THE KENNEL. By Terror.

Otago Witness, Issue 2651, 4 January 1905, Page 31

THE KENNEL. By Terror.

[I-awiert tmd Vtreeaers of dogs are cordially ii B Tit«d t* cm trlbnte items to Has column. " Terror ' „ ill tndearour to make Ti- ?>? > stm5 tm . < S t •*">teresun ) |-»nd np-to date ai pos»iblt, botin •raer fo.do this lie mutt Have the ccboerAtum »t Ms reader* hence he trust* thu invitation wjll be elieerfullr responded to — The following interesting "bill of fare"' in connection with the "manufacture" of <fog» has -'been goiaj the round of the dailies : — Ma»3&ge and 1 orthopoedja are being practised on Parisian dogs .-with much success. ' Owners of bulldog® in particular are having those admitted-to-be handsome creatures ma, le handsomer than ever. Here, are some of the prices charged: — Putting wrinkles on bulldog's faces . . £3 4 0 Making straight tails curly 0 16 0

T Altering dimensions of tail 0 1G 0 Removing superfluous hair (per hov.r) 0 4 0 Changing colour of coat '. . . 1 4 C Changing drooping ears to erect ones 0 16 0 Making Lulldogs' fore-paws crooked . . 4 0 0 — There are .. it many fanciers who know that castor oil, i" addition to being a. most excellent aperient medicine-, is also a very good thin;* for external application in such cases as loss of hair with skin complaint. Most fanciers know how that a dog when he has recovered shows bare patches, upon which nothing seems to induce hair to grow. Now, a mixture of castor oil and alcohol, with the addition of a very small quantity of tincture of cantharides, makes an excellent application for improving bar* patches. About 4oz of the oil and 2oz of alcohol with tho addition of one drachm of the cantharides, will make a suitable application. But castor oil alone will answer very well in a. case in which the hail is falling off, not in patches, but generally all over the skin. The way. to use it is to apply it with the hands. 'Simply rub some all over the hands, draw them through the dog's coat, and keep on doing this tintil the coat is slightly oiled throughout. Then take a fairly hard brush, and groom the dog well, with the object of working the oil down towards the skin from the surface of the- hair. We may say, that it is just as -well to begin by grooming the dog before tho castor oil is applied, in order to remove dust and dirt, which are- best out of the way before the castor oil is "applied. Then, after the castor oil has been -applied 1 , not too liberally, hut moderately, in the- - manner described, another brushing will ~ complete it. A dressing like this once a week will do "any dog good-, but in cases of distinct falling out of hair, it should be persevered with daily. If any furthe? recommendation is needed to indue© "the readers of thij column to try castor oil for the purpose suggested, it will be found in the fact that castor oil enters largely into many of the preparations sold nowadays for the hum.i-i hair, and it is well-known thab one. celebrity of days gone by made a large fortune by the sal-* -of a, preparation which was nothing more "than castor oil in a presentable form, which found rej>ute and a wide mai-ket amongst all classes of the community. Even to-day in many chemists' shops will be seen preparations labelled castor oil pomade for the hair, although the i sale of pomades and oily substances is beJieved to have diminished very much during late years — It will" be remembered thai at the "K.C. show, I think, 'of 1901, the First Batlalioo of the. -Irish Guards was presented by tiv- : lrish Wolfhound Club with an Irish wo!'hound', to .accompany its ranks on its p^es' ' ful duties in London and elsewhere. _- that time the battalion was quartered athe Tower, and not many weeks, after i ; s presentation, the docile creature might- be seen at its head when on the march or parade, led by two drummer boys ; then he " , .-quickly became" a 'notable^figur© . in London. - ,In Va" 1 very '.short* 'space, of time' he hadVbe'come..the pet- of /the" regiment, arid neither, morieyf libt "trouble was spared = ; to Keep 'him - in 'health and vigour until he haxl* become" as "accustomed to. his, duties" as , the men" to" 'theirs/. -" Time/ alas! has its changes, itsups and downs with' -our canine pets;' as -with ourselves. -They are, lite " all, hii- '■ ;manifcy, * subject to .'accident, •a"nd'"rt""is < -sad\: to relate that this- ornahienf;-" of <"tn€;younges£. -'of our - brigade of guards his" not been' an exception/ Recently, he met with an' accident, as the battalion was On the march, and badly injured the stifle joint. The services of Mr Seweli were immediately called in, with the inevitable verdict, three months' rest, and as .little usage of' the limb as possible. The question now arises, will the poor dog ever again be the -sound and splendid mover he was? It is doubtful, but the officers of the battalion have decided they will not be without a regimental dog, and whilst they will give the first, .favourite every care and attention, and do all possible for his recovery, they aredesirous of, /purchasing another of his breed to take his place, and be an ornament to the -colours whilst on parade. —It is now well known that the King' and) Queen of Siam are great admirers x oi the Italian greyhound, their choice of coloxir being that of the fawn. A peculiar reverence one might say superstition. Buddhistic in origin, is attached to white-and"-,fawn coloured animals. It was believed! that the eoxil of a prince of royal blood at; death escaped into the nearest animal of light colour, preference being given to the fawn or white. Hence the reason of so

many of the "* 'Royal" Oats of Siam," or "Palace Duns," as they were frequently called, being kept in and about the Royal Palace. It is the .-intention of the King of Siam to form a. kennel of Italian greyhounds, and with this end in view, he has imported several from England, Mrs Nicholson being entrusted with each order. Fortune, however, has not been kind, for some untoward accidlent has occurred to one or other of the dogs, and quite a- pathetic interest is now attached to the efforts of the King ip,. this direction.'' The fate of the second clog that was sent out was quite tragical. He reached the palace in safety, but one day, shortly after his arrival, he - "wandered outside the precincts, and encountered a pack of pariah dogs, who -promptly devoured the "little stranger. It is to be hoped that the one recently sent on- by Mrs Nicholson, will survive fate and live to perpetuate his race in a foreign land. — A correspondent to a Home p*aper refers .as follows Co the "copper coin cure,'' of 'which a good "deal wats .spoken a year or two back in Australia. He says: — I saw in a paper a few months ago the novel idea of doubling a halfpenny twice, and pushing it down the throat' of a dog suffering from distemper. . Having, a^ Borzoi, puppy very bad, ;I; I applied this remedy, anil to my satisfaction he has mended right away in "just over a week. I honestly believe it jsthe half -penny that" has cured 5 him, hence these*' few_ lines "to induce, others to try it.' • . .- —On the" all-important subject , of "worms.in dogs, the Field!- nasHha. 'following to cay . in .an $rticle xeferribg to mors.or less re-, cent -observations.' The paper concludes : — "The facts- collected by P. Cagny .and' by H. Benjamin were even- more conclusive, end concerned not only 'the Tenia eobino- ■ coccus, but also the large tapeworms of different species. It would, therefore,' appear thai.it is not always -under" all circumstances that the presence of tapeworm 'in .the dog fails to produce disease, and it is evident that, when the- indications which have been described give rise to a suspicion of the presence of tapeworms, it is desirable to take steps to 'cause their expulsion as quickly as possible. Various 'remedies have been suggested, but 'freshly-grated areca nut is probably the most certain and least injurious medicine which can be employed.The dose ■ may be calculated at the rate of 2gr to each Ib, and will vary according to the size and 1 age of the animal from lOgr to' a- drachm, or, for very large dogs, jl stronger dose is, of course, recommended, »nd in two or three hours after the giving of areca- nut, which is best given, in a. form of pill, a dose ofx.castor oil should be administered. Nematode worms are also' found in the intestines of the> .dog, . but they- are by no means so common as the. various species of tapeworm. Asoaris mys- ; tax/ which is frequently found in- the intestines of the -oat, , is distinguished Tby a peculiar membranous expansion' on each side of the neck. A somewhat, , larger species of the. worm' is- found 1 -in young dogs particularly^ even 4t .the early age-^of. two., or three, months. ,' Of 500 dogs examined . by Krabbe, of Copenhagen, 122 .were found to be affected with - The presence of . the ascarides is often indicated by.- loss ,of . condition, enlargement of ,- the ' abdomen, irregular appetite, and) colic; sometimes symptoms- of epilepsy, and] even v those . closly^allied to rabies, are .present. ..These symptoms sometimes" -end fatally. - In .postmortem examination the mucous membrtfner of" the intestines is . found to be tumified, and .is sometimes covered with minute, - spots, in the centre,. of which is a <lepression produced by uloeration. The Oxyuris,vermiculark is rarely found in the intestines , of .the dog.. One species pi the. trichocephalus is found, in the eoecum of the dog, and appears to .be concerned in the production of an anaemic condition. The presence of the worm in „ large quantities in the mucous - membrane of -the ccecum causes swelling of an inflammatory, kind. , It is stated that Railliet ; has succeeded . in developing the worm taken -from the., dog from the eggs, which he preserved in water., •nd at the end of five months «, perfect embryo has been-- evolved. . Leuebart has arrived at a similar conclusion from experiments on the trichocephalus in -sheep and pigs, and these observers, therefore, . conclude that the worm is developed directly, without any intermediate host.- As a remedy for rooiid worms (nematodes), no ; agent appears ' to be more effective.. tban santonine, which', pay, be easily given between thin slices of meat. From 2gr to sgr or more may be thus -exhibited, according to .the age and size of the ' animal. The medicine shpuid be given fasting, "and should be followed by 'a dose of _ tastor oil. If . preferred,., the agent may be added to the dose, p'f castor oil in tne first instance." „ . „"-- . -r-A .greyhound slut belonging fo Mr R. Jeffry, of -Kaiappi, after Ite whelps "were, removed, -adopted a. kitten. When dog friends .call and attempt to assail the kitten the greyhound quickly assumes the defensive,- «and when^'the 'kiften str'ayß the greyhound "brings it' 'home in its" mouth.