NOTES BY TERKOR.

Otago Witness, Issue 2199, 23 April 1896, Page 33

NOTES BY TERKOR.

' . * Afer all it seems that the new Agricultural Hall will not be ready for the forthcoming show. The loc*l society must therefore fall back upon tbe Garrison Hall, the cellar of which is a most unsuitable place for a dog show. Indeed, unless the committee can secure a separate hall for the dog section I fear the entries will be very small. If, however, a suitable show room can be obtained within convenient distance there is no reason why the show should nob be quite up to the high standard expected. * . ' lam very glad to' hear that at the next dog show we are to havf, in all probability, proper benches. Great efforts are being made in this direction, funds of cour/e being the only real difficulty. Mr C. Bills, of George street, has, I believe, constructed a sample bench, which has been pronounced suitable, and is willing to supply the number required. I trust that tho committee will be able to arrango the funds for these highly desirable adjuncts of a dog show. • . • Two very nice retriever pupa arrived last week from Wellington for Mr Williams and Mr Loatby. They are by Eewi ex Lady Derby. ' . * I notice that Mr C. • Maude has been asked to judge at tho Wellington Dog Show in September next. Should Mr Maude accept the engagement, it will be inbere stiog t > wi^ch tbe decisions given, firat by Mr Smy tha for D .media — presuming ths,t this, gentleman accents the position — and later by Mr Maude at Wellington. No doubt they will have the same dogs to jndge. * . * It is mooted that Christchurch will after all very likely have a dog show this year. It it is to be held it is quits time that the fanciers there were making a start with the preliminaries. • . * Mr B. S. Young has reee iv«jd from Mr Ti°)?g«, of Wellington, a very nice young fox terrier dog puppy by Dusky D'Orsay ex Torment. * . ' Fissions in dogs are almost as burning a question as fashions in hats, bonnets, and hairdye. We areaUsiclr of the Esquimaux dog, and the ladies are tired of Irish terriers and Airedales. The new dog will probably be the Norwegian, which has the advantage of being rare, expensive, and little known. However, from a general point of view, it matters little, for one dog is as great a tiuiaance as another when once he has been exposed for a few weeks to feminine mismanagement and over-feeding. • . * The Scottish Kennel Club lost £50 over its last Edinburgh show; bub that's only a flaa bite (says an exchange) as the club has a well-invested balance of £1100, tbe major of which is on loan to Glasgow Corporation, in the names of trustees, at a good rate of interest. The members of this club muster over 200 strong, and viewed from all side 3 it may be considered to be one of the most successful canine organisations on record. NOTES FOB NOVICES. The proper disinfection of kennels is a matter too often overlooked, and yet it is of the greatest importance, affecting both the health I and the comfort of the occupant. There are I two kinds of disinfectants — the disagreeable, i unhealthy kinds, such as ohloride of lime, and the various odourless, but by no means less effective, kinds which may be represented by permanganate of potash. It is a very bad practice indeed to throw down chloride of lime in proximity to a dog's kennel. The chlorine vapour given off from it must act injuriously on the lungs of the animal, besides being very irritating and obnoxious to him. Carbolic powder is preferable, Odamine, or any coal tar preparation now freely advertised. There are two objects in disinfecting a dog's kennel — the one to keep it sweet and wholesome and free from distemper germs, the other to keep down' the flea tribe. Of course a great deal less is required if the dog has plenty of liberty and opportunity for washing himself than when he is constantly tied up or fastened in. And very often there is no need to use anything except a little prepared sawdust, with tha help of a thorough washing oub with softsoap or carbolic soap every few waeks. I have found cedar-wood sawdust very nica indeed for. kennel we, and gwaTd ftfrise nay

fancier who can obtain it to do co ; ib is a capital inseotifuge, and makes the place smell,' "sweet and wholesome. Another useful thing ia sawdust treated with Jeyes's fluid. A light sprinkling of one or other of these should be put underneath each fresh lot of bedding. A great many valuable puppies are lest at times through leg weakness (rickets), which is not infrequently caused by allowing them to play about on cold bricks. This should never be permitted, but some boards should bs laid down if necessary. As a remedy for rickets, there is nothing much belter than cod lirer oil emulsiou, with hypophosphites of lime, &c, which tends to strengthen the bone formation. This is made up in very convenient sizes for use by the firms who make a speoialby of the gelatine capsule way of giving medicines.

Where a dog is kept whose owner desires to attend to him properly, a clinical thermometer will be found serviceable. By means of this the animal's temperature can readily be taken, which is an important matter, often determining what ia to be the nature of a coming' illness. Tho cost of one at the chemist's is only about 3s 6d, and ib is best uiod by holding it for a few minutes between the right fore leg and the body.

If you give worm medicine to a puppy, and shortly afterwards he has a fit and dies, do not jump to the conclusion that it is altogether the fault of the medicine. Nothing is more uncertain than the effects of medicines of any kind upon a puppy that has worms. Maybt the medicine has been given too sparingly, and the dose, instead of being effective enough to clear them out, his simply resulted in " stirring them up,' ; hence the fit. On the other hand, if santonine, for instance, has bsen given in too large a dose, it may have another effteb. The sufi'st plan, then, is to take ib for runted that lucre is a risk, and to aocept the lisk accordingly by giving such a strong dose as caun'ob but have a t-alucary effeob. Bsar in mind that too smn.ll a dose is more likely to result in a fib than too large a dose. The safest medicino is areca nut, you cannot very well over-do that, but aantoniae can be overdone. — Our Dog*.