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Otago Witness, Issue 2436, 21 November 1900, Page 50

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— A correspondent to Our Dogs suggests the starting of a Junior Kennel Club. The distinction, he thinks, should be maintained by barring from junior club shows all dogs registered in the Kennel Club books, all dogs ■iver shown under Kennel Club rules or license, and all Kennel Club judges and exhibitor*. Directly a junior exhibits as a senior he should cease to be eligible as a junior. In view of the fact that there arc many lovers of the dog — fanciers true — who yet feel it to be hopeless competing with the big breeders, junior club shows would in all likelihood not only be most successful fixtures if once inaugurated, but also excellent feeders to the senior clubs. —An English contemporary speaks of the' Ladies' Kennel Association's mammoth show at the Alexandra Palace in September last as the on,e great and all-absorbing event of the week' in the doggie world. Under the direction of Mrs Stennaxd Robinson, there were entered at this show no fewer than 1421 dogs ; and from the fact that many of them were in two or more classes the total was mci eased to about 6000, making a record far i exceeding all previous affairs of its kind, j At the same time it had to be admitted that the attendance of the public in no way did j justice to the importance of the show; but j the selection of the Alexandra Palace for such j a gathering was scarcely well advised, as j the place has never been exactly popular with j dog show folk, and is not easy ot access. Still the phenomenal entry might reasonably have been expected to have attracted a better gate, and more's the pity that it did not, succeed in doing so. The catalogue was, according to an announcement contained therein, "arranged on a new system devised by the management." The candour which impelled this admission was doubly welcome, as it enabled an exasperated public to identify the authors of a catalogue which proved to be, without exception, the most bewildering and unsatisfactory publication *of its kind that unhappy exhibitors had had to tackle. The ordinary arrangement of Mrs Robinson's catalogues, says our contemporary, is difficult enough to handle, as they are printed across ,he length of the pages; but the present production, with its monotonous lines of figures, was enough to drive anyone but a practised accountant to distraction. In other respects, considering all things, the arrangements and management were very good, for the difficulties that beset the management of a show of 6000 entries must be so generally recognised that any little shortcomings can be overlooked, and therefore Mrs Stennard Robinson is to be heartily congratulated upon the success which attended her efforts to control hei gigantic exhibition. ,— A reference is made in the Stoekkeeper to ungenerous "old hands" who kick a novice's trembling pet or tread on its toes. The following incident is given in illustration : — A lady's maid new to the ring was leading a little dog equally new to public functions, besides being painfully shy. The girl kept comforting the little animal, which began to feel he was safe, and then his spirits, ears, and tail went up properly. Remarking this, a well-known and greedy exhibitor picked up the little creature by the scruff of its neck with the pretence of examining its head. When she put it clown all the pluck was gone out of the dangerous novice. This was the mean trick of a coarse nature. — The outfit foi the German ambulance dog consists of a little saddle-bag fastened round the dog's body, containing a small quantity of refreshments. He also carries a small stipply of surgical bandages in a wallet similar to . that sewn up- in the coat of every English soldier, which the man, if sufficiently strong, can utilise in binding up his own wounds. Over the two bags is wound a coverlet with the red cross imprinte.l on it. At night the dog carries a bell fastened to its collar. Wounded soldiers are able to hear the 'tinkling of the bell, and the slightest noise they make quickly attracts the dog. Am- ■ bulance clogs are stated to be sagacious, and . indefatigable in their efforts, however trying the conditions under which they work. Mr Fred A. Talbot, in the Strand Magazine, gives a numbei of interesting particulars about ! them. The idea originated with the animal painter, Herr J> Bungartz, and since 1885 he has devoted his energy to training dogs for ambulance work. From the experience gained it is found that only the old breed of Scotch collie can be trained for the work, and they must be taken in hand while quite young. — There is no better remedy ior worms in dogs than areca nut. In using this agent, however, care should be taken to see that it i& freshly ground, as if exposed for some time to the air in a finely-ground state it is fotvnd to lose much of its potency as a vermifuge. The quantity to be given varies, of course, with the size oi the dog. but as a general rule it may be laid clown that the dose should consist of 2 grains for every pound that the animal weighs. In order to enable this agent to produce- its full effect the dog. should be fasted for two horns before the medicine is administered, and about an hour after giving the dose the animal shotild have a few cupfuls of warm broth. If necessary the close maybe repeated after four or five days. It is always a good plan-after administering a dose of the worm medicine to the dog to follow it up with a mild physic, so as to clear all the dead worms out of the system.