KENNEL NOTES

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 6660, 6 November 1908, Page 8

KENNEL NOTES

(By "Fitzroy.") OHGAN OF THE WELLINGTON KENNEL CLUB. Correspondence is invited from canine fanciers aud others interested in this column. Letters will bo treated confidentially, and questions answered (through the column) at the earliest opportunity. Correspondents are requested to sign their names, but a uom do plume may also be V£&d 3t necessary. , , , Letters should reach this office not later than Wednesday for reply in the following Friday's issue. The borzoi bitch Vida 11.,. which Mr T. W. Arthur, of Newtown, expected to arrive by the Corinthic from England, was detained at Home for veterinary treatment. She dislocated one of her hind legs while jumping a gate. iue bor/x/i will come out by the next boat.

Dogs may take distemper at any age; the most common time of life is tho fifth till the eleventh or twelfth month.

To keep a dog in health trust to food more than to physic. Food makes blood, physic never. Even iron itself only increases the number of rod corpuscles in the blood, and this is often Jess advantageous than it may appear, for dogs whose blood is too rich are more subject to inflammatory ailments than those who are less strong, though wiry and fit.

A "level month" is a desideration in meet breeds, and the- collie may ns well bo an inveterate sheep-worrier as appear with an overshot jaw.

Some dogs have a penchant for continously barking or howling during those hours which human custom has reserved lor slumber. This outrage, on the part of a tew dogs, is apt to bring calumny upon the heads of tho whole canine race. Two correspondents ask for advice concerning the best means to induce dogs to dosist from barking wantonly when even tho last clubman has wended his way homo. It is advisable to give the dog only one meal in 24 hours. This should be reserved for the Last thing at night, with a large bone to fifilsli up with. If the dog has had plenty of exercise during tho day, the late meal will make him sleep. Some dogs, however, are inveterate nocturnal vocalists. An acquaintance kept (note the verb is in the i>nst tense) an Irish terrier who could improvise solos by the hour. He cultivated an unusually extensive vocal range which ascended from the lower baritone; notes to the dizzy heights of the operatic soprano's upper register. He possessed a falsetto which never failed to provoke a responsive, if not an entirely sympathetic, moan from the dog next door. His extemporising was of a capricious nature. Ho would commence with a few bare somewhat reminiscent of Tosti's “Good-bye, By the time my friend had his dressing gown and had reached for the strap, his faithful canine was romping through a spirited theme resembling an embellished version of "We won’t go Home till Morning/' A painful duty was then performed by the man, and silence would ensue perhaps for the remainder of the night. Although dog and master were on excellent terms during the day, relations became somewhat strained at night as a result of the master's lackof appreciation of nocturnal music. Dressing gown interviews were as regular as clockwork every night, and gradually the owner’s patience showed signs of exhaustion. All attempts to hush the dog without tho stereotyped thrashing were futile. As an experiment the owner consented to try a kind of gagging cure. Not to be defeated, the dog omitted nasal sou mis which were like a Cross between a and a toy trumpet. This dog was seemingly intent upon having is fling, and was eventually sent away up country as a present to a rabbit trapper, *

Luxmore” aeks for the address and name of the secretary of the Sfcve Terser Club of England. Mr James Porntt is hon. secretary and his address -5 i 7m %u Swan Lane, Cheadlo Hulme, Cheshire.

Taking the breeds collectively (leaving out toys) according to Mr Theo. Mar. pJ-es, the English authority, the canine merrn should be tiro meals per day for full-grown or nearly full-grown dogs Puppies should bo fed three times a dav from their leaving, tho dam up to seven or eight months old. A farinaceous diet should be observed in the case of puppies from sis -weeks old up to four mouths; after which a little meat, broth, and occasional bones may be given. A varied diet of porridge and milk, brown brearq ©oaked in rank—and, later, in sheep’s head broth —pepslnated puppv foods, rice puddings, and other milt puddings should be given.

At four months old, dry dog biscuits, partially broken up, should constitute the morning meal. Dry dog biscuits and the gnawing of large bones, which should be thrown, down to all puppies at this age, materially assist dentition—w-hich at this period of tho puppy’s life is somewhat troublesome and requires attention. The meat given to puppies should bo minced, and in all cases fresh, sound, and lean. The more a dog’s diet is varied tho better will he thrive.

Mr E. Bernasconi, the local pointer breeder, writes: —"Just a line to let you know that my pointer bitch. Semaphore Bequest, has been on a successful stud visit to Mr Farquhar’s Surprise. This should- bo a pleasant 'Surprise’ to pointer fanciers generally."

An Australian fancier writing from England, says: —"The greatest collie of all time. Champion Ormskirk Emerald, died a few days ago at tho ripe ago of fourteen years, A friend of mine, who saw the old. dog a few weeks ago, says he was as good in hear! and as heavy in coat as ever he was, and. no one would believe ho was getting on in years. Emerald was a remarkably successful show and stud dog, and his progeny have won. in all parts of the world."

There are specialist clubs for each of the principal canine breeds in England, and the results are that interest is never permitted to languish in the breeds referred to. The black-aud-tan.-or Manchester terrier, has almost disappeared owing to lack of a stimulus, and a club is now' being formed in Manchester to regain for the black-and-tan terrier tho prominent position it once held in the caninio world.

The fifty-third annual open championship show of the English Kennel Club was held at the Crystal Palace, London, on the 20th, 21st, and 22nd of last month. About 45 judges officiated; almost each, breed being judged by a separate judge. There were 623 classes. The special prize list was colossal, numbering 874, which greatly exceeds the number offered in previous years. Numerous valuable cups and trophies were offered. The prize money, which, along with the specials, amounts in the aggregate to £‘7ooo, was as follows;—First JS3, second 1 JS2, and third £l. The entry fee for each dog was J3l per class, but for all dogs after the first entry exhibited in tho same class, and the property of the same owner, tho entry fee was 10s each.