KENNEL NOTES

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 7038, 28 January 1910, Page 2

KENNEL NOTES

By "Fitzroy." OFFICIAL ORG AX OF THE WELLINGTON KENNEL CLUB. Correspondence is invited from canine fanciers and others interested in this i-olumu. Letters will be treated confidentially, and questions answered (through the column) at the earliest oppo-tunity. Correspondents are requested to sign their names, but a nom do plume may also be used if necessary. Letters should reach this office not later than Wednesday for reply in the following Friday's issue.

"8.8. A." (Kelburno) asks—"ls there any way for preventing distemper? I have given ray dog tho greatest earo and attention, but lie lias managed to catch a mild attack of the disease." In reply I could not do better than quote the words of Dalziel (the ominent veterinarian). Ho says: "Thero is no specific preventive at present; tho true prophylactic we look for in the system of inoculation with attenuated" virus, and the aim of the breeder should bo to have pups fortified against its attacks by a robust constitution. This is to bo attained by brooding only from healthy parents, of proper age, and not too closely related. From the birth mother and pups should be well fed and nourished and kept under proper sanitary conditions. The dog, .being a carnivorous animal, more or less meat seems almost a necessity -of health to Mm; but in the artificial life ho_ loads, much less meat than his inclinations would dictate is required, and excessive feeding would bo more likely to predispose to distemper than to prevent) it."

There is no royal road to ascertain tho ago of a dog by the examination of his teeth. Some puppies get all their second teeth at four and a half months, and others not until they arrive at double that ago. Again many an adult deg gets his teeth worn, away bv carrying stones in his mouth, "or by gnawing hard substances, and, finally, amongst canines, as among human beings, the constitution and dieting have both a great deal to do with tho condition of the teeth.

Dogs which have gone through distemper and are recovering should bo given a. tonic. Tho following recipe should he taken to a chemist to make up : _Tonio mixture: Compound tincture of bark, loz; decoction of ■yellow bark, 7oz; mix, and .give about two tablesnoonfuls twice or three times a day. Terriers should be given one tablospoonful each doso and the largest breeds a little more than two tablespoonfuls.

A puc breeder asked me_ recently to trace" the earliest mention of a black .pug, the fawn T.anety being very much older he believes that the black pug is merely a freak jolted into a new breed Mr »™«£ Lee, in "Modern Dogs," says that the late Queen Victoria, owned a. black pug half a century ago (about I 860). ■Mr Frederick Gresham says lh s, however, does not .prove that a »• ety of black pugs existed in *»*»«£ iber at that time." Youatt, the tamea veterinary authority, in titled "Tho Dog" says that in i»« «eatld a faok pug enCce J the tla'ck I have been able to trace.

Cloverleiy Brutus, a bull puppy, whichWto jointly owned by Wo UrnMjpbom, ofta«* ton and Mrs Palmer, a well-known dog' shower, of Putney, (has just been sofd to an' American fancier for tho record sum for a bull pup of £SOO. lie pup, which is ten months old, weighs 701 b.

The discovery lof a system by which is effected tho determination of the sex of the progeny of any living creatures ttnas baffled the.efforts of scientists for countless ages. From time to time now theories are brought forward, a*n*l old ones re-discovered, but although by some apparent prank of nature a theory at rare intervals passes through, a fairly successful test a more extensive application of such experiment results in its collapse. There is no reason, however, to abandon hope m_ the possibility, of such a. discovery. Scientific 'breeding hlas (achieved wonders irt the creation of 'new types of animals, as dog fanciers know, and research may yet disclose a system or natural law which .governs *Fho determination or pre-arrangement of the »exes. The subject is ono of great interest to doßbreedors in New Zealand. In this country the demand for (females of the canine race is very small, and a. litter which comprises mostly females is looked upon ,as d monetary failure Some doggy men ruthlessly destroy all female puppies as being of no pecuniary value. The expense of a high igtud fee and the cairo and anoney spent in breeding,- results in* considerable numbelr of cases in ,a big -waste. A Wellington resident who has for some years given hie attention to the theme of pre-arrang-j' ing tho sex of offspring, has given "ai remarkable proof lately of the success of a secret system which he chums to' have discovered. Extensive experiments- are now being carried out on a farm under 'his direction, which, ho says, will cither disprove his theory or proclaim its success in a manner which can leave no doubt 'to the scientific world. : The discovery he claims will ■withstand the test. The importance of suah a system can ecaroely be- adequately estimated. He has informed me that the test has been .applied to the canine ra.ee on only one oocasion, and the result was that the whole litter -was of the .sex required—males. Scepticism is to be expeoted, but the testimonials a.ro available for inspection: This 'gentleman "hats offered to test his discovery with dogs free of any charge to any dog breeders who will communicato with 'me, and who will undertake to carry out ,his instructions implicitly. This gratuitous offer should find ready ladeiaptanco Among the canine fancy, and I will be pleased to receivo a communication from any who desire to iava>il themselves of this free experiment.