As indications of health or departure from the normal state the temperature and the moisture or dryness of the nose - the integument forming the walls of the nostrils - are very delicate indicators, but, if I may say so, they tell too much, and are too general, and do not enable us to discriminate. When the nose is dry and hot we know the dog is out of sorts, but we have to search for other symptoms to determine what is the matter. The pulse and general temperature are important aids to diagnosis far too much neglected. Dalziel says:

"The first thing a medical man does when he visits a patient is to feel the pulse, and if there is a suspicion of fever of any kind, the temperature of the body is carefully taken; this course, if followed with the dog, would assist the owner in treating his animal in all inflammatory and febril cases, such as distemper.

"A dog's pulse varies from 90 to 100 beats per minute, the heart's action being quicker in highly bred, nervous dogs, as, for instance, setters, pointers and bulldogs, and some finely bred toys. The owner should, for this reason, "become familial- with the temperature of his dog in health so that he may be able to at once detect a departure from the normal state. You can feel the pulse inside the knee, but in small dogs it is better to count the heart beats. If you hold the left fore-leg up, with elbow slightly bent, the point of it will indicate the place where the hand should be held flat over it.

"The temperature is gauged by inserting an ordinary clinical thermometer in the rectum for half a minute, or in the mouth between the lip and teeth, although the latter can only be done on a quiet subject. The temperature of the dog normally varies from 100 degrees to 101 Fahrenheit.