FANCIERS' COLUMN. THE KENNEL.

Otago Witness, Issue 2856, 9 December 1908, Page 35

FANCIERS' COLUMN.

THE KENNEL.

The OUgo Witnet* has b«en appointed the official organ for the publiration of aanoimeenaenu of the Dnne'lin Fautisrs' Club.

By Tebbob.

rttneieri and breader* of do»s are cordially i«TrUd to contribute to this column. " Terror " wi)l endearoar to make thit department as iot«r«ituig and up-to-date a< possible, but in order t« do this he must bare the co-operation of hi* readers, \\enee he trust* thi* inritation will be chetrfuliy rtiponded to.

— The bearded collie — or "beardies," as they are som^tim-es called, are practically identical with th? bobtailed sheep dog, the solitary difference being the possession of a tail. Vero Shaw describes him as "acquaint picturesque-looking animal, brimful *of intelligence, a capital companion, and a most valuable worker amongst sheep and cattle. Though picturesque, he is by no means a pretty animal, his coat, consisting of long shaggy locks; each lock or tuft of hair apparently' be"nt on following an obstinately independent course of its own. It was said l>y Rawdon Lee that in the severe winter of 1895, when a great many smooth-coated cheep dogs perished, the *b:ardies" survived uninjured. It appears to be impo'sible to determine from what .part of the Uhiedi Kingdom these dogs originally cam-e, various counties claiming original possession. "Idetim," a writer quoted by Rawdon Lee, however, refers to him as the Eng-tish-sheep dog. Dr Kerr, another authority

quoted by the same author, thus writes of this breed : —

"Many hundred years ago, when our island was principally primeval forest, with but few clearings, it mu3t necessarily have been infested with wolves, bears, and the lesser British carnivorse, and to protect tha flocks and herds it must have boan requisite to have a large and powerful dog able to cope witb such formidable and destructive foes, able to undergo any amount of fatigue, and with a jacket to withstand all vicissitudes of weather, for his avocation was an everyday one. Day and night, and .in all weathers, was he watching and battling with heat and storm and marauding foes. What other dog but the old English sheep dog pow=e>=.s attributes necessary for the multifarious duties urged upon such a business? There we find the sagacity the activity, tha enduring strength, the dauntless courage, and the -Weatherproof jacket combined to such a degree in no other British dog. His origin is lost in the dim obscurity of buried centuries. To my mind his antiquity and concentration of purity of strain aro fully shown in th© fact that if there br> a strain of old EhglUh *h:ep iiog blood many generations back in any breed of dog; jou may stake jour life that i typical specimen will every jiow and again show itsolf in the litter produced by utterly dissimilar breeds, no anatter whether it -bs a retriever, lurcher, spaniel, or cur of low deyree. - 1 have known it occur in many instances, and ha^'-e ovvn-ed first-cla^s shesp dogs who>3 parentage would make one's hair stand on end with amazement at the fearful incogruity of its component parts. Apparently not one drop of sheep dog blood for generations, and yet there Is the unmistakable youngster — sometimes tailkss, more often, with a 3in stump — brought into the world, jet black, with his characteristic white markings, and in a few weeks, chameleonlike, he gradually assumes the silvery lilac livery of ~ his ancient British anoestors, and makes his bow to the public as a pigeon b!tt" and white English sheep dog, 'breeder end pedigree unknown." Does not all this poinif to his ancient purity — this powerful ccnf-ntrViioii of sanguinity which is irre-pi-"S?ib'o? Ono scoi many th-sories put !onva.d \v>h regard to his talile-s heritage, bill- I ara < onv inee<! thai originally nothing but a sport, thi.; peculiarity has been carefully selected by shcohords and stockmen, who probably breed from a naturally tailless strain to save themselves the trouble of docking their clogs, .nid so rendsring them exempt from iha r-onalti-r^ of the forest Ja\v 3 . ' With ivgard ( o the sagacity -j£ this breed, I consider il has few equal?, and certainly no superior. In a large dairy farm I know of there is a dog which will fetch up individual cows as they are required to be milked, distinguishing, those which he ha 3 already fetched up,, and which, after being milked are .allowed to mix with the rest of the herd. Whsn quite a lad I remember seeing an old grizzle and white sheep dog lying outside a farmhouse here in Suffolk which three weeks or a month before was purchased in Dumfries. He worked a herd of bullocks all the way from his Scottish home to the eastern corner of Suffolk by-road. After remaining comfortably for a fortnight in his new quarts re, one day he was missing, and no tidings could be gleamed of him in the neighbourhood. And no wonder, for within the week his Suffolk purchaser received a letter informing him that the old dog was safe back in Dumfries. This incident occurred to Mr Edmund Tye, of the Moat Farms, Dallinghoo, Suffolk, who was my informant."

—If you want something that will keep the flog permanently free from fleas, you will be doom-ed to disappointment. The bed an.d the furniture on which the dog lies are a frightful source of re-stocking-and if tbs animal is to be kept reasonably free these neod attention as much as the coat. It is difficult, when the dog lies indoors and is allowed to select his place ot" rost- at hi-, own sweet will, to do this, Vmt if a. Ucnn<>! i% u=-e-d, or the dopr sloops in one place, th? bedding should be burnt, ihe interior scalded out, dressed with soms potent disinfectant, and pine-shaving^ furnishod for bedding. The simplest treatin snt to keep doprs free from fleas is froquent dredging of the skin with Persian in-?ct powder, or powcerod pyrothrum roseuni, but this is objectionable, in that it Spoils the coat. Another plan, says Farm and Home, is to sprinkle th? coat with j ~pirit of camphor loz. oil of turpentine i 1 2oz, pure carbolic acid 1 dr&ehm, warm | Asater 1 pint. This may also be sprinkled over the bedding somewhat freely, in fact iiiorp freely than on the dog. A weekly washing with good dog soap and general attention to the cleanliness of the bed are j usually sufficient to keen any dog reasonj ably free fiom fleas. This is frequent enough I to catch the post «t auy stage of its metamorphoses. DAXDIE DIXiIONT TERRIER. V>y request I th* following- principal points required in a Dandie Dinuiont ■ — } 1 Head — Strongly made and large, but noi ■ out of proportion to the clog's size. Skull broad, and forehead well domed. The head is covered with very soft, silky hair, which should hs lighter in colour than" the body co'our. Teeth very strong and level. Eyes. — Set wide apart, large, full, bright, and round, exnressive of determination and m'olligence. Co'cnr. a rich, dark hazel. Ears. — Large and pendulous, set well back, wide apart, and low on the skull. Length, from Sin to 4iji.

Neck. — Very muscular and well developed, showing grrea: power of resistance.

Body. — LoTJ.9f, strong, and flexible, ribs well =rprung and round, chest well let down between the forelegs, back rather low at shoulder, but we"! arched over the loins.

Tail. — Rather short, say from Bin to lOin covered with short hair on top. with a feather about 2in long at base, but get-ting ghorter as it near<? the tip. The tail should /lot botwisted or cur!ed in any way. but shou'd come np with a regular curve like a scimitar.

Legs. — The foralegs short, very muscular, and we*l developed. Band 3 leg? and flat feet are objectionable, and may be avoidod. the former by the use of splints, and the latter by regular exercise. The hind legs are longer •than th«> fore ones, and the feet also smaller. Caws should be dark in colour.

Coal — The hair should ba about 2in long ; a mixture of soft and hardish hair, which, gives a crisc feel to Jhe hand. Colour — The colour is pepper or mustard. The former ranges from dark b'uish black to a light silvery erev, whilst the mustards ran?p from a redd if h hrown to a pale r awn.

Size. — The height shou'd be from ?<n to llin at bhonider

Weight— From Ulb to 2-ilb, about lfilb in gcod vvorkmg order :s the we gin meat dee»rab'e

Relative Value of P-jinls — Head. 10, eye?, 10. eais, 10, neck, 5; body, 20, tail, 5; legs

and feet. 10 ; coat, 15 ; colour, 5 ; size and weight, 5 ; general appearance, 5 ; — total, 100.