THE KENNEL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23110, 9 February 1937, Page 2

THE KENNEL

By Breeder

" Breeder ’’ will be pleased if dog owners and others concerned will forward him notes of interest for his consideration with a view "c their insertion in this column.

Mr L. E. Vernazoni, of the Richley Kennels, Christchurch, informs me that his Irish terrier bitch Richley Rambler is nursing a spanking litter by Richley Rebel, Rambler is by ch Richley Raider ex Bootle Gadabout, and Rebel is by ch Richley Raider ex Curraghmore Asthore of Richley. There are two of each sex in the litter, and the proud owner says they are the nicest lot he has seen for some time. I trust they will finish up prize-winners. Mr Vernazoni is taking Curraghmore Asthore and Rebel to the Wellington show and hopes to annex a prize or two. A schedule for the Mackenzie County A. and P. Society’s Highland Show, to be held on Easter Monday, is to hand. The dog section is run under licence from the New Zealand Kennel Club, and is not a challenge show. The judges will be: Working collies, Mr William M'Millan, of Timaru; all other breeds, Dr A. C. M'Kiilop, of Christchurch. Competing dogs, bitches or puppies need not be registered with the New Zealand Kennel Club. Dogs and bitches will be grouped unless there are six or more in a class. Mr F. G. Saville has presented a piece of plate for the best dog or bitch in the show.

Mr C. A. Smyth’s Irish terrier bitch ch Gilford Reta has whelped a fine litter of 10—seven dogs and three bitches—to ch Wicklow Ringer. Half of the litter is being reared by a foster mother.

The young Irish setter bitch Patsy of Gruagach, the property of Mrs R. Rothwell, of Christchurch, has been on a stud visit to the Wellington dog ch King Michael Asthore, owned by Mrs K. Rod. Patsy is by ch Tara of Trashna ex Colleen Bawn and was bred by Mr W. A. White, of Christchurch. She is a nice bitch and the progeny from the mating should be of high class. The North Otago Kennel Club will hold an inside ribbon parade on Saturday, March 20. The secretary is communicating with Messrs J. Macdonald, of Timaru, and S. D. Browne with a view to securing their services as judges. The club has applied for May 21 and 22 for its annual show, which will be held as usual in the Drill Hall.

Daventry Sailor and Kinver Gipsy, two Newfoundlands which have been imported to Australia by Dr H. M. L. Murray, attracted much attention at the recent Frankton (Victoria) Show. These dogs are descendants of the famous Newfoundland which took part in saving the lives of sailors wrecked off the English coast, and was painted by Sir Edward Landseer as the only dog to be awarded a medal by the Royal Humane Society.

SORE EYELIDS

When eyelids are sore round the margins, they should be bathed with boracic lotion and then dressed with an eye ointment. This will usually prove effective. But should the membrance be inflamed and the eyes water profusely, the trouble cannot always be cured so easily. Yet a simple case of ophthalmia is not a serious matter, provided it is treated properly. The eye may be bathed three or four times a day with a lotion of bichloride of mercury-half-gr. in half-pint of sterilised water. Better than a swab of clean cotton wool is a piece of boracic lint; a fresh piece should be used every time. A cyst on the eyelid is a common affiliation, and its removal no difficult operation. But a professional hand is required. Inversion and eversion of the eyelids, the turning in or out of the lids, is a more serious matter, and causes severe ophthalmia. Prompt surgical treatment is necessary. Cataract is no uncommon disease in old dogs. It can be detected when the dog is standing in a half-light and the pupil is dilated. Behind the iris the eye will appear bluegreen or greenish in colour. For infallible diagnosis, however, an expert and an ophthalmoscope are necessary. Cataract sometimes occurs in young dogs, but it is then invariably the result of a severe injury to the eyes. BLACK NOSES The reason why some dogs have black noses and others have brown, etc., is a subject dealt with in “ Our Dogs,” by Mr T. G. Joyce, B.Sc., F.1.C.. F.C.S., who writes as follows: In certain breeds of dogs the nose should be black, or in certain others a dark brown, consequently when, as sometimes happens, a dog possesses a nose which is of too light a colour, a remedy is sought. To be able to solve the problem one should know what a black or dark nose really is, and why it is. Now, first, why should a nose be dark when the rest of the skin on the dog’s body is light? The only definite answer appears to be that it is inherited. As to the actual reason why it should ever have been black or dark instead of light authorities are silent, and it is possible only to offer suggestions. It is well known that the black and dark races of mankind can stand the heat of the sun better than the white races, also that the dark members of the latter can stand it better than the fair. May it not be, therefore, a provision of Nature that the one part of a dog’s body, which is not protected from the rays of the sun by a covering of hair, should be afforded protection by being black, or at least, dark coloured? There is another aspect of the case, namely, the action of sunlight in the production of the dark colour. When puppies are born their noses are pink, but soon, however, become dark, or, perhaps, black. An older dog’s nose may be lighter in winter than in summer. A nose showing some pink may be more difficult to change, but the colour is only a question of degree. The black skin of the nose of a dog is black because it contains the black pigment, melanin, the same as is in the skin of the negro. The way this pigment is produced is now fairly well understood. The protoplasm of the tissue cells of animals consists of various substances, among which are two amino-acids, namely, tryptophane and tyrosine. These, on oxidation, yield melanin. Now sunlight is one of the best oxidising agents known, so that this offers one explanation of its formation. Though not the only means available, sunlight is the best remedy for a light-coloured nose. Oxidising agents, however, do exist in the body of the animal in the form of enzymes. Without going into details concerning these substances, it may be stated that they exist in all forms of life, and assist

in bringing about the various chemical changes that are essential for the well-being of the individual animal or plant, as the case may be. All these agents are known as catalysts, and the action as catalytic, and they are required in only a very small amount to bring about a great chemical change. There are some other agents or catalysts that can be made use of to assist oxidation, namely, certain metals and their salts, among which majr be mentioned iron, copper and manganese. Some years ago two observers, Harrison and Garrett, noticed that certain moths in and near industrial towns were darker than those in the country. While investigating the cause they fed larvae on leaves contaminated with smoke and fumes from factories, and obtained forms containing melanin. On examination they found that the active agents responsible were the minute traces of manganese or lead in the deposit on the leaves. They, therefore, washed clean, fresh leaves with a very diluted solution of manganese sulphate or lead nitrate and fed larvae with these, when similar results were obtained. They found, also, that the melanism thus produced is inherited by succeeding generations. Catalytic action is very general in the organic world. Minute traces of iron as well as light are necessary for the formation of chlorophyll, the green colouring matter of plants, although this substance does not contain any iron. It does, however, contain magnesium. Minute traces of copper as well as iron are necessary for the formation haemoglobin, the red colouring matter of the. blood of vertebrate animals, although this does not contain any copper. It does, however, contain iron. The value of manganese also is now recognised in the treatment of ansemia.

Melanin is composed of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen. It does not contain any metal. The part played by a metal in the formation of melanin is merely that of an oxidising catalyst, and it is in this capacity that iron is used. Apart from any scientific interest, a knowledge of the production and maintenance of natural pigments is of special value to the owner and breeder. While in certain breeds there is an hereditary tendency for the nose to be dark, heredity may, under certain circumstances, have an influence in modifying this. Some strains of dogs within the breed have not the oxidising capacity to maintain the full colour under all conditions without assistance.

Iron, in one of the forms used in medicine, is good, but if the general health of the dog is satisfactory, medicinal treatment is not always desirable. If the trouble is simply shortage of melanin, give good food containing all the necessary constituents, not forgetting minerals and vitamins. A clean, light and airy kennel, together with plenty of exercise in bright, sunny weather, should be all that is necessary.