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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
