THE KENNEL.

Otago Witness, Issue 2761, 13 February 1907, Page 35

THE KENNEL.

Br Tsbzor.

Fsaclers moJ breeders or dog< tie cordiillr Invited t« e»o. trikuteitenu to.l>ii cotumu. •• Terror' will euJeirour t« Male hiitepartmem «• inijremnj *nd up-:o-d*i> > at possible, but ■■ •rdcr to do thU be laud lure the co-oueraiton or hi* reader!, keact kt tru«t> thU ltmtatton will be cheeriullj reloaded t« -

— I have pleasure Hi^reporting the arrij val of two blue-roan cocker spaniels — Messrs Conn and Harland. of Musselburgh kennels,' being the importers. They a-re a nice, even marked pair, and have all the good j points one could wish for in a spaniel. | They have beautiful heads and ear-place-ment. The heads especially are very nice, and ha.vc none of the enipeness which is- so characteristic of the present-day spaniel. With the arrival of these roans and the 1 good black cockers these owners possess, we should' be well represented in cockers. While talking of this breed of dog-, it is a class which is gradually increasing. I I notice, 011 perusing the , various catalogues \ yf -different shows, their .number of entries I hold their own most favourably with the fox terriers and collies,. , dogs that are boomed by strong.-membered clubs. I hear there is a good proepeqt of a spaniel olub being formed, with several of the right kind of fanciers as presidents, etc., at its head. This is what is wanted for the cocker fraternity, and "then I am sure the entries for this useful little animal will be well up on the list at all the shows. — Experts hold that the points of prizebred "" puppies can be best discerned at six weeks and six months old, and ther? is much force in the theory. Between the ages of six weeks and six months puppies are liable to grow anyhow, the building up of their frames being dependent upon so many contingencies, which miry be in their favour or against them. Their mode of life or feeding may be wrong; they may be too confined, too exposed, or have too little or too violent exercise. Then disease may overtake them, which always retards development. — There is margin for puppies to go wrong or lose their natural form to some extent between their birth and reaching the age of six weeks, but not to the extent which is open to them after they lea.ye their dam. And whilst an expert might be j able to select "the best puppies immediately J after birth, a. less experienced breeder would not, andi therefore, for convenience, the age for the average breeder to choose his puppies i_6 perhaps six. weeks. —In speaking of too violent exercise as tending to spoil a pup for" the show bench, I bear in mind the following remarks on exercise and over-exercise, by Dr Lauder Brunton, which were published in the "Hospital" some ' years back, and -which all fanciers will do well to note carefully. The doctor says: — "Everyone knowe that while moderate exercise tends to produce appetite, a long and exhausting exertion tends to destroy tho appetite, and even to produce actual sickness, as one finds in mountain climbing." Dogs, as well a-s men, differ greatly in this respect, but in some the digestion i 6 co easily upeet by muscular exercise that, although they may be. giants for momentary exertion, anything like sustained effort disturbs digestion and cuts at the very root of their nutrition. — One of the most dangerous immediate consequences 1 of distemper in dogs is a succession of fits, whioh, though not at first so severe as in some other forms of epilepsy, are still of sufficient importance to be alarming, and, if continued, paralysis sets in, and death is sure to follow. The appetite is, of course, never good in distemper, but before the fits occur it often improves, and the dog has the appearance of rapidly getting better, being much more Bye%. Sometimes the appetite becomes quite voracious, but the head is very hot, the muscles of the forehead throb, and the membrane and vessels round the eyes are congested, while the dog becomes more feverish throughout. When these symptoms occur treatment should be commenced at once, just as if fitsjiad already begun. As before mentioned, the fits at first are not severe, as the dog frequently docs not fall, but stands or sits down, >h*mping its jaws, emitting a little frothy saliva, and making a few convulsive movements of the head. While fits are proceeding no at"tempt must be made to force medicine of any kind, or even water, down the dog|6 throat, as there is very great danger of it ' being choked. The only thing to be done is tp dash cold water in its face, and await the return of consciousness. Then chloral hydrate and bromide of potassium should be administered every two hours if the fits are frequent, or in other cases every three or four, .hours. If no more fits occur the bromide should be continued for a week or more to prevent a return of the fits. The doee of each of the drugs mentioned is from two to 15 grains, according to the size and age of the dog. In very severe attacks mustard, mixed as for table, may be rubbed into the spine from the base of the skull to the shoulders. This can be ' done during the fit if the dog is not too violent. Some veterinary surgeons reoom mend the u«e of a acton at the bactc or tne neck, to be dressed with turpentine ointment to" promote a. discharge. Should the bromide of potassium and chloral hydrate fail, recourse may be had! to belladonna extract and oxide of zinc; from an eighth to a quarter of a grain of each, according to size and age, *being the correct dose. The bowels must be kept well opened by repeated doses of aperient medicine during treatment for epilepsy. Though there is little danger of the form of epilepsy above described being confounded with strychnine poisoning, there is one kind whioh is very similar in* its attack, and no doubt many times bitches have been asserted to be poisoned when euoh was not the case. It is called parturient eclampsia, and usually occurs when bitches have been allowed j more puppies to rear than is proportionate to their strength, and the system is consequently weakened. In this form consciousness is seldom lost, and there is no violent struggling; the bitch is unable to stand, but lies on her side with head thrown back, mouth, open, panting violently, and limbs outstretched and stiff. The fits may last several hours, but rarely occur oftener than once in 24 hours, end sometimes not so often. They cause great exhaustion/ but are not fatal unless there are several attacks. The principal difference between tho symptoms of pa-rturient eclampsia and strychnine poisoning is that the convulsions in the former are continuous, while in the latter they are more violent, and only last a few moments, after whioh the muscles in j . -he legs become relaxed until tbe next

spasm sets in. The treatment is the came | ior tbis form of epilepsy as that mentioned I above. J Dear Terror, —l have before me the ! annual balance sheet of the Wellington Kennel Club, and note that it is headed " "Statement of Receipts and Expenditure for year ending 24th January, 1907." Why 24th of January. 1907, when, according to rule 7, the club's year commences on the Ist of January in each year? But that is a mere detail, I suppose, and the 1 members should be thankful to get a balance sheet at. all, considering the haphazard way in which the affairs of the club have been run during the past 12 months, Members' subs, show up well, and the club is to be heartily congratulated on its membership roll, even though the financial position is not all that could be wished Or expected, judging by .tlie receipts for the year, of subs., donations, entry money, gate money, etc. The receipts for the year just ended show an increase of £20 18s 4d (not including £8 14s 2d brought forward from 1905) over the previous year; so it is a matter for surprise that the assets of the club only show an increase of £3 18a 3d over and above 1905, but that will be made plain when I touch on the expenditure. In 1905, when a two days' show was held, the sale of calatogues netted £5 6s 6d. Jn 1906, with a three I days' show and an increased attendance ! (judging by the gate money) of nearly 400, j the catalogues only bring in £4 16s 4d. . Rather odd, but I expect this can be accounted for in the usual manner. : Another item.among the receipts calls for remark. It reads, "Recancellation, £4 17s 6d." I have asked several friends of mine who know something of accountancy, but cannot gee any satisfactory reply. Perhaps some of your readers may be able to supply the solution. As it is a receipt it does not call for so much comment as it would if among the disbursments. As for the expenditure, it appears to me that this club is fond of getting rid of its surplus cash, taking only a few item& as examples: Judge, £21; clerical assistance, £5; honorarium to manager, £4 4s. Of course, if a judge is imported he needs to be paid, but (since the retirement of the bete noire of the judging ring) why, I ask, is it necessary to bring a man from the other side when we have men in the colony who think they are more capable fee? What do outsiders care for the welfare of any club? They come here to palm off some of their surplus stock of camne oddities pocket their orders and fees, and quietly laugh to themselves over the gullibility of a number of peopje who, if they were only aware of it, have more real knowledge of their dogs than most judges have. "Clerical assistance, £5." Where was the secretary that clerical assistanoe was needed? He was otherwise engaged, of course, and ' someone had to attend to the various incidents attendant on a dog show. But who ever heard of a man receiving that sum for one day's work ! Surely the members of this committee have large hearts; hut I think had assistance is necessary, but when a secretary cannot attend surely some intelligent being could be found among the committee with sufficient interest m the club to give his services at a far less costly rate. "Honorarium to manager, £4 45." He certainly got bejter treatment then last year's manager, who, if I remember rightly, got a vote of thanks for the offer_ of his services, and after he slaved a' whole week to make the show a success (which no one can deny he succeeded in doing), he did not even have his remuneration doubled. Returning to the balance sheet, I have another query for some of 1 your accountant readers. Plant is shown at £75. It is worth that, no doubt, but— and tbb is the query—if the plant was valued at £66 10s at the end of 1905, and total be made £75? I would very much lifce tojiave the solution, and would gladly employ the man wlio gave it as I might find him very useful indeed. Anyhow, why has the compiler or compilers of the said sheet not deducted 5 per oent. from the value of the, plant, the same as wa3 done last year? Donations outstanding is another -item of interest. I might ask when is a_ donation a donation? For my part I think it should not appear as an asset until actually received by the clu6.» How is that, arcountants? It is the usual procedure, I believe, for the secretary and treasurer of a club to attach their signatures to a document of this kind, so I would like to know why the balance sheetdoes not bear the names of these. officials. I wonder "if they were present at the annual meeting. If co, I am afraid they must have got a rather hot time-that k sheef. and enough grit to get up and tackle the position. Taken all in all, the accounts speak well for the popularity of the W.K.C., and it is only to be regretted that the members do not bestir themselves and elect to their committee men who have enough common sense to pull together in euch a way as not only to make their show a social success, but also a financial one. Regarding finances, a word of warning may not bo out of place. The committee seems prone to depend on the gate to pull them through. Certainly, co far they have been fortunate, the weather being on their side; but let the elements fight against them, and if they haven't got a much bigger bank balance, I am afraid they will one day have to put, their hands in their pockete to pay their imported judges and for extra clerical assistance.—Critic. —A. Bulldog Challenge. —Dear Terror. — In the Wellington Times of the 6th February "Fitzroy" writes as follows: —"As a result of a discussion at the meeting of the Bulldog Club, lam informed that a match b to be arranged between Mr C. E. Cutt's bull puppy Sheffield Pybus and hie «ire Sirdar owned by Mr C. Barton. The two dogs would be judged by a professional judge to So selected by lottery out of a «™lii ,mK= »( »nnm»il pvr^rf- Pvhns small number of approved expert* Fybus is not quite nine months old and the match proposed is to-be decided when he &1& 12 ™ montha old- -^VBl^ WTIS f • y Mr Barton against Mr Cutt c £20 is mentioned." This-par is both untrue and misleading. It is untrue in so far as it states that "as a result of a discussion at the meeting of the Bulldog Club." No such discussion took place or wouW be allowed at a meeting t>f the British Bulldog Club, which must be the meeting referred to by "Fitztoy." The British Bulldog Club ie not

conducted on the principle of a "bear garden," and an accurate report of their last meeting appeared in the Witness, and no mention of such a discussion is noticed, and Mr Barton informs me that the above "par." was inserted without either his knowledge or consent. He says he certainly had some discussion with Mr Cutts re their dogs, but not at the meeting, and Mr Barton is quite* willing to deposit £25 in the hands of Mr Davy, the secretary of the club, if Mr Cutts will deposit £20 with the same gentleman. Mr Barton considers this is the only way the craze of Mr Cutt s for free advertisement at the expense of other people's dogs can be stopped. Mr R. Haines, the owner of Kentish Duke, will also take a side wager of £10 if it is afc once covered by Mr Cutts that Mr Barton's dog Sirdar beats Mr Cutts's dog at a year old, the judge to be mutually arranged.—lnterested. — Dear Terror,—Can you inform me whether there is any likelihood of the New Zealand Collie Club holding a show of collies, as they did last year—or was it two years back? In my opinion a "friendly exhibition of collies by local breeders tends much to attract -*iew fanciers, and at the same time —bringing, as it does, novices in touch with the experienced breeders—means the dissemination of much useful information to the former. Looking forward to a collie exhibition before the next prize competition —l am, etc., Novice.—["Novice" will do well to inquire of Mr Rennie (Roslyn), the_ secretary to the New Zealand Collie Club.— Tebbor] ' - A STORM IN A TEACUP. Dear Terror,—"At the annual meeting of the Wellington Kennel Club one of the members was suspended for three months." This is an extract from a Wellington paper of the 2nd February. Anyone reading the above notice would naturally ask, Who was the member suspended? and what had he done to bring such condign punishment upon his head ? The facts of the case are as follows, and I appeal from the decision of the W.K.C. to thatMargex body of fanciers embraced by the readers of the Witness. But first let me state that the letter in which the charge was mad© was dated ***<» 3Oth January, two days before the meet»g- and no notice was- sent out that any B"ch charge would be made. The offence (if off«nc« u lt, "> ?f? f *£ieh I was charged was f° mmitf d du.ruig the first week of October, .. fancy» had held on thf 26tli* January, But io proceed. Dr Izard (the- chairman) read a letter signed by Mr Bernesconi charging Mr Clifford-Bramah with having used the following expression, "That the show (referring to the show of 1905) had been run by two foreigners and a Yid, or Jew." I was asked by the chairman if I had used the expression, and replied Yes. I had used the words in my own shop, but the sentence waa not original, it having been repeated to me by another person. Mr Cutts gave evidence (pren*io« * lurid adjective all his own to the sentence) that he had heard me use the exPassion. This was the only -evidence tha,t ft* w, orda ht^ been, used. Mr Berneaconi said >« had wn"en *h ® the m<**" fore£n era a Jew. Mr Bernesconi prefaced hia remarka by stating that "if -Mr Clifford-Bramah had not been an old man he would not have lodged the complaint." As Touchstone says, "Your ' if' is a great peacemaker; there is much virtue in an ' if.'" He also objected that I^had; said to him that " though he was manager of the show he should try and: be a gentleman first and manager afterwards." This also I admitted, and explained thai it referred to Mr Jorgensen and other members, one of whom was » vice-president of the club, who had during the a\acl£ period of the show removed their dogs f *om their benches without his permission, They were undoubtedly irrong, but a little courtesy in telling a person he is acting against the rules goes a long way towards avoiding friction Mr J°rg<msen wished to Baf d'» he, had been told o£ th€ remarks comlamed o{ a lcm time eince but he had treated them with contempt"; yet this gentleman—after the case had been discussed and the chairman had expressed the opinion that j Bnould be asked to say I was sorry I had repeated the sentence referred to—insisted tha/t I should be suspended, and as the room was full of his adherents he succeeded. This is all very childish, «nd lam soiry to occupy so much of your valuable space; but the incident has one redeeming feature ;n it, which is that these gentlemen are so ultraBritish that they resent being called foreigner»,^though Mr Janson objects to his name being spelt Jan sen, which, he says, "is Danish" (our Queen ie a Dane, and there is P^ty of Danish blood in the British race); while he is a. Scandinavian and his name should be spelt J»ns°n Mr Bernegconi told l he mee I V ng th^ h,i, fath€r t w *t tf^*;^ °^ nd Jcept my suspension with pleaaii v hardemonstaited to me the incon testable fact which I have always susp^^j th(tt all foreigners would like to be Britishers, and that they resent nothing more bitterly than being found out when the thin veneer" by any accident gets chipped.—l am, etc., Alex. Clifford-Bhamah. 109 Cuba street, Wellington. CANTERBURY KEXNEIj CLUB, Dear Terror_it haßh aB taken "Southern "Visitor" a fortnight to write to his friends here and discover that the errors in his report of the above show which I pointed out in my letter of the 19th January were exactly what I represented them to be —namely, incorrect, biassed, ungentlemanly mißst«tements. In. "Southern Visitor's" last senseless effusion in your issue of the 6th inst. he has not the manliness to acknowledge his errors, but he returns to the attack, still under the cover of his norn de plume, and pours forth a volley of vituperation in language that one would not expect to see from the pen of a fish vendor, much less from one who sets him- «*" «P' •» • reporter. "Southern Visitor's" 1«* ?«««* v nothing more ,r less <fcan a scurrilous screed of sarcasm intermingled with matter totally irrelevant to his report on th<s show. I treat his sarcasm with the condeserves, and merely wish to impart ft j.*^ informa.tion fo him y pirs^ r Jo in{oTm „ Southern v ,sitor" that I proposed Mr Grant, of Brisbane, as the j udge for the Canterbury Kennel Club 8h Ow; secondly, t&at no nominee of Mr Duncan's judged the Japanese spaniels *t the show in question, thirdly, that the catalogues 1 mentioned in my letter fif the 19th January were not forwarded to the secretary of the Canterbury Kennel Chib. but were forwarded to you. Mr Editor, to whom I was writing. I mentioned m ruv letter plainly enough, if

"Southern Visitor" will again refer to itj that I was forwarding my copies of tbi* original catalogue and the award catalogue. I certainly did not say to the secretary of the Canterbury Kennel Club, but what I stated was that my remarks could be confirmed by applying to the secretary of our local club. In spite of "Southern Visitor's" lengthy reply to my letter, I fail to discover anything to alter my opinion of him, and am still of the opinion that his report on the Canterbury Kennel Club's show was misleading, biassed 1 , and incorrect, and I again repeat that it is impossible to make me believe ft reporter would place » bitch first in a certain, clause: when that bitch was never 041 the benches, of that his report was written at either the ring side or in the tents. No. Mr "Southern Visitor," you may wax sarcastic as often as you like, but I still believe your report was written, in some boarding-house or hotel; either fhttfe or your perspicacity was clouded with something more than bulldog mania. I see only one refreshing piece of news in "Southern. Visitor's" letter, and that w&s that he acknowledged that his want of brains could be confirmed. In conclusion, Sir, I must apologise for taking up so much of your space, and prpmiee not to transgress again on the* subject matter of this discourse, because I recognise that where a man like' "Southern Visitor" candidly "confesses to his lack of brains, it would be idle and useless for me to attempt .to din into his head w sense of fairness' and .reason ; and so far as lijam concerned this correspondence is closed, f6r I recognise the utter futility cf ever impressing "Southern Viistor" •with any degree of reason. Our next show will be held in November! and after the Josephine mo-'titjnt I shall not be at all surprised if "Soutue'-n Visitor" visits Christchurch, and writes * report on the New Zealand Cup meeting slating some non-acceptor 'had gamed 1 'irst j-laoe in the New Zealand Cup. I had the pleasure of showing my dogs at the last Dunedin Fanciers' Club show, and, all being well, I hope to have the same * pleasure this year. If I can possibly manage it I shall be..ple»s«(l indeed to accompany my dogs to Dunedin, and I feel sure whilst there I will meet good) sports, good fanciers, and gentlemen — people of different type to "Southern Visitor," for were we all fanciers of his calibre, dogdom would soon be doomed. Under cover of a norn de plume he has attempted to damage a young club which held one of the most successful shows ever held in this colony, and to attack a club and its officials in the spirit that he has adopted is, to my mind, nothing more or less than cowardly in -the extreme; and if I visit Dunedin I may perhaps -have the opportunity of telling "Southern Visitor" that fact to his face. — I am, etc., Ronald V. Duncak February 8, 1907.