THE KENNEL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22778, 14 January 1936, Page 2

THE KENNEL

By Breedee. Breeder" will be pleaded if dogowners and others concerned will forward him notes of interest for his consideration with a view to their insertion in this column. Mrs M. D. Spiers, of the Glenshee Kennels, Oamaru, sends me a most interesting letter from which I am making a few extracts. She has disposed of several puppies to new homes at Invercargill, Nightcaps, Omarama, etc., and of the litter owned in partnership by Mr J. MacDonald, of Tiraaru, and herself, two have been sold. A nice bitch puppy by ch Fairway's Sensation ex Glenshee Dora, that was being retained for show purposes died quite unexpectedly. Glenshee Jennifer was severely injured by being very

much torn by a pack of greyhounds while exercising in a local reserve, (This is only what is to be feared when small dogs are exercised in a public park without a lead.) Jennifer has recovered from her wounds, but is useless for show purposes. Cumbrae Dusk has been mated to her kennel mate, Strathclyde Defender. Mr A. Atkinson hag disposed of a very fine blue roan cocker dog to Mr Mitchell, of Waihola. The sire of the pup is Mr Alex Begg’e old favourite Rex. Mrs A. Gray, of Dunedin, is sending her young Pekingese bitch Wei-Joi to Christchurch to be mated with Mrs E. L. Ridgen’s Han-Hal of Mirrabooka. This pair should produce some high-class puppies. Wei-Joi was very successful in puppy classes at last season’s shows, having won at Dunedin and Timaru and finished up by securing second in a big class at Christchurch. The dam of the young bitch. Princess Sue-Sue Wing, also owned by Mrs Gray, is now showing in whelp to Han-Hal, and if she produces some specimens of the quality of Wei-Joi their owner should hold a strong hand at this year’s shows. These little Orientals are becoming very popular in the south. Mr F. E. Duncan, of Timaru, writes to say that his Scottie bitch Glenshee Jill has whelped a litter of six pups—four dogs and two bitches —to his great winning sire dog ch Fairway’s Sensation. The litter is one of the finest and most even lots he has seen for many a day. Their dam. Glenshee Jill, won everything before her in 1934 in both Dunedin and Christchurch, and is a real typical Scottie bitch.

Mr Kingsland, of Linwood, Christchurch. advises that his bitch. Jean, has just whelped a magnificent litter of nine beautiful pups to Mr Duncan’s dog ch Fairway’s Sensation. Mr Kingsland has kept four dog and two bitch puppies out of the litter, and, needless to say, he is highly delighted at his good fortune. Cr Fairway’s Sensation has been mated to the bitch Leithval Mischief, belonging to Messrs Austen Bros., of Dunedin, and the progeny from this mating should be well above the ordinary. Mrs L. Macdonald, of Wellington, reports the death by poison of her winning Somoyede dog Snow King. There is believed to be no doubt that this beautiful dog was deliberately destroyed by some malicious person. Apart from his steady run of wins to date. Snow King was a dog of splendid temper and the pet of the children in Mrs Macdonald’s house. Mrs Macdonald, who was negotiating for a young bitch as a mate for Snow King, is greatly upset, naturally, but I trust that the misfortune will not deter her from carrying on with the game in due course. Snow King was bred by our local Samoyede enthusiast Mr Fred Zaffer, and was by Snow Chief ex Snow Queen. The Sydney Silkie terrier bitch, My Lady Betty, recently acquired from Mrs A. Johnston, St. Albans, by Mrs Dallows, Christchurch, has been on a stud visit to Buddy, the property of Mrs M. Williams, also of Christchurch. Both clogs have the required long, silky coat of the Silkie, and are good specimens of the breed. Mrs C. L. Ridgen, the Christchurch Peke enthusiast, reports a litter of six pups from the imported Pang Soo of Mirrabooka, by that good dog Windermere Chong Himself. Pang Soo. is a direct descendant on the sire’s side of world-famous Chu-Erk Tu of Alderbourne, her grandeire being ch Hong Chu of Alderbourne. On the dam’s side she is full of Chinatown blood through T’Sam Pam of Chinatown. Windermere Chong Himself is, of course, a sweetly-bred dog, being ,by ch Canadian Pao Pei out of Fandora of Winderiifere (imp.). There are four delightfully-marked * particolours in the litter, two of each sex, whilst the other two bitches are good sound reds.

Mr O. Cooper, of Dunedin, has secured the bulldog Cargill Lass from Mr J. Dingey, also of Dunedin. Lass is by Sheldon Jowie ex Boadicea. The Canterbury Kennel Club will hold a ribbon parade at the end of this month, at which Messrs L. E. Vernazoni and N, S. Brosnan will act as judges. The appointment of these judges is a step in the right direction and one I have always advocated. If we are to have new judges in this country, and they are badly needed, the only way to get them is to appoint members of the club who have had some experience in breeding to judge the ribbon parades. These parades can be made wonderfully interesting and instructive if run on the right lines, and provide splendid training for our budding judges. Messrs Vernazoni and Brosnan have both had years of experience, and I feel confident they will give satisfaction with their placings. In place of the cups usually ottered annually by the Kennel Control Council (Victoria) to affiliated clubs, the committee has decided to present the K.C.C. silver spoons, the expenditure saved being used to purchase nearly double the amount of spoons. All breed champion shows will have eight to compete for, specialist club champion shows four, country champion shows four. Bodies not paying affiliation fees will be granted four for championship all breeds fixtures, two for country champion all breeds or specialist club show, and two for open field trials. FAT DOGS AND THIN. In the correspondence that comes to me, from time to time, writes the Key. G B. Gillies in the Glasgow Weekly Herald, the problem of the dog that becomes too fat is mentioned, and I am asked what should be done. At other times I am told of a dog that takes iiis food well, and seems to enjoy it, but his leanness shame s his owner and the query again is, What can be done? A dog’s environment has considerable bearing on the matter. A sporting breed, whose capacity for exercise is almost unlimited, shut up in a town flat for most of the day, is bound to run to seed. But certain dogs, regularly and reasonably well exercised, incline to put on flesh, and in that they are not unlike many human beings who, although leading very active lives, fail to be able to take off that stone or two they could do so well without. In such cases the golden rule of never feeding between meals should be scrupulously observed, and the drier the daily diet is the better. Lean raw meat should form the chief part of the feed, and that with a little dry biscuit given once a day should prove effective in keeping the dog fit. To be constantly giving a dog physic, with a view to reducing or improving his condition, is worse than useless. Provided the animal’s bowels are regular, the only effect as a rule is to make him really sick.

Leanness is usually the outcome of a highly strung temperament, and again, just as in the human race, a dog that is quite a good feeder never puts on appreciable condition. Of course, there are cases where leanness is due to worms, whose eradication is pretty generally understood. Provided you have made certain that your animal is free from worms there is really nothing to worry about; the condition is natural, even if a little disappointing. If you really want to put a little flesh on his bones then you should find out, by the process of elimination, the kind of diet that suits your dog best. Generally speaking, a fairly liberal ration of cooked meat with biscuit mixed in the gravy, to which a little cod liver oil has been added, will be found beneficial. The shy feeder is a problem, and some dogs are thin because they are fastidious, for it is often difficult to discover the diet tempting to a jaded appetite and at the same time wholesome. In such cases it is wise to seek the cause of repugnance to an ordinary diet and if possible remove it.

In many eases indigestion is the root cause, and a careful watch, on the action of the bowels will conduce to a correct diagnosis. Very often boiled fish —cod or herring—will tempt where meat is rejected.

In a large household, there is usually enough of table scraps to keep a dog going, with occasional additions of meat or fish. But it must not be forgotten that hard biscuit is an essential element in the daily diet of every dog. Fed “dry” these are excellent for the exercising of the jaws and teeth, and in the case of a lean dog it is good to have some always in his dish. Whether your dog is too fat or too thin, you cannot afford to dispense with hard biscuit, which assists to keep his teeth and gums in healthy order.