Causes—­Whether it be that the distemper virus, the poison seedling of the disease, really originates in the kennel, or is the result of contact of one dog with another, or whether the poison floats to the kennel on the wings of the wind, or is carried there on a shoe or the point of a walking-stick, the following facts ought to be borne in mind:  (1) Anything that debilitates the body or weakens the nervous system paves the way for the distemper poison; (2) the healthier the dog the more power does he possess to resist contagion; (3) when the disease is epizootic, it can often be kept at bay by proper attention to diet and exercise, frequent change of kennel straw, and perfect cleanliness; (4) the predisposing causes which have come more immediately under my notice are debility, cold, damp, starvation, filthy kennels, unwholesome food, impure air, and grief.

The Age at which Dogs take Distemper—­They may take distemper at any age; the most common time of life is from the fifth till the eleventh or twelfth month.

Symptoms—­There is, first and foremost, a period of latency or of incubation, in which there is more or less of dullness and loss of appetite, and this glides gradually into a state of feverishness.  The fever may be ushered in with chills and shivering.  The nose now becomes hot and dry, the dog is restless and thirsty, and the conjunctivae of the eyes will be found to be considerably injected.  Sometimes the bowels are at first constipated, but they are more usually irregular.  Sneezing will also be frequent, and in some cases cough, dry and husky at first.  The temperature should be taken, and if there is a rise of two or three degrees the case should be treated as distemper, and not as a common cold.

At the commencement there is but little exudation from the eyes and nose, but as the disease advances this symptom will become more marked, being clear at first.  So, too, will another symptom which is partially diagnostic of the malady, namely, increased heat of body combined with a rapid falling off in flesh, sometimes, indeed, proceeding quickly on to positive emaciation.

As the disease creeps downwards and inwards along the air-passages, the chest gets more and more affected, the discharge of mucus and pus from the nostrils more abundant, and the cough loses its dry character, becoming moist.  The discharge from the eyes is simply mucus and pus, but if not constantly dried away will gum the inflamed lids together, that from the nostrils is not only purulent, but often mixed with dark blood.  The appetite is now clean gone, and there is often vomiting and occasional attacks of diarrhoea.

Now in mild cases we may look for some abatement of the symptoms about the fourteenth day.  The fever gets less, inflammation decreases in the mucous passages, and appetite is restored as one of the first signs of returning health.  More often, however, the disease becomes complicated.