Castor oil should very rarely be administered to dogs. In cases of diarrhoea or dysentery it may be used beneficially, but in no other case should it ever be given, as its action upon the lining of the intestines induces a condition of dryness or fever that will result in chronic constipation if its use is long continued. It should be especially avoided in all cases of distemper. I am aware that to many this will appear to be little short of heresy, as this medicine is a very general favorite; but after using it for years I became convinced, by carefully noting results, that in very many cases this agent should not be employed; and I have since used in place of it sweet oil, alone or mixed with an equal quantity of syrup of buckthorn, in case something a little more active than the oil appeared to be necessary.

It is during convalescence or after the turn of the disease that nervous affections manifest themselves. Great care should therefore be taken at this period to see that the patient is disturbed as little as possible, all unnecessary noise or excitement being avoided, and, in case of sudden change of weather, regulating ventilation so that he shall not take cold. When he appears to be nearly well, outdoor exercise in suitable weather should be given, very moderately at first, and increased as he shows improvement. Frequent meals of nourishing, easily digested food, if the patient is very much reduced, should be given, and when indicated cod liver oil in tablespoonful doses may be given with his food two or three times a day.

In all cases the patient should have the best of care for at least two weeks after apparent recovery, as a sudden change of weather may induce a cold, bringing on a relapse, which is nearly always more dangerous than the first attack.

It is generally believed that dogs can have distemper but once, and as a rule this is true; but some dogs will have a second or even a third attack, which is usually of a mild form.

Some persons who have had considerable experience will tell you that there are several distinct forms of distemper, but I have never heard of more than a very crude attempt to classify or define the difference between them and am rather skeptical in the matter. While it is true that in some seasons the disease may be much more virulent and fatal than at other times, or in some kennels more than in others, is it not also true that climatic or atmospheric conditions may be responsible for an exceptionally severe season on the one hand, and sanitary or dietary conditions on the other?

There is scarcely a well-known disease of any description but what will, at different seasons and in different individuals, show as many and varied forms as can be found in the disease under question. I have often been called to examine severe cases, but in every instance the ordinary symptoms were present together with other symptoms, undoubtedly induced by the severity of the attack, the cause of which it was not always easy to determine; but, as a rule, careful investigation would show a strong probability, to say the least, that the severity of the attack was due to the fact that the one who had charge of the animal had imperfectly done, or had left undone, things of vital importance, which, if they had been properly attended to, would probably have rendered the attack comparatively harmless. I am well aware that this view of the case cannot be proved to be absolutely correct; that it is, however, very nearly so I am well convinced.

As I have before remarked, proper sanitary and dietary conditions are of the utmost importance at all times, but never more necessary than when that scourge of the kennel, distemper, is prevalent.

There is no favored season of the year that is entirely exempt from this disease, neither is there a surety that the best managed kennel will escape its ravages. It is usually more prevalent and more virulent during the spring months; fall also has its share of victims, while midsummer and midwinter are comparatively free from it.

Experiments have been made with vaccination for this disease, but as yet no decidedly beneficial results have been obtained. It is to be hoped, however, that in the near future some Jenner will appear and bestow upon man's best friend at least partial immunity from it.

The many complications that appear with distemper will seldom trouble the animal that has been brought up and cared for in the manner that I have endeavored to describe; at least, this has been my experience in most of the cases that have come under my supervision.

Of course, the fevered and disturbed condition of the entire system predisposes the animal to other disorders that healthy vigor would entirely escape, or scarcely notice. Thus a slight cold, that in health would scarcely be noticed, becomes a serious matter when the frame is weakened and the tissues are inflamed by disease, and pulmonary and bronchial affections are often the result.

In nearly all diseases that affect the entire system, it is the weakest part that shows the greatest disturbance, and there is no disease common to dog life which tends more to search out and find the weak spots than distemper. It often happens that a latent weakness, perhaps entirely unsuspected, is brought to notice; and it may be aggravated to an extent that, in some cases, may prove to be very serious.

Dogs of a high strung, nervous temperament are more subject to nervous affections than are those of one more phlegmatic, as the inflammation and derangement of the nerve centers may not apparently disturb the equanimity of the latter, while the same causes will produce a marked appearance of irritation of the nervous system in the former. So also almost any weakness, visible or otherwise, will be differently affected in different animals, often when we are unable to determine the cause for any variation.