THE VETERINARIAN.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 858, 10 August 1888, Page 18

THE VETERINARIAN.

Distemper in Dogs.

(The Field).

Although the term ‘distemper,’ or its equivalent in other language, is used to denote a somewhat ’ complicated disorder to which dogs are subject, it’ is occasionally applied to maladies of other domesticated animals, when the disease in question is prevalent and marked by a certain series of symptoms which are easily recognised ; in fact, the word may be used- as synonymous with * disease,’ on condition that the reference is limited to characteristic and general disorders.

Canine distemper (la maladie of the French) is popularly considered to be one of the ills to which the whole race is heir. Like measles or whooping-cough in the human subject, the diseace is essentially a peril of the earlier life, although age does not confer absolute immunity. All dogs are presumed to have distemper some time in their exist, ence, and one attack is looked upon as a guarantee —at least to some extent—that the creature is safe for the future. Probably most dogs do escape with a single attack, but the instances of a second or even a third appearance of the disease in the same animal are numerous enough, as all practical men are aware.

No doubt can be entertained that distemper is a contagious disorder, and it is also certain that its communicability is not limited to the animals of the same family. Carnivorous creatures are its special victims, and the affection may be transmitted from dogs to cats, and vice versa. Ferrets also suffer very severely. In regard to the fatality of distemper, it may be remarked that different breeds of dogs and varying conditions of management are among the modifying oircumstances which materially affect the results. Dogs which are kept in a natural state —the street dog, for example—seem to take distemper as an incident in their lives which causes very little d : sturbance in their habits. The other extreme —the toy Bpaniel—exhibits the affection in its most exaggerated form, and only «scapes with its life at the cost of much suffering, and often, the establishment of some chronic malady, which it carries with it to the end. Newfoundland dogs, especially in their period of puppyhood, always have distemper in a severe form, and the mortality among them is great, even under the most favourable circumstances. Assuming that distemper is a purely contagious affection, which is a leasonable conclusion from the facts in the history of the disease, no question can arise as to the causes which produce it. Spontaneous origin or development, as the consequence of insanitary conditions, are excluded altogether from consideration, and every case must be referred to infection from a previous case. Objections to the view of the contagious origin of distemper are urged by some observers, and’they possess a certain force. For instance, it is asked, How did the first arise ? What evidence of the presence of infection can be adduced in the majority of the animals attacked ? These questions are equally pertinent in respect to contagious diseases generally. Outbreaks of cattle plague, foot-and-mouth disease, pleuropneumonia, and swine fever, occur under conditions which seem to exclude the idea of contagion ; nevertheless, no well-informed persons doubt the fact of contagion existing, even when it cannot be traced. Symptoms of Distemper —At the commeneement of the attack distemper is hot to be distinguished from an ordinary cold or a slight degree of indigestion. The dog is dull and listless, the appetite is lost, thirst is present, the eyes are watery and very sensitive to light, sneezing is frequent, and sometimes sickness is a marked symptom ; a dry cough is also present in many cases quite early in the disease. An experienced observer will interpret these signs as indicating the invasion of distemper, and his conclusion will be correct in most cases but there is nothing in the early signs of the disease which are absolutely definite, and the owner of the sick animal will generally look upon the disorder as an ordinary cold. Sometimes an attack of distemper ceases after the development of the early signs, and it may be doubtful whether the affection was the specific malady or a simple catarrh ; but in the majority of instances the progress of the affection will soon plane the matter beyond all question. The discharges from the eyes and nose beconfis profuse and thicker,

emaciation prooeeds rapidly, often diarrhoea sets in, and the dog is soon reduced to a pitiable plight. In the last stage of the common catarrhal form of distemper, an apparently serious complication occurs in some cases. The eyes become opaque, the cornea is ulcerated, and the contents of the anterior chamber flow out, giving rise to the impression that the sight is entirely destroyed. These cases are more alarming in their, general aspect than actually dangerous, and long experience ha 3 proved that no notice need be taken of the local disease, nor should any kind of treatment be adopted in regard to the affeoted organs. As the animal improves in condition under a proper regimen, the eyes gradually recover their healthy state, and Anally show no signs of having suffered. Treatment of the common form of distemper may be commenced by giving an emetio. This is an old-fashioned system of proceeding, dating back to the days of Youatt and Blaine, who probably derived it from the rougher practice of the dog fanciers of their period, among whom a dose of the black sulphuret of mercury or a spoonful of salt was the remedy for all forms of indisposition. Dogs are very suoeptible to the action of emetics, and the agents which are used—tartar emetic and calomel—exercise analterative and laxative influence at the same time, without causing any irritation of the digestive organs. In all cases the dose of the emetic should be small, but obviously the range must be rather extensive, having regard to the great difference in the size of the smallest and largest of the canine race. Prom half a grain to four or five grains of the agents will be sufficient to produce the desired effect. Calomel and tartar emetio ma/ be mixed together in equal part?, as the effects are more certaiu than when either agent is given alone. After an emetic has acted, a mild alterative and sedative powder may be given once or twice a day, as the state of the case requires.. Dover's powder, a compound of sulphate of potash, opium, and ipecacuanha, or Dr James’s antimoufal, will be nseful in doses of two to five grains ; and if a purgative should be required, a teaspoouful to half an onnce of castor oil is the safest and most effective agent which can be used. Dietetic treatment is always an important feature .in canine medical oraatice, and, joined with good nursing, will effect much which would be unattainable by the aid of medicine alone. In a disease which causes debility of a pronounoed kind ns distemper does, the food should bo nutritions and at the same time concentrated, and nothing can be better adapted to meet these require, ments than the preparations which are constantly used in medical practice, as meat extracts, peptonised foods, and pancreatic emulsions. These remedies give to the veterinary practitioner immense advantages in treating the diseases of dogs which cannot be extended to the larger' patients. Stimulants are sometimes useful iu the debilitative stage of distemper, and brandy or port wine may conveniently be combined with the prepared foods before named when the animal’s flagging powers require -to ,be roused into activity. As the appetite improves, with returning solid food may be given in small quantities, audit is well to recollect that the digestive system of the dog is better adapted to the digestion of meat than vegetable food ; hut the .sick dog is fanctful as his owner in regard to the selection of his diet, and as convalescence advances, it is desirable to consult the animal’s taste as far as possible.