind or draughts. The kennel, if properly constructed, is the better house, for dogs do best in the open air; the only objection to which is, the chance it offers of the animal being drenched with rain. If the kennel can be placed under an open outhouse, I should always have it put there; and what else I would recommend is, of course, told by the line of conduct which I pursue.

And the uncertain character of its symptoms

The treatment is rendered the more difficult because of the insidious nature of the disorder, and the uncertain character of its symptoms; under such circumstances, it is no easy task to make perfectly clear those instructions I am about to give. I am in possession of no specific; I do not pretend to teach how to conjure; I am going only to lay down certain rules which, if judiciously applied, will tend to take from this disease that fatal reputation which it has hitherto acquired. I shall be obliged, however, to leave much to the discretion of the reader; for it would employ too great a space, did I attempt to make provision for all possible accidents and probable combinations.

After wading through the foregoing description

The symptoms of distemper, as the reader will, after wading through the foregoing description, have perceived, are numerous and complicated; they admit of no positive arrangement, being both eccentric in their order and appearances. Redness of the eyes, with discharge from both eyes and nose, accompanied with ordinary signs of illness, are the early indications; but even these are not to be sought for, or to be expected in any single form. The judgment must be exercised, and study strengthened by experience will alone enable any man to pronounce the presence of distemper in many cases; while, perhaps, without knowledge or practice any person may recognise it in the generality of instances.

During the recovery from distemper

During the recovery from distemper, small and delicate animals terriers and spaniels are very liable to faint; the dog is lively, perhaps excited, when suddenly it falls upon its side, and all its limbs stiffen. A series of these attacks may follow one another, though generally one only occurs; when numerous and rapid, there is some danger, but, as a general rule, little apprehension need be entertained. The fainting fits are of some consequence, if they exist during a sickening for, or maturing of, distemper. In pups that have not passed the climax of the disease, they are not unseldom the cause of death; but, even in that case, I have never been convinced that the measures adopted for the relief did not kill quite as much or even more than the affection. When the symptom is mistaken, and wrong remedies are resorted to, the fainting fit will often continue for hours, or never be overcome. When let alone, the attack mostly does not last longer than a quarter of an hour, and under judicious treatment the consciousness almost immediately returns. When the fainting fits occur during the progress or advance of the disease that is, before the symptoms have begun to amend it is usually preceded by signs of aggravation. For twelve or twenty-four hours previously the dog is perceptibly worse; it may moan or cry, and yet no organ seems to be decidedly affected more seriously than it was before. I attribute the sounds made to headache; and, confirming this opinion, there is always some heat at the scalp. The animal is dull, but immediately before the collapse it attempts to wander, and has begun to move, probably panting at the same time, when it falls without a cry, and stiffens. In this state the rigidity occasionally being less, but the unconsciousness continuing unchanged it will remain; the eyes are turned upward or into the skull, the gums and tongue are pallid, the legs and belly cold: the appearances are those of approaching death, which, unless relief is afforded, may in a short time take place. When the fainting occurs after convalescence is established, the attack is sudden, the symptoms are less violent, and the coma of shorter duration. In this last case there is generally little danger, but there is always sufficient reason for alarm, and help ought never to be delayed. These attacks are commonly confounded with true distemper fits, from which they are altogether distinct; and from which they may be readily distinguished by the absence of the champing of the jaw, the want of any disposition to bite, the immediate insensibility which ensues, the shrieks not being heard, and the urine or fæces not being voided. Nevertheless, the two are usually confounded, and hence many persons are found asserting that distemper fits are easily cured; and several dogs have been shown to me at different times, which their owners were confident had been attacked by distemper fits, and radically cured by the most simple, and often ridiculous specifics. I have sometimes in despair even against my reason tried these boasted remedies, but in no instance has the result rewarded me. Where there was real occasion for a potent medicine, and little hope that any drug could benefit, the nostrums have, without a single exception, belied the confident recommendations with which they were offered, and either have done harm or proved inoperative.

When the violence of the disorder has declined

When the violence of the disorder has declined, the skin generally peels, the cuticle is cut off, and the hair is scurfy. I have even known the soles of the feet to cast their outer covering, and in one case three of the nails were shed. The teeth, also, are coated with a thick fur, and the breath is offensive; but as the strength returns at the same time, these circumstances are not to be viewed in a serious light. In one or two instances, where the system seemed to be so shaken that it retained no strength to cast off the lingering remnant of the distemper, mange has burst forth, and proceeded very rapidly; but it yielded with equal speed to mild external remedies, and is therefore only to be feared inasmuch as it disfigures the dog for a time, retarding the ultimate restoration to health by further taxing the enfeebled body.

Usually commences after diarrhœa which had set in has subsided

Recovery, in extreme cases, usually commences after diarrhœa which had set in has subsided, rather than during its attack. This is the only semblance to anything approaching a crisis which has come hither under my observation. If simultaneously the eyes lose their red and glassy aspect, and the cough returns, the danger may be supposed to have been passed. For weeks, however, the animal will require attention; for the convalescence is often more difficult to master than the disease itself is to cure; and relapses, always more dangerous than the original attack, are by no means unusual. The recovery may not be perfect before one or even two months have expired; but usually it is rapid, and the health is better than it was previous to the disease. A dog which would before never make flesh, having had the distemper, will often become fat. I once tried all in my power to relieve a Newfoundland dog of worms, but though I persisted for months, I was at last reluctantly obliged to admit the case was beyond any treatment I dared employ. A fortnight after I had given it up, the same animal was brought to me, suffering under evident distemper. I was not displeased to see it in that state, for I felt I could overcome the disease; and I told the proprietor that with the distemper the worms would depart. So it proved, and the dog has not since been subject to the annoyance.

Such is an outline of the leading symptoms

Such is an outline of the leading symptoms; and it now remains only to more particularly point out those which indicate death and denote recovery. The third or fourth week is the time when the dog mostly dies, if the disorder terminates fatally; and six weeks is the average continuance of the attack. Rapid loss of flesh is always a bad sign, and it is worse in proportion as the appetite is good, because then nature has lost the power of appropriation. The presence of vermin is likewise a circumstance which in some measure is deserving of notice. If a dog becomes, during the existence of this disorder, unusually infested with fleas, or more especially if lice all at once cover its coat, as these parasites ever abound where the body is debilitated and the system unhealthy, they are at such a period particularly ominous. The coat cannot, while the disease prevails, be expected to look sleek; but when it becomes more than usually harsh, and is decidedly foul, having a peculiar smell, which is communicated to the hand when it is passed over the body, the anticipations are not bright. The most marked indication is, however, given by the tongue. When this is only a little whiter than it was in health, we may hope for recovery; but if it becomes coated, discolored, and red and dry at its tip and edges, the worst may be foretold. The warning is the more decided if the breath be hot and tainted, and the belly and feet cold to the touch. While the dog can stand and walk, however feebly, there is no reason to despair; but when it falls down, and lies upon its side, rarely is medicine of much avail. Even then, however, it will sometimes recover; but if, while in this state, injections are returned as soon as they are administered, the chance that it can survive is indeed remote.

When the hind parts are paralysed

When the hind parts are paralysed, feeling may be entirely gone; so that a pin thrust into the flesh of those parts does not even attract the notice of the dog. This does not occur in choræa, but the consciousness is dulled by that affection. The convulsed limb may be more roughly handled than the healthy ones; but violence will excite those answers which truly indicate that insensibility is not established in it. If nothing be done for the twitchings, the limb will waste; at last the general system will be sympathetically involved, and the body will grow thin. This, however, may not happen until long after all signs of distemper have disappeared; for choræa, though well known to be often fatal, is always slow in its progress, and never attended with immediate danger.

And may continue for months after every other symptom has subsided

Twitches, choræa, or Saint Vitus's dance, are not very usual, and may continue for months after every other symptom has subsided. All four limbs are sometimes violently agitated, and even during sleep are not quiescent. The motion is incessant, and when this is the case the animal dies, worn out by the want of bodily rest. In the majority of instances only one limb is affected; and a species of independence of volition, or incapability of controlling its movements, accompanies the affection. Though never still, the leg is comparatively useless, and is carried in a manner which denotes this fact. The muscles of the trunk are less commonly attacked, but they do not always escape. When the legs have not been thus affected, I have known the abdominal and thoracic muscles to be troubled by continuous twitchings; which, however, have been for the most part slight, and have subsided more quickly than have those of the extremities, when they have been diseased. Cholera comes on gradually; its commencement is hardly to be perceived, and it is seldom observed before the distemper is fully developed even sometimes only when the disorder appears to be subsiding. It is not rare for it to start up while the animal is apparently recovering; and when it does so, it is always most difficult to remove. No pain is felt in the affected limb; the part rather seems to lose some portion of its sensibility.

Paralysis of the hind extremities is occasionally witnessed

Paralysis of the hind extremities is occasionally witnessed, and when seen is generally sudden in its appearance. Sometimes, however, the loss of power is gradual, and when such is the case the hopes of a cure are always diminished. If the power of motion be lost suddenly, costiveness mostly exists; and if, on the other hand, it should be gradual, there may be diarrhœa, which will terminate in death.

The genital organs rarely escape altogether

The genital organs rarely escape altogether. A thick purulent discharge, or one of a glairy nature, is often present in the male throughout the attack, and nearly always during recovery. In both sexes the bladder in the latter stages is apt to be paralysed, and the accumulation of the urine then becomes a prominent symptom. The recovery often commences after relief has been obtained, but if the necessity be overlooked, death generally ensues.

Tumors on various parts of the body

Tumors on various parts of the body, and of different kinds, sometimes but not usually accompany the disease; but as I have not been able to satisfy myself they are peculiar to the disorder, or induced by any other cause than the debility attendant on distemper, there is in this place no occasion to more than point out the possibility of their appearance. They are unfavorable as indications of general weakness, but they do not seem to possess any further or direct influence over the course of the affection.

But is seldom exhibited save in the latter stage of the disease

The disposition to eat or gnaw some part of the body is often shown to an alarming degree, but is seldom exhibited save in the latter stage of the disease. The dog is observed to lick one of its paws, or mumble at its tail, for some days. The part is always one of the extremities, and is evidently tormented with a violent itching which cannot be allayed. The animal at length, irritated by the torture, attacks the member with its teeth. The skin is first removed, and then the flesh. The mouth may be covered with blood, the teeth clogged with hair, and the very bones attacked; but the pain which the sight of the mangled surface suggests to the spectator seems not to be felt by the dog, which appears desirous only of destroying its own body. I have known two of the toes of one fore-paw to be thus consumed, so that amputation was afterward imperative, portions of the metacarpal bones being laid bare. In several instances the root of the tail has been eaten, until the sacrum and first tail bones, with the nerves, were exposed. The rage cannot be overcome, and, unless the disposition be prevented by mechanical means, the consequence will be fatal. No author that I am acquainted with has noticed this peculiarity; and in general it is attributed to other causes than distemper, which is either not observed, or is supposed to have been got over.

And I have not seen the same phenomenon distinct from the disease

A pustular eruption is often witnessed during the existence of distemper, and I have not seen the same phenomenon distinct from the disease. The two appear to be united, and yet we do not know the manner in which they are connected. The other symptoms are not mitigated when the pustules are matured, nor does their appearance denote any particular crisis or stage of the disorder. I have, however, most frequently seen them towards the latter or confirmed stages of distemper, and often they have immediately preceded the fits. The first indication given is a little redness, which is strictly local or confined to a particular spot. This place is not very red, but, nevertheless, it is obviously inflamed and tender; there is not much swelling, but a slight hardness can be detected. A day or two afterwards the redness dies away, and a globular eminence, perfectly round, and generally about the size of a split pea, is beheld. If it be opened, a proportionate quantity of thick pus of a healthy character escapes, and a comparatively large incrustation forms over the part; if not opened, the pustule bursts and the scab follows, but larger than in the previous case. Mostly the eruption appears on the belly and inside of the thighs, but it is seldom strictly confined to those parts. Often it affects the trunk and tail, but does not usually attack the head and fore-limbs. There is no proof that any benefit attends its development, or any known reason for attributing it to any cause; save only such as can be drawn from the statement, that I have commonly observed it in pups of a weakly constitution and emaciated condition.

The bones forming the roof of the skull have

The bones forming the roof of the skull have, however, been highly vascular loaded with dark blood so that if dried they become of almost a black hue; and without disputing the accuracy of either of the authorities I have mentioned, these appearances to my mind account more satisfactorily for symptoms which no one asserts ever border upon phrenitis. The brain seems to me to be only sympathetically affected, not absolutely involved in this disease. When this is threatened, there is generally some notice given before the fits, succeeded by stupor, are displayed. The eye will sometimes brighten, and the discharge from the nose will cease. This, however, is by no means constant; as it is not rare for both to continue, or even to become more copious; but if one only should remain, the nose is certain to be the part whence the deflexion will issue. No positive dependence, therefore, can be placed upon the discharges from the eye or nose. The eye, nevertheless, is certain to denote that which is on the eve of happening. The pupil may be small; and when it is so, its decrease of size will be marked, and it will have little disposition to enlarge. This, however, is rarely witnessed. Generally the pupil is much enlarged, so much as to conceal the iris, and alter the character of the organ. The eye is moreover retracted, and the dog has a very peculiar expression of mingled pain and stupidity. If the hand be placed upon the head, it will be sensibly hot. No matter how thick the coat may be, the heat will be apparent, and the carotid arteries will sensibly throb. The coat feels dry and is warm, although the animal may be trembling to such a degree as prevents the pulse being counted. Yet the dog seems lively; it is active now, though perhaps a little while ago it was dull; every trivial circumstance now attracts its notice. The appetite is generally ravenous. The dog which only the day before was disinclined to feed, is suddenly disposed to eat more than it ever was known to consume; and it will gnaw and swallow the hardest wood for want of better provender. The amended appetite is mostly one of the symptoms, but it is not invariably witnessed; for occasionally increased activity, and the strange appearance of the eye, are all that indicate the approach of fits. It will not be long, however, before something shall be added which is more definite in its meaning. The dog which was running about suddenly stands still, and begins to smack its lips and champ its jaw. It keeps stationary while doing this, and continues so until a quantity of froth and thick saliva falls from the mouth, drops upon the ground, and then the action ceases. The animal looks around with a vacant stare, evidently not conscious where it is, and starts away, hitting itself perhaps against anything which may oppose its progress. If caught it struggles to get loose, and may even bite the hand which, when conscious, it would perish to defend. Almost immediately, however, it regains its faculties, and then seems quite as well as it appeared to be before the attack came on. It may continue subject to be thus seized for several days; or soon after the first attack, fits or convulsions may start up. During the champing colic may set in, which will only yield when the fits are established. The duration of the champing is not regular; it may be only for a few moments, or for several minutes. The attacks may be no more than one or two in the day, or twenty may occur in a single hour. Generally they remain about three days, but here also there is no rule. I have known them to be present for a week, and also to exist only for a few hours. In these latter cases the condition of the dog is generally not understood. It is taken out for a long walk, or it is indulged with a hearty meal; and in the middle of the one, or shortly after the other, it begins to champ, utters a loud sharp cry, which is suddenly cut short as if the animal was choked. The eyes glare, the mouth is open, and before perfect insensibility ensues, the dog bites at every object near it, then falls down convulsed, the limbs stiffen, the head is drawn back or twisted to one side, the urine and dung are voided; and a slate of unconsciousness, which may cease in a few minutes, or continue for hours, during which the body is in contortions, and the saliva flows freely from the mouth, stretches the poor brute upon the earth. When this is over, the dog recovers as from a trance, being always disposed to ramble, and should its strength permit, will start away at its utmost speed. There is neither to the number nor duration of these fits any limit; they may be few or frequent, and long or short. The second may end the life; or every five minutes, nay oftener, they may occur, and the animal survive for days. Any excitement will bring them on, and the passage of the fæces invariably is accompanied by an attack. Diarrhœa always begins when they commence, and the dog soon loses strength, and lies upon its side unconscious and incapable of motion; the pulse is not to be felt, and gradually without a struggle it expires. Let no man, however, be hasty in saying positively when death has taken place. Often has the life seemed gone, for the heart has been still; but minutes afterwards the animal has gasped, and then began to breathe once more. Death, however, comes at last, for if the dog sinks to such a state, I have never known it to revive.

As diseases are peculiarly liable to change

The brain, both Blaine and Youatt speak of as subject to inflammation during the latter stage of distemper. As diseases are peculiarly liable to change, and the appearances assumed at different times are by no means uniform, I may not say those estimable writers never beheld it in such a state; but I am certain I have never seen it in a similar condition; I have found it congested, but far oftener have I discovered it perfectly healthy. One of its coverings (the dura mater) has exhibited a few spots of congestion, but these have been small, each not larger than the head of a moderate sized pin, and in number about ten or twelve; generally they are situated towards the anterior of the cranium (on either side or falx), and near to the crista galli.

Are not heard in every instance even of this kind

The cries, however, are not heard in every instance even of this kind, and the abdomen is not generally sensitive to pressure. When the belly is handled, the dog, by contracting the muscles covering the parts, may denote some small degree of resistance; but I have never known it to struggle during the operation. The curving of the spine, the occasional looks towards the seat of agony, and the efforts made to press or draw the belly upon the ground, will indicate the inflammatory character and the locality of the disease. The pulse does not materially aid the judgment; it becomes quicker and more sharp, but hardly to such an extent that dependence can be placed on its indications. The discharges often cease when the disease, in an acute form, becomes concentrated upon the contents of the abdomen; but the nose is almost always hot and harsh, though in a few cases I have known the part remain cold and moist even to the last. As the close draws near, a very peculiar smell, not absolutely powerful, but more sickly than offensive, is emitted. This odor is consequent upon the fæces, and when it is detected the animal seldom or never survives.

The stomach and intestines are always involved

The stomach and intestines are always involved; I have never known a case in which either escaped. The affection of the first is generally shown by sickness during the earliest stage; when also the derangement of the last is denoted by either costiveness or relaxation, the bowels never being perfectly regular; towards the latter stages, or about the third or fourth week, the appetite sometimes becomes enormous; the craving for food is then unnatural, and is so intense that no quantity can appease the hunger. The animal will eat anything; dry bread is taken with avidity, and stones, cinders, straw, and every species of filth are eaten with apparent relish. Such, however, is not always the case, since it is not unusual for the appetite entirely to fail. In either instance the dog rapidly wastes; the flesh seems to melt as it were away, and the change produced by a few days is startling; from having been fat, a thinness which exposes every bone is witnessed in a shorter time than would be supposed possible. At this period vomiting may come on; but when the animal is morbidly ravenous, the stomach does not generally reject its contents. After death I have found it loaded with the most irritating substances, and always acutely inflamed; but no sickness in any instance of this kind has been observed. Vomiting is most generally absent, but the protruded and reddened appearance of the anus will give a clue to the actual condition of the alimentary tube. The stomach is inflamed, not throughout, but in various parts which are in different stages of disease. The pyloric orifice is always more affected than the cardiac; the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum, are inflamed; the cæcum is enlarged, inflamed, and generally impacted. The rectum, however, suffers most severely; it is much reddened and thickened, often to an extraordinary degree. I have known blood to be exuded from the surface of this bowel in such quantities as to destroy the life from actual hemorrhage. In one case, however, a spaniel vomited more than half-a-pint of blood previous to its death, which took place two hours afterwards. A small quantity of blood is ordinarily passed with the fæces toward the latter stage; but in several cases a large amount of pure blood, partly coagulated and unmingled with any fæcal matter, has flowed from the body in a continued stream, to which there will be cessation only as death approaches. The possibility of this occurring will give the reader some idea of the extent and degree in which the bowels are or may be diseased; the symptoms, nevertheless, are not such as would suggest the danger which may be shortly violently exemplified. Irregularity of the intestines may be remarked; but it is not so characterised as to force itself upon the attention. The belly during distemper mostly appears tucked up and small; the intestines, even when costiveness exists, are seldom loaded, but all except the rectum may feel empty. The animal is always bound when the bowels are acutely attacked. The first indication we get of this is often colic. The cries are high and yet full at first; but they only occur at periods, between which the dog seems easy and inclined to sleep; gradually the exclamations become more sharp and short, a quantity of dark-coloured fæces are voided, and relief is for a time experienced; the cries, however, return and become continuous; diarrhœa sets in; the excretions become more and more liquid, by degrees mixed with blood, and of a lighter color. Whenever they are discharged, pain is expressed; but as the animal sinks the cries grow less frequent, till at last the excrements pass involuntarily, and death soon takes place.

Whereas I know of no age that is exempt from its attack

Everything concerning distemper is by the generality of the public misunderstood. Most people imagine a dog can have the distemper but once in its life; whereas I had a patient that underwent three distinct attacks in one autumn, that of 1849. The majority of persons who profess an intimate knowledge of the dog will tell you distemper is a disorder peculiar to the young; whereas I know of no age that is exempt from its attack. I have known dogs, high-bred favorites, to be left with men selected because of their supposed familiarity with dog diseases; and these very men have brought to me the animals in the fits which are the wind-up of distemper, yet notwithstanding have been ignorant that their charges had any disease whatever. All the stages and symptoms of ordinary distemper may appear and depart unnoticed; but it is widely different with yellow distemper, for when the yellowness appears, it is so marked that no description of a peculiar symptom need be inserted, since it cannot be overlooked or mistaken. It is attended with excessive debility, and, unless properly combated, is rapidly fatal.

The liver is generally involved

The liver is generally involved. After the termination of a fatal case, this gland is found either soft or more brittle than it ought to be, else it is discovered much enlarged. I never saw it of less than its natural size. Generally it is discolored, mostly of a pale tint; which sometimes exists all over the organ, though the pendulous edges of the lobes are very generally seen of the bright red, suggestive of inflammation. The gall-bladder is always distended with a thin dark-green fluid or impure bile; and a large quantity of the same secretion, but of greater consistency, is distributed over the lining membrane of the anterior intestines. The liver obviously is the cause of the yellow distemper, which is no more than jaundice added to the original and pre-existing disease. Yellow distemper is by writers treated of as a distinct disorder, but I have not yet met with it in that form. When it has come under my notice, it has been no more than one of the many complications which the symptoms are liable to assume. The dog has been ill before his skin became discolored; but the eyes not exhibiting that ordinary discharge which denotes the true character of the affection under which he labored, the distemper was not detected.

I know it only as a mild variation of the ordinary symptoms

Dogs of late years have not commonly died of pneumonia during the distemper; but authors speak of the pulmonary form of the disorder as having formerly been a common cause of death. I know it only as a mild variation of the ordinary symptoms. It has not in any case under my observation proved fatal, but has readily yielded to gentle measures, aided by attention to simple diet.

Though cough is quite as often absent as present

The affection of the lungs is denoted by the dog breathing more quickly, and often making a small plaintive or whistling noise during respiration. Though cough is quite as often absent as present; but if present it is usually severe; the pulse is increased, but small and thready, and the appetite may not be impaired. The animal is, however, disinclined to move, if put down at liberty, it always gets into some place where it hopes to be allowed to remain undisturbed. As the symptoms become more intense, the animal constantly sits upon its haunches; but I have not seen it carry the head erect, although authors state this to be one of the indications. There is a desire for fresh air, and the dog will always leave the house, or get to the window or door, if he have an opportunity of so doing. These signs are hardly to be mistaken, but they are easily confirmed. If the ear be applied to the side of a healthy dog's chest, no sound can be detected; but when the lungs are diseased, a very plain noise is readily heard. The presence, therefore, of any murmur, or of anything like air escaping over a dry rough surface, is indicative of disease, and the certainty that the lungs are involved is confirmed.

The eyes lose their transparency

The eyes lose their transparency, the surface is white and opaque, the sight is impaired, and the lids are nearly constantly closed. One or both of the organs of vision may be thus affected; usually the two are simultaneously affected, but seldom with the like intensity. After a few days, and sometimes at the commencement, a small circular depression is to be seen upon the very centre of the eyeball. It is round, and varies in size from that of a pin's head to that of a small pea, but rarely becomes larger. The depression, if nothing be done to check it, deepens till a little shallow pit is exhibited. At other times the hole grows larger and deeper, till the outer covering of the eye is absorbed, or, in common phrase, is eaten through, and the water escapes: this gives relief. If, however, the animal survives, the eye is often perfectly restored, though very frequently a white speck marks the spot which was ulcerated; or the dog is left with weakened eyes, and has a tendency to cataract, which may ultimately render it blind.

There is an abatement of the symptoms

Commonly, after the second stage, there is an abatement of the symptoms, without any actual cessation in the discharges. The dog is concluded to be better, and thought to be doing well, but it will not be long before something to excite alarm is witnessed. The eyes or nerves, or lungs or liver, or stomach or intestines may be attacked; or a pustular eruption, or actual mange, or a disposition in the animal to eat its own flesh, or chorœa, or paralysis may appear, and all of these possible varieties require to be separately dwelt upon.

The animal suddenly so far recovers

More frequently indeed, in the majority of cases the distemper is hardly well developed before it all at once seems to disappear. This peculiarity in the disorder has no doubt given strength to the general faith in specifics for this disease. The animal suddenly so far recovers, or appears to recover, after having been seriously affected, that the inexperienced naturally conclude the dog is either quite well, or evidently so far cured that the efficacy of the remedy administered is not to be disputed. For two or three weeks this deceptive appearance may continue, and in some cases no return of the symptoms may be witnessed; but in the majority of instances the disorder is only dormant, and again starts up as if it had been strengthened by its treacherous repose. The running from the nose comes back in excessive quantities, and either the bowels are singly inflamed, or with them the brain is involved, and fits or diarrhœa, or both united, speedily terminate in death, to arrest which medicine has seldom the power. The loss is on these occasions rarely attributed to distemper, which is thought to have been subdued; but death is commonly set down to fits, or to poison, or to inflammation of the bowels, or to anything else which the imagination of the proprietor may conceive. Hence we get an insight into the value of a large number, and perhaps into all, of the reputed nostrums; and hence it is the more necessary the reader should be made aware of those indications which denote the virus is not eradicated, but only latent as it were, lurking, to spring with greater certainty upon its victim. No one must conclude the distemper is mastered if the dog continues to lose flesh, or if the animal does not rapidly repair the waste consequent upon the earlier stages of the disorder. This tendency to stand still or decline should be carefully observed, and it will seldom deceive. When it is remarked, or even suspected, let the owner be upon his guard. When the distemper is actually overcome, there is a marked disposition to fatten; indeed, so strong is it at this time that, should it not be evident, there can be no doubt as to the cause, especially if a short and slight attack of the disorder has been known to have occurred a little time before. A warning, equally clear to those who will look for and can read it, is to be obtained from the eyes. These may be bright, and even peculiarly transparent; the face have a more animated expression than it displayed during previous health; but if the eyelids are retracted, the membranes will be found red, and the vessels before observed upon will be seen running over the white of the eye. When these things are present, although the coat may be beautifully smooth, the discharge dried up, the shivering gone, the appetite strong, and the spirits boisterous, still there is in the system the seeds of a disease which at no distant period will reappear in its most dangerous form.

When the symptoms described are apparent

When the symptoms described are apparent, the distemper is easily recognised, but it is not likely to continue stationary for any long period. In the course of a week it generally changes its character, and sometimes appears to subside altogether; the cases in which the disease steadily progresses, becoming day by day more severe, being comparatively rare.

When no abatement is witnessed, the case is not to be despaired of, but it requires to be anxiously watched; for often it will take a sudden turn, sometimes favorable, but more frequently demanding immediate assistance to prevent a fatal termination. The symptoms become aggravated. The eyes are clogged by a thick matter which glues the lids together, especially in the morning. The nostrils are plugged up by an accumulation of tenacious discharge, which becomes encrusted over the lips and nose, and impedes the breathing. The body rapidly wastes, though the appetite may return, and even be voracious. The shivering is constant. The dog seeks repose and is disinclined to move; though at times it may be playful, and in some instances will never exhibit any diminution of spirit. The cough may continue; but it more often ceases, or is only heard at irregular and distant intervals. The animal makes repeated and desperate efforts to expel the accumulated matter from the nose, and uses its paws evidently with an intention to remove the annoyance. Day by day, if not attended to, these signs grow more aggravated; the breath becomes very offensive; ulcers appear on the lips; the eyes become white; the discharge from the nostrils changes its color, and is mingled with blood and scabs, having an offensive odor. The creature at last begins to "yap," or utter short sharp cries. It becomes more weak, till at length it cannot walk, but lies upon its side; the noise being continued for hours, and then ceasing only to be again commenced. Constipation has usually been present, but at last diarrhœa sets in; the fæces have that peculiar smell which in the dog is characteristic of the latest stage of all; and gradually death, without a seeming struggle, closes the scene of suffering.

When the disease is established

When the disease is established, the animal is sensitive to cold. It seeks warmth, and is constantly shivering; when taken hold of, it is felt to tremble violently, so much so that the pulse cannot be accurately counted. The bowels are generally constipated. A thick purulent discharge flows from the eyes; and the white around the eye, if the upper lid be retracted, will be seen covered with numerous small and bright red vessels, giving to the part the appearance of acute inflammation. The vessels now spoken of are not to be confounded with the veins which are natural to this organ. These last are large, and of a purple hue, while their course is in the direction of the circumference of the cornea. The small vessels, indicative of distemper, are fine, bright in color, and their course is towards the centre, or in a line directly the opposite to that indicated by the veins. They are never present during health, though they are often to be witnessed in other diseases besides that which is here treated of. A glairy mucus, or yellow fluid, moistens the nostrils, and if the ear be applied to the head, the breathing will be discovered to be accompanied with an unusual sound. The cough is often severe and frequent; it is sometimes spasmodic the fits being almost convulsive, and terminating with the ejection of a small quantity of yellow frothy liquid, which is thrown off by the stomach. The digestion is always impaired, and sickness is not unusual; the matter vomited having an offensive smell, and never being again consumed by the animal, as is generally the case when the creature is in health. The nose is dry and harsh; the coat staring and devoid of gloss: the skin hotter than is customary, and the paws warm. The pulse is perhaps quicker by twenty beats than during the prior stage, but less full the artery feeling sharp, short, and thin under the finger.

Will also have to be taken into consideration

The period of the year, however, will also have to be taken into consideration; and inquiry should always be made whether any animals in the immediate neighborhood are known to have exhibited the disorder; because the disease is then proved to be in the locality. At this stage the practitioner is always more or less in the dark; and therefore he contents himself with such measures as he concludes are adapted to the symptoms, and waits for further instructions which nature will speedily develope.

They may assume almost any form

The symptoms in the very early stage are not well marked or by any means distinguished for their regularity. They may assume almost any form; dulness and loss of appetite, purging, or vomiting, are very frequently the first indications. The more than usual moisture of the eyes, and a short cough, are often the earliest signs that attract attention. In the bitch a desire for copulation, with a disinclination to accept the dog, is to be regarded with suspicion; as is also a display of peevishness and a wish to be undisturbed in full-grown animals. These things denote no more than the derangement of the system; but if, conjoined with them, the inner surface of the lower eyelid should appear to be more red than usual, and the pulse should be increased in number without being materially altered in character ranging from one hundred and twenty to one hundred and thirty in puppies, and in dogs from one hundred and ten to one hundred and twenty-five the probability of distemper making its appearance is the greater, though even then by no means certain.

This last fact I have often proved

Exercise and food, however, do influence the complaint. The dog that is free suffers much less severely than the one that is confined. The animal that never tastes flesh has a much lighter attack than the one which subsists entirely upon meat. This last fact I have often proved. When the distemper has made its appearance, the opportunity for changing the diet has passed away. We have, then, only a choice of dangers. To remove the flesh to which the animal is accustomed is to cause it to pine and to weaken the strength, at a time when vigor is of every importance; whereas to continue the meat is mostly certain death; in this position I generally take away the flesh, for by so doing I give the patient a chance of recovery; and however desperate that chance may be, nevertheless it is to be much preferred to no chance at all.

When treating of a subject like the present

When treating of a subject like the present, there would seem to be a disposition to string together a number of words which do duty for information. Cold, wet, bad food, foul air, excessive exertion, fear, &c., are grouped together, and put forth for almost every "ill that flesh is heir to;" but I have to learn that these accepted terms have any connexion with the development of this disorder. Dogs that are starved, neglected, and cruelly tortured animals that are judiciously fed, properly housed, and sensibly treated as well as favorites that are crammed, nursed, and humored all equally are its victims; and those which are most cared for fall most frequently, while those which are least prized more generally survive. If, therefore, privation or exposure be of any importance, the facts seem to infer their tendencies are either to check or mitigate the attack.

With regard to other causes I know

With regard to other causes, I know of none. I have not been able to observe that any circumstance can induce the disease, though at particular ages the animals are predisposed to its exhibition.

During the latter period of dentition that is, when the second set of incisors are well up, and the permanent tusks are about half-grown, the temporary ones being still retained is the time when pups are most disposed to display this disorder. I cannot state the precise age, because mouths are not regular in their appearances even as to mouths; but the aspect of the teeth will sufficiently mark the period when an individual may be expected to be attacked. The season certainly, in no little degree, influences the disease. In winter it is not usually seen; in the spring it is more common; in summer is rare, but less so than in winter. During the autumn, however, especially if much rain should fall, it is very frequent, and always more prevalent than at any other periods. Spring and autumn, therefore, are the times when it is to be looked for, but in the latter it is to be anticipated.

The causes cannot be well ascertained

The causes cannot be well ascertained. Contagion has been by the majority of writers supposed to be its principal source, but I cannot say my experience has corroborated that opinion. My own little cur never had the distemper, and yet she lived where the disease was scarcely ever absent. Animals virulently affected were daily brought to me, and not a few were left in my charge. From these she was not kept separate; they were her acquaintances and companions; she played with them, and often by choice shared their beds; and nevertheless she died without exhibiting the disease. I do not generally put those dogs by themselves which are affected with distemper; yet I cannot bring to mind the instance of an animal while under my care having caught the disorder. I doubt whether there is any justice in the general opinion. It would be hard to prove the prevailing notion was a prejudice, yet there can be no doubt that it is much more insisted upon than it deserves to be.

Which prevents the two diseases from appearing exactly the same

In its character, distemper approaches very near to "continued fever" in the human subject; the chief difference being consequent upon the more delicate constitution and more irritable temperament of the dog, which prevents the two diseases from appearing exactly the same. It consists in a general fever, which produces a morbid excitement of all the mucous membranes. The digestive track is the principal seat of the disease, but of course its presence is most easily recognised at those parts which are most exposed to view. Thus the membrane of the eye, being a comparatively large surface, and by its delicacy well calculated to denote every variation of the system, is usually the first observed, and often the only place inspected. If this be cloudy or watery, the nature of the malady is at once concluded; the membrane of the nose also, though less palpable, is under observation; and if its secretion be copious and opaque, the fact is generally imagined to be established. The alterations, however, exhibited by these membranes are no more than sympathetic derangements, they being continuous with the more important organs; and when proofs are found in the eyes or nose, the disorder is generally confirmed, or has taken hold of the system. Some have supposed the disease originated in the nose, and thence extended to other parts; now I shall not stop here to consider so groundless an hypothesis. It essentially is fever affecting the entire of the mucous surfaces, but especially those of the alimentary canal.

In the instances where a single dose is depended upon

The unfounded belief that all of these animals must have the disease makes every one anticipate its advent, and tempts them to call every ailment by the name suggested by their expectations. Two-thirds, at least, of the cases which are so quickly cured by nostrums and specifics would on inquiry prove to have been mistaken; and as, in the instances where a single dose is depended upon, nature is pretty much left to herself, the chances are that a fair share of the rest would get well of themselves. The recovery, however, could in no way be expedited by that which is credited for its accomplishment; since the little done is mostly calculated to aggravate and not to alleviate the symptoms, while there is no possibility it should eradicate the disorder.

Let the many tales about never-failing receipts

The reader is entreated to dismiss from his mind all he may have read, or heard, or thought of this affection. Let the many tales about never-failing receipts, and the only proper modes of treatment, be for a time at all events forgotten, that the author, who undertakes to oppose prejudice and to contradict authority, may at least have a patient hearing. There is no reason to doubt that many cases which have been called distemper have, to all appearance, been saved by each of the reputed methods of cure. A pillet of tobacco, a tea-spoonful of salt, a dose of castor oil, an emetic, rubbing the nose with syrup of buckthorn, &c., &c., or anything that is famed for the purpose, may have often seemed to check the disease; but no one who has been accustomed to depend on these charms can deny he has frequently witnessed their failure. That they should sometimes have seemed to do good is easily explained. In the first place, there are very few persons who know how to recognise the early symptoms of the malady; but it is usual for every young dog that is a little poorly to be pronounced sick with the distemper.

Distemper has been hitherto regarded as an inflammatory disorder

Distemper has been hitherto regarded as an inflammatory disorder, which was to be conquered only by antiphlogistic remedies. Bleeding, purging, vomiting, sedatives, blisters, and setons were employed; and the more acute the attack, the more violent were the means resorted to for the purpose of its conquest. Under such treatment I do not wonder at the evil character which the malady has obtained; for in proportion as the efforts made were great, so would be the probability of the disease proving destructive. There can be no doubt that more dogs have been killed for the distemper than would have died from it if nature had been suffered to take her course; and yet there is no disease that more requires help, or rewards the practitioner more largely for the assistance he affords.

The disorder is feared only because it is not understood

My experience does not corroborate these various but harmonious accounts and opinions. In my conviction, the disorder is feared only because it is not understood, and is rendered worse by the injudicious attempts to relieve it. I find it tractable, easily mastered, and when submitted to me before the system is exhausted, I am very seldom disappointed by the result of my treatment. It has for some time been my custom to tell those who bring me an animal affected with this complaint, that if my directions are strictly followed, the creature "shall not die." When saying this, I pretend not to have life or death at my command, and the mildest affections will sometimes terminate fatally; but I merely mean to imply, that when proper measures are adopted, distemper is less likely to destroy than the majority of those diseases to which the dog is liable.

Distemper.

Of all the diseases to which the dog is subject, this one is the most dreaded. Writers have agreed it is the scourge of the canine race. Blaine and Youatt speak of it as capricious and untractable; the French regard it as incurable. The owners of dogs, despairing of benefit from regular means, have for a long time been content to trust in charms and specifics. Folly and cruelty have been embraced to accomplish that which kindness and science appear unequal to perform; and one general feeling seems to be entertained with regard to the distemper most persons being agreed that the disorder is not to be subdued by medicine, and that its fatality is independent of the best efforts of man to check it.

Names are in medicine dangerous things

No notice will be bestowed upon those mysterious compounds known as alteratives, sedatives, &c., which are given merely because habit has sanctioned their administration. Names are in medicine dangerous things, and give a currency to error which, to man and beast alike, has proved fatal. Neither will any attempt be made to classify diseases; which custom, though it has some advantages, is likely to mislead, by setting up a system where no positive connexion can be demonstrated. The disorders of the dog in this work will be treated of after no formal plan; but the index must supply that want of arrangement, the absence of pretence to which probably will give offence to regular students.

Youatt in his recommendation is much better

On no account should such doses as Blaine prescribes ever be exhibited. Youatt in his recommendation is much better, but even the amount he orders is too great. A quarter of a grain of tartar emetic in solution is sufficient for a middling sized dog; and four grains of ipecacuanha is equally effective. If in two hours (which rarely happens) no effect is produced, it is better to repeat the dose, and continue even to do so, than to commence with a larger quantity in the first instance. These animals in their constitutions are so various, and the practitioner has so little to guide his judgment, that the utmost caution will not in every instance protect him from self-reproach; and in no case is he warranted in closing his mind against the suggestions of prudence. It is true the primary effects of an emetic are generally gratifying, but the after consequences, if carefully traced, will not be found to be equally satisfactory. Often the purge and the vomit, with which every dabbler commences his treatment of a "dog-case," appear to give relief; but, commonly, when the immediate excitation which their first operation naturally calls forth passes away, debility ensues, and the termination is not in harmony with the beginning. I once was very partial to emetics. I now rarely make use of them, and have no reason to lament my change of practice.

It is true the dog can readily be made to vomit

The description denotes nothing calculated to suggest that the organ whose derangement is so marked should be rudely tampered with. It is true the dog can readily be made to vomit. No creature is more easily moved in that way; but in such a circumstance reason should perceive no license to thrust emetics down the animal's throat. The organ which is so readily excited, by the fact asserts its sensibility, and on that very account ought to be the more respected. I have found oftener difficulty to check this tendency than reason to provoke it. Repeatedly are tonics rejected, and only by the reduction of the dose can the dog's stomach be made to retain the medicine. The emetics in common use are, moreover, far too violent. Antimonial wine, from half a teaspoonful to a dessertspoonful, is much preferable to tartar emetic and calomel.

Being so universally employed by the owners of dogs

Emetics are shamefully abused, being so universally employed by the owners of dogs, and so strenuously recommended by writers upon their treatment, that one might think these agents were held to possess some charmed power over the health of the animal. Lecturers are marvellously fluent upon the subject of the dog's vomiting, which they dwell upon with such delight that their auditors must suppose the act of revulsion in the canine species is a pleasurable performance. Let any one, however, possessed of sense and reason, observe the creature in the act of being sick. The attitude is not characterised by ease; but the body is drawn up preparatory for some unusual effort. The countenance does not bespeak tranquillity; but the face is expressive of inward oppression. The animal's frame is shaken by convulsive spasms, each throe being announced by a deep pectoral sound, and only after this has repeatedly been heard is the stomach able to cast off its contents.

Which is a dose for a small dog of seven or eight pounds weight

This is for one pill, which is a dose for a small dog of seven or eight pounds weight. Three times the quantity would be required for a Newfoundland. It is not very powerful in its action; its effect upon the system being quite as much alterative as laxative. The animal under its operation is evidently nauseated, and refuses food for about twelve hours; at the expiration of which time relief is afforded by a not very copious, but bilious evacuation. It is, however, important that, after the administration of a purgative, the dog should be permitted to remain perfectly quiet; since, if put to exercise, or much excited, the medicine will in all probability be ejected.

A little pounded sugar added to this will often render it palatable

A little pounded sugar added to this will often render it palatable, which, being of a fluid consistency, is without difficulty exhibited. The compound, however, flows the more readily if it be slightly warmed, and in winter it even requires to be thus prepared. Sulphate of magnesia I rarely employ; and, as a general purgative, it is not suited to the dog, though in exceptional cases it will be seen I recommend it. Should pills be preferred, the following will be found to answer every purpose:

Ext: Col:	Half a scruple.
Pulv: Colch:	Six grains.
Pil: Hydrarg:	Five grains.

The digestive canal of the dog is peculiarly irritable

Purgatives are most valuable, but are not free from danger. The digestive canal of the dog is peculiarly irritable, and no less sensitive to the action of medicine. There are few diseases in which the stomach and intestines are not involved, and very many in which purgatives are directly contra-indicated. No one should get into the habit of thrusting physic of this nature down the throats of his animals; and sportsmen may rest assured that, to the dog at all events, preparatory doses are not necessary to condition. Those, however, who persist in using such stuffs will do well not to employ the compounds in general use. The mixture of poppies, buckthorn, and castor oil is a filthy mess; and I do not understand the principles upon which the abomination is based. A better and more cleanly mixture is thus made:

Ol: Ricini	4 parts.
Ol: Olivae	2 "
Ol: Anisi	Q. s.	Mix.

And I advise others only to employ them upon necessity

I therefore do not, as a general custom, resort to the tapes, and I advise others only to employ them upon necessity. There are some creatures so artful and so resolute that any attempt to give them physic is certain to be frustrated. These are mostly small dogs that have been tutored by severity, and such animals are not subdued by any amount of suffering. The poor beasts fear the doctor more than the disease; and, though gentle in their dispositions, are resolute in their resistance. For such cases I employ the stomach pump, and by its aid introduce a dose of sulphate of magnesia; for in general it is only purgatives that require to be given in bulk. Other drugs may be either disguised, or exhibited by injection. Enemata are of great service to this animal, and I make much use of them. In their exhibition, care should always be taken to introduce the pipe without any force; having previously greased the tube to ensure its passing the more readily. While the instrument is in the rectum the dog should be firmly held, else, in its struggles, the intestine may be injured. The fluid should be gently thrown up, even when a large quantity is employed. For those injections, however, which it is desirable to have retained, from an ounce to a quarter of a pound will be sufficient. Warm water ought not to be used as an injection, since it washes away the mucus, renders the intestinal surface harsh, and prevents the passage of the fœces. Linseed tea or any mucilaginous fluid answers the purpose better, and a solution of soap is excellent in many cases, when only a laxative effect is desired. The form, however, as will in the course of this work be explained, must be repeatedly varied, since this agent may be rendered medicinal or nutritive.

A small dog should be taken into the lap

A small dog should be taken into the lap, the person who is to give the physic being seated. If the animal has learned to fight with its claws, an assistant must kneel at the side of the chair and tightly hold them when the dog has been cast upon its back. The left hand is then made to grasp the skull, the thumb and fore finger being pressed against the cheeks so as to force them between the posterior molar teeth. A firm hold of the head will thus be gained, and the jaws are prevented from being closed by the pain which every effort to shut the mouth produces. No time should be lost, but the pill ought to be dropped as far as possible into the mouth, and with the finger of the right hand it ought to be pushed the entire length down the throat. This will not inconvenience the dog. The epiglottis is of such a size that the finger does not excite a desire to vomit; and the pharynx and œsophagus are so lax that the passage presents no obstruction.

When the finger is withdrawn, the jaws ought to be clapped together, and the attention of the creature diverted. The tongue being protruded to lick the nose and lips will certify that the substance has been swallowed, and after a caress or two the dog may be released. Large brutes, however, are not thus easily mastered. Creatures of this description must be cheated, and they fortunately are not so naturally suspicious as those of the smaller kind. For months I have thus deceived a huge, ferocious, but noble guardian of a yard, who appeared incapable of conceiving that deception was being practised. The dog bolts its food, and, unless the piece be of unusual size, it is rarely masticated. The more tempting the morsel, the more eagerly is it gorged; and a bit of juicy or fat meat, cut so as to contain and cover the pill, ensures its being swallowed. Medicine, however, which in this manner is to be administered, ought to be perfectly devoid of smell, or for a certainty the trick will be discovered. Indeed, there are but few drugs possessed of odour which can be long used in dog practice, and even those that are endowed with much taste cannot be continuously employed. When the dog is very ill, the intelligent beast becomes conscious of its danger, and almost any kind or any form of medicine will be accepted. There is no difficulty generally then; but in chronic diseases, that only vex the temper and scarcely lower the spirit, the ingenuity will mostly need to be exerted. Some medicines, however, can be dissolved in the water; others may be smeared upon the food; and fortunately the majority of those drugs appropriate to slow and inveterate disorders admit of being thus exhibited. Fluids are perhaps more readily than solids given to dogs, by the generality of inexperienced persons. To administer liquids, the jaws should not be forced open and the bottle emptied into the mouth, as when this method is pursued the greater portion will be lost. The animal's head being gently raised, the corner of the mouth should be drawn aside, so as to pull the cheek from the teeth. A kind of funnel will thus be formed, and into this a quantity of the medicine equal to its capacity should be poured. After a little while the fluid will, by its own gravity, trickle into the pharynx, and oblige the dog, however unwilling it may be, to swallow. A second portion should then be given in the like way, and thus, little by little, till the full dose is consumed. Often dogs treated in this fashion swallow a draught very expeditiously; but others will remain a considerable time before they deglutate. Some, spite of every precaution, will manage to reject the greater part, and others will not waste a drop. The dexterity of the practitioner makes some difference; but no skill can ensure the drink being taken. Patience, however, is here of most avail; but when the mouth is full of fluid, by gently separating the jaws the animal may be caused to deglutate.

Two pieces of tape, one passed behind the canine teeth or tusks of the upper, and the other in like manner upon the lower jaw, have been recommended. The tapes are given to an assistant, who, pulling at them, forces the mouth open, and holds it in that position. In certain cases this may be adopted for pills; indeed every stratagem will be needed to meet the multifarious circumstances that will arise. For ordinary occurrences, however, the practice is not to be commended, and should never be embraced when drinks have to be given: the animal cannot swallow while the jaws are held asunder; but for solids this plan answers better. There are several objections, however, to be urged against its constant use. The operation is violent, and the restraint it necessitates not alone prevents the poor animal deglutating fluids, but also terrifies the brute, who, on the next occasion, naturally is the more resistful. Difficulties, therefore, increase, and the dog generally is not long before it learns to baffle the attempt to confine it. Moreover, unless the assistant be very well up to his business, his steadiness cannot be depended upon, and the hand often is wounded by the teeth of the patient.

Thursday, December 31, 2015

When signs indicative of approaching fits are remarked

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

When the symptoms denote the probable appearance of fits

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

But it is not generally needed

Monday, December 28, 2015

Let ether and laudanum be immediately administered

Sunday, December 27, 2015

Not more than one drop to four pills

Saturday, December 26, 2015

This will be the quantity for one pill

Friday, December 25, 2015

All kinds of mistaken cruelties have been perpetrated

Thursday, December 24, 2015

The eye of a dull thick white color on its entire surface

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

But persevere in the tonic treatment

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

An ounce of the fluid is often sufficient

Monday, December 21, 2015

The time when such agents could be remedial has passed

Sunday, December 20, 2015

And the advantage gained by this mode of treatment is

Saturday, December 19, 2015

Of the liquor arsenicalis I take ten or twenty drops

Friday, December 18, 2015

Make into twenty pills and give three

Thursday, December 17, 2015

Choosing the lowest amount specified

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Medicinal measures are not to be so quickly settled

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

It must be strictly attended to

Monday, December 14, 2015

And the uncertain character of its symptoms

Sunday, December 13, 2015

After wading through the foregoing description

Saturday, December 12, 2015

During the recovery from distemper

Friday, December 11, 2015

When the violence of the disorder has declined

Thursday, December 10, 2015

Usually commences after diarrhœa which had set in has subsided

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Such is an outline of the leading symptoms

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

When the hind parts are paralysed

Monday, December 7, 2015

And may continue for months after every other symptom has subsided

Sunday, December 6, 2015

Paralysis of the hind extremities is occasionally witnessed

Saturday, December 5, 2015

The genital organs rarely escape altogether

Friday, December 4, 2015

Tumors on various parts of the body

Thursday, December 3, 2015

But is seldom exhibited save in the latter stage of the disease

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

And I have not seen the same phenomenon distinct from the disease

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

The bones forming the roof of the skull have

Monday, November 30, 2015

As diseases are peculiarly liable to change

Sunday, November 29, 2015

Are not heard in every instance even of this kind

Saturday, November 28, 2015

The stomach and intestines are always involved

Friday, November 27, 2015

Whereas I know of no age that is exempt from its attack

Thursday, November 26, 2015

The liver is generally involved

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

I know it only as a mild variation of the ordinary symptoms

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Though cough is quite as often absent as present

Monday, November 23, 2015

The eyes lose their transparency

Sunday, November 22, 2015

There is an abatement of the symptoms