THE KENNEL.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1197, 8 February 1895, Page 26

THE KENNEL.

NOTES.

By Fancier. During the week I came across a wellknown figure at Wellington dog shows in Mr Askew, of Nelson, who is over here for a short stay. Mr Askew told me that the Nelson dog show will not be held in March, but will be held some months later. If the Nelsoniaus do not let their club die 1 altogether their show should be very successl ful, as all the collies in the Colony will be in full coat in a month or two and their owners will be glad to get a chance to show them off. Talking of collies, M r F. A. Kebbell’s Newmarket Ruff is fast gaining his new coat, ' which will, I think, be very large when fully grown. Mr Trigga’ British Yenus is looking very pretty just now, I have net seen Karori Herdwick for some time, and the owners of the Karori Kennels have, for some unknown reason, left off supplying me with items. I hope they will now wake up, as every collie fancier is interested in the workings of the Karori Kennels. For enterprise and go-a-beadedness, writes an English paper, the Ladies’Kennel Association entirely eclipses any doggy organisation we have ever known of, The associa- I tion has now brought out the Ladies’ Kennel ( Journal. It is an excellent publication, admirably got up, and contains twelve capitally executed portraits of ladies fair and their dogs, whilst the letterpress affoi'ds interesting reading, »»nd it is edited in the best possible manner. In congratulating the ladies upon their efforts in matters doggy, we prophesy that the day is not far distant when their association will be a great power in dogdom. It is some time now since the committee of the Wellington Kennel Club had a meeting. I hope there will be another before long, because the meetings of the committee show that the club is still alive and there must he an accumulation of business to lay before the members by this time. « ’ • • • Some time agoaquestion was submitted by the committee of the Wellington Kennel Club to the executive of the New Zealand Kennel Club for their consideration, and a decision asked for. Nothing more has been heard of the matter since. 1 sincerely trust that the N.Z.K.G. has not again gone to sleep before its new rules have had time to be properly tried.

Referring to the new rules of the New Zealand Kennel Club reminds me, by the way, that I noticed the official organ of the club contained a review of some of the new rules. This looks as if the club is still awake. I would suggest that copies of the new rules should be sent, not only to the various affiliated clubs and societies, but a!9o to the various fanciers’ papers, so that they could be reviewed thoroughly, and the contents be thus laid before fanciers generally. Lady doctor, with half-bred Dachshund dog.—Gentleman Friend : “That’s a sport ing-looking dog, but he does not look anything like being a purebred Dachshund.” Lady Doctor: “No, he is not. His mother married beneath her, unfortunately.”—Sporting Times. The various kinds of work for which a dog may be used was dealt with in a recent number of the Yorkshire Post. The paper concluded its article by referring to what it justly called “ A Noble Work ” in the following words :—“ We are glad to say that the second sort of work we mentioned is of a very different nature (though we confess we should value a dog that brought us tobacco I). It seems that of late the number of cases of drowning in the Seine has greatly troubled the Paris police. Now, however, they have wisely decided to purchase a number of Newfoundland dogs, have them tlioi’oughly trained, and station them all along the river so as to be ready in case of need. This plan was, it seems, tried many years ago, but did not succeed as well as it had been hoped. Now, however, it is to be given a thorough trial, and we are sure all fanciers will watch I for the result with keen interest.” This spring, the 12th (24) April, by order of H.I.M. the Czar, the law on the dog-tax in Tomsk (the principal town of West Siberia) was ratified. The town council of Tomsk is authorised to collect one rouble (about 25.) per dog yearly. The house dogs kept on chain are free from the tax. Consequently Siberia is in advance of European Russia, where the dog tax is yet quite unknown, even in Sc Petersburg and Moscow. Perhaps this is the reason why Russia is so poor in thoroughbred dogs, and so rich in mongrels of every description.— Stock-Keeper.

The following’ advertisement is from the Western Daily Press (the pedigree of this mongrel would be a curiosity) :— •* Found—Thoroughbred Irish Mongrel Dog; if not claimed in three days 501d.—52, Little Paradise, Bedminster.” Some breeders of wire-haired fox-terriers have great appreciation for an occasional cross of smooth blood. The Stock-Keeper gives the following instance : —Mr H. T. Crosthwaite is one of them, and it was to the Venio strain that he went to borrow the wherewithal to improve the wire-haired variety in coat, type, and quality. Wo are hound to say that he has met with success, as this year’s winnings of such terriers as Wheel of Fortune, Charming, Good Fortune, and Fortune Hunter go for to prove. It is a great pity that we cannot manage to get a show for genuine “ sheep dogs,” I mean dogs that know how to work sheep. Perhaps somo enthusiastic local fancier will help endeavour to get up some such interesting exhibition. The Yorkshire Post thus refers to the kind of exhibition I mean : —Workers. —Whatever breed may be our special fancy in dog-flesh we have one and all of us a large amount of admiration for the true sheep-dog. Now, mind you, we are not writing of the presept-day

collie, nor yet the quaint old English “bobtail”; the dog we mean is the real worker, the sheep- dog about which so many wonderful stories have been told. Now, some years ago one or two true fanciers were seized with the idea of holding an annual show of the drovers’ dogs employed by drovers of Smithfield Market. The third show of this description was held last week, and a great success it proved. It was calculated that about a quarter of the dogs employed were entered in the various classes, and it was pleasant to notice the keen interest the drovers took in the whole affair. Although no entry fee was charged the prizes were well worth winning, the first being £3. In some classes as many as six prizes were given, while in addition no less than ten specials were offered. The first class, and perhaps the most interesting, was for the dogs that had been for the longest period in their masters’ possession, the prize going to a dog who had been with his master for over ten years. Another very interesting class was one in which the prize was offered for the best worker, the drovers themselves being the judges.

An Irish water spaniel (dog), imported by the Ruapehu by Mr J. R. Orford (a passenger), was sent to tho Somes Island Quarantine Station on Saturday, where it will remain for the next six months. There are only two dogs and five sheep on the island.