KENNEL NOTES

Evening Star, Issue 22618, 9 April 1937, Page 2

KENNEL NOTES

[By Tail-waccku.]

To-morrow afternoon the kennel section of the Dunedin Fanciers’ Club will! hold a ribbon parade for puppies (six and 12 months) and novices only, on the Market Reserve, opposite the tram sheds, in Princes street. There will be two judges, and, as none of the big show winners will be competing, owners of .puppies and dogs that have never won a first prize at a .show will collect the big ribbons that have been put on for competition. As most of the breeding is done in the spring and summer, there should bo a failmuster of puppies at this time of the year, and a parade just now should bo a big help in the way of training them for the shows which commence shortly. As the children’s class was such a success last February, another has been put on this time, but will be divided into three sections on this occasion. These will be for terriers, toys, and all other breeds ,and there will be no entry fee. The whole parade w-ill be staged in the open, and everyone is invited to attend. The two Pekinese advertised this week by Mrs C. L. Ridgen, of the Montresor kennels in Worcester street, Christchurch, are an orange-and-whito dog puppy, eight weeks old, and a nice parti-coloured bitch, oply a year and eight months and a proved breeder. The dog is by Windermere Chong Himself, ex the winning Wingi Su of Montresor. a litter sister to Chuty-Wuh, the bitch that made such a name for herself at the Coast and Wellington

shows. He is a most promising puppy, smart and cobby in build, and is a real good show and breeding proposition. He would also make an ideal pet. The female of the pair has had one litter and reared four puppies with no trouble whatever. She will be ready to breed with again soon. She is by Windraere Chong Himself, ex the Aus-tralian-bred Pang-Soo of Mirrabooka, being bred similarly to Chutey-Wuh, Both the pup and the bitch are descended from the famous Alderbourne strain on Pang’s side of the family, and from the Chinatown on Chong’s side. * Our Dogs ’ announces the death, at the age of 94 years, of the noted Scottish terrier ch. Heather Necessity, not only pre-eminent in his breed, but one of the finest dogs of any breed of his_ time. Ho was responsible for 16 British champions, besides many in other countries. He was many times best of all breeds at leading English shows, and it is said that but for the fact that ho had lost some of his teeth, he could have entered any show ring right up to the time of his death and made it hot for most of his rivals, no matter how good they were. In recording the death of a famous smooth fox terrier, ch. Viva—Dr llosslyn Bruce, in ‘ Our Dogs,’ says that “ the age of sentiment has not completely passed away,” as Viva’s owner, Captain Vernon, had her buried in a real little coffin wrapped in his dressing gown. She was 14 years old when sho died, and it is most interesting to note that she was by that remarkable show and stud dog ch. Gay Daily, later imported to Australia by Mr J. Ellison and subsequently owned by Mr W. H. Hamilton, of the Linden kennels, in Sydney. When Viva was three years old her owner (and breeder) refused £SOO for her, and he did not part with her until her death. “ Pyrenean mountain dogs—noble creatures of imposing size, some of them nearly as tall as a St. Bernard, but not so massive, active, and capable of going great distances, white of coat, with slight lemon or brindle markings —are becoming very popular both here and in America,” writes the kennel correspondent of ‘ The Times.’ Pie goes on: “ Their beauty is enhanced by thick, not over-long coats, which form a lovely ruff about the neck. Armed by Nature with this heavy cent and by mankind with a broad iron collar, from which protruded lsin long spikes, the Pyrenean was almost un-

beatable in bis native haunts, where he has lived through the centuries with his shepherd-master. Some 25 years ago Dady Sybil Grant searched the Basque country for the most perfect specimens with which she could start a kennel. One of them was Milanollo Patou. The old peasant who sold him remarked: ‘Ho has only one fault—lie is rather too beautiful.’ Whenever these dogs appeared at the shows they were the centre of attraction, and one imagined that they would soon become firmly established. Why they failed to attract supporters immediaely is one of those things that could not be understood. Apart from being so handsome, they had the qualities of disposition that made them ideal companions. Lady Sybil Grant’s dogs had to disappear during the war, and now serious efforts are being made to revive the breed by Madame J. Harper TroisFontaines, of Moor Park, Northwood, Middlesex. Her Kop do Careil is a familiar competitor at the shows, and she has several others, some of which have been only recently imported from France. In America the breed is gaining adherents fast. There they arc known as the Great Pyrenees, and a handbook and history has been edited by Mrs Francis V. Crane for the Great Pyrenees’ Club of America, which is a product altogether beyond the ambitions of any of our own breed societies. Bound, in leather and freely illustrated, it contains nearly 200 pages of informative letterpress. “ Professor Will S. Monroe, the president of the Pyrenees Club, mad© a six months’ tour in Europe a year or two ago for the purpose of visiting kennels and making researches into the history of these dogs. Mr and Mrs Crane also came here last year on a

similar quest. One result of their inquiries has been to show that Sir Walter ’ Scott’s favourite deer hound, Maida, had a Pyrenean cross in her. In the early part of last century efforts were mad© to ‘ improve ’ the deer hound by 'the use of cross-breed-ing, and in one direction at least a Pyrenean dog was brought in. That the breed is of very ancient derivation is a fact that is generally accepted. At one time they were known as ‘ Pyrenean mastiffs,’ which makes one wonder if they were_ the mastiff mentioned by Cervantes in his ‘ Exemplary Novels.’ They may have been, though there is no certainty about the matter, for we know that some of the English kings presented our own mastiffs to Spanish monarchs. Cervantes’s mastiffs, however, were employed in guarding the flocks, which has been the duty of the Pyreneans for many centures.” The Judges for the June show are to be Messrs Betts and Robson. Mr Betts, who hails from Nelson, is to take terriers and non-sporting dogs, while Mr Robson, who made such a great job of all breeds last year, comes from Wellington again this year to do sporting clogs and toys. From Mrs Austen, a keen local fancier who is on holiday in Sydney at present, we have the results of the wire-haired fox terrier class at the Royal. Mr AV. M. Jack, who took a team of six from Christchurch, could do no good at all under the English expert, Mr Neville Dawson. A bitch, Mr G. K. Garrard’s Dogberry Springtime (imp.), was made best of the breed, second and third of her sex being Mr W. Hilton’s Solace Sure Tip and Mr T. Manning’s Stockfield Blossom, with the old favourite, gd. ch. Pastime Supremo, v.h.c. Mr Jack’s Talavera Graceful (imp.) was next. dn dogs, Diplane Reward (imp.), last year’s winner, was first, with Mrs J. AVight’s Mintern Merry Monarch second and T. Manning’s Dunur© Sunset (imp.)'third and Mr Jack’s Talavera Adonis (imp.) v.h.c. An imported “ Heather ” Scottie was made best of this breed.