THE KENNEL.

Otago Witness, Issue 2524, 30 July 1902, Page 48

THE KENNEL.

Br Tedboh.

(Fani-im an.l l.rtrdpr^ ul dmiarr ronliallv in>il«.l to con* tukutp n«D)< to iliisrohinin '• Terror ' n illci.dcitronr to ma^: bK dcj>»rruii-iit j< mlirrsnne anil n|i lo <!»«■ :i> |)o»sibl» *- » • rrter to «io iflN he mum lia-c tlir «-o ourratiou of hit* rei**

— The annual sheep dogf trials, under the auspices of the Bruce- Poultry Society, take place on Augm-t 6 ;uul 7.

— Dear Terror,— Noticing in your paper that you invit» contributions to your "Kennel Column,"' I ha.-c iPitur#d to send you the enclosed critique on tho classes 111 tho dog show, with winch I c:vi r-lsiiin to be conversant, havincf I>red and shown Irish and fox torrier? for tho pa--t 10 years, both n» England and Irrhmd, and the last show whk-li I aitend-'l :t Home being held a* recently as Auuu-t la«-t Also, a. a. stranger, you miy talc© it that my remarks are quite, freo from pnrtia'ity. <>ither c-on-fious or uncousciouh. Tho benching I con^iderPcl good, but tlionglit it ((iiite inexcii-able that no catalogue-, were to t>o. had on Fiiday up to 3 pm, tho < v u-o lx-ing that they wern. awaiting the a«ai (!.<•. Tins h all nonsense, as at all i-hovi — big and little— which I ever atttridi-d at Home, catalogues were alwaya on i-alc — it i" impos = iblo to report on or take an intelligent interest m exhibits other-wise-and then when tho awards are all made, pnnhd .slips with tho results are sold for Id or 2d. Another bad feature was thafc there ib no award board in the ring. Thia is the first show 1 e\er attended where there was not one. A piece of chalk and a blackboaul suffices, and onlookers and others* know immediately the result of judging each claa- iiihtead of, as at this show, ©veryone — - exhibitors, repoiters and the public — being m ignorance a-, to tho planngs. One last thing I would mention, and that is thab the award cards placed over the dogs on the benches should fctate in what class the dog won v. prize, as some dog<* are entered 11* tlirup or four clashes, perhaps winning a fir->t m two and second and tlnrd 111 others, and, according to the present cy.-tem here, one cannot tell bow a dog has b(-en placed in each cla*" it is entered in. T nm mik- if you draw attention to theso matters tlirough your columns thry will be icctified and help to make the show more sueee.-ful and interesting. I write 111 no rai ping spirit, but ivi.-h to help the <ceiety I>V my Migg^tlon 15 . Ant iio\s for detail* d t 1 1 1 101 ~*n • —

FOX IKl'.rtlFlt* I wai agreeably surprised at tbo number of fox ttiricr-* exhibited, and u\en moie s-o at the qiuihty of 'nine of tlioM- tint «ot into the money, and T.Pnture tn -„iy ll'at two or thrpe of the winners won '1 b- "plaietl an any oidmaiy -bow at Horn.-. At -he same time I was sui prised to her- that 110 wirehaired dojis, were Bkown, as at Home it«E«

*re generally quite as many entries in classes for wire-haired dogs as for smooths.

Caliban, the winner of the special for best in show, is a nice dog, fair coat, good legs. but front not ±he best (this is a failing of almost -all the dogs shown), and he is too big. At Home they are all going in for the smaller terrier bow, and in my opinion he should, on the score of size, have been put below

Wiritoa Rally, who got second, and ip a teal nice little dog, teeming with true terrier character, without any bad fault, but whose ears are set on rather low.

Wiritoa- Jock, third, I did not care much for, as he also . fails in -ears, and has a bsdly-shaped skull, -fchough>-a good body and fair feet.

Don Caesar is a stylish-lookiing puppy that should make a good dog in time, but at present is rather effeminate looking, and is a bit 'snipey." Pasha is a bit leggy, with very poor feet, but good skull and cars, though not cloddy enough.

IRISH TERBIKRS,

I thought the Irish terriers very poor indeed. None of them would get a card in a third-rate show at Home. They are all the wrong type, save, perhaps, Patrick O'Reilly, a nice puppy, but spoilt by being undershot. This breed evidently needs an enthusiast to take it up and develop it. as Mr Roberts seems to have done with fox terriers. — I am. etc.,

Talii-ho.

Mornington, July 19.

—Mr C. Court Rice, speaking of the Prahran (Melbourne) show, says: — Every field (':) spanied was a more or less overweight cocker, and owners should give this matter their earne3t attention. Strictly speaking, I should have withheld all the prizes, but, being too heavy for the cocker classes, they were evidently not in the "wrong clasp," and it was difficult to decide upon th® spur of the jnoment what was best to d~ The cocker men, too, must really attend to the size of their dogs : 251b i B amply heavy enough. The cockers_ were a very even lot and difficult to sort — in fact, one well-known owner admitted that he could not be quite certain of finding his own dogs upon the benches. Probably Mr D. Hardie'o liver bitch Riversdaie Brownie was the most typical cocker at the show. — Apropos oi the foregoing the following criticism by "Hotspur."' of the Leader, of the judging at Prahran is interesting : — Victorian fanciers who saw Mr Court Rice judge for the- first time in this State at the Prahran show have- again been discussing the question of English judges, as. against colonial talent. There was at one time an impression abroad that fanciers who came to Australia from Great Britain were generally versed in all breeds of dogs, and most of the societies have rushed lo secure th© services of the newc-onier=. «imp!y becau-e they had kept a few dogf. in England and seen some of the leading dog show*. A regular string of thete gentry have ai rived in Australia from time to time, but colonials have been quick to perceive that nearly every adjudicator from the Old Country has a different idea of the various clashes of dogs adjudicated upon. Mr Court Rice, the latest of the Englishmen to judge m Victoria, was known as p. mastiff breeder in lus native coxintry, and a sp«-ciali=t hn that variety of no mean order, but since his advent to Australia he has attempted to judge all breeds of dog=. His debut at Prahran might easi'.y have been a eiiccese, for the show was a small one, and the competition in many cf iho classes wa> a o poor that a mere tyro could have made ihe awards satisfactorily: but strange to say Mi Kice failed lamentably in some seetious where it teemed impossible" for a judge to err Thr gentleman wearing the ermine, though he may fail in satisfying- exhibitors or critics, has a right to liii= own idea* about the qualities of the animals, no matter how erratic they may be: but when we find cooker spaniel-* winning firsts and championships as field spaniels, and halfbred dcerhounds veritable mongiels in the doerhound division, and eow-hock-ed sporting dogs taking special prizes over champions in the latter sections, then we are fogged.