Although not common in its acute form, the writer has treated dogs that could hardly bear anyone to enter--much less shake--the rooms where they have been kept, the slightest shake causing the dog to howl from the agony of pain so induced. Under these circumstances, the diagnosis of rheumatism becomes a certainty, much more so than in its chronic condition, when confined to a limb, joint, etc. The muscles of the chest--Chest-founder--and the neck, are commonly affected. Stiffness and difficulty in moving--the dog often suddenly howling from pain--are the chief signs. There is not much (if any) swelling in this complaint, as it occurs in the dog. The shifting character of rheumatism is a great aid to diagnosis. _Treatment._--Keep dog in a dry and warm kennel. Don't wash, especially in winter. Give soda water to drink. For the chronic manifestation of the affection, administer 5 grains of iodide of potash night and morning. Open bowels with a purgative. If acute, 20 grains of salicylate of soda every eight hours in a tablespoonful of water. Rub the muscles with some stimulating liniment, such as white oil, belladonna, or aconite liniments. Feed on soft food and nurse dog well. Many cases of rheumatism never get any better, the dog remaining a confirmed cripple, though worse in damp weather. CHAPTER XVIII =Constitutional Skin Diseases= ECZEMA--BOILS--HERPES--NETTLE-RASH ECZEMA This is a very common complaint, indeed much more so than need be if proper attention were paid to the feeding and exercising of dogs. That eczema is of a hereditary nature there seems abundant evidence to prove, the progeny of eczematous parents predisposing the offspring to suffer--when the exciting cause comes into play--in a like manner. Derangement of the digestive organs and impaired nerve force must be reckoned as chief amongst such causes. Sarcoptic mange and certain other parasites are of course capable of producing eczema, but this is chiefly mechanical irritation, ceasing with the destruction of the irritant. Not so, however, with eczema of a constitutional nature, the irritation requiring internal medication for its subjugation. Eczema is denoted by the appearance of one or more patches of inflamed skin, and unless checked, the whole of the skin may become inflamed, the hairs broken and shed, reducing the dog to a condition of misery and suffering. Any portion of the body or extremities are the seats of eruption, but where the parts can be licked or scratched by the dog, the worse the zone of inflammation. In the moist form of eczema small vesicles appear; the rupture of these and the dessication of their contents, along with scales, hair, etc., forms a scab or crust on the surface. Many sporting (and other) dogs have a dry form of eczema known as _Psoriasis_, showing itself upon the points of the elbows and buttocks. Here the patches are very intractable, the skin having a dry and leathery appearance.