THE KENNEL.

Otago Witness, Issue 2905, 17 November 1909, Page 33

THE KENNEL.

By Terror. F»no!ert and breeder* of dogt are cordially inrited to contribute to this column. " Ttrrax " will endeavour to make thU department aa interestiOK and up-to-date as povib'.e, but :n order to do thu he ninit have tbe co-operation of hit reader*, hence he tracts this invitation will be chieriallr responded to. — Th?re has been a good deal of discussion throughout the Dominion — in the Kiorth Island particularly — regarding the generous • treatment accorded to the secretary and treasurer by the N.Z. Kennel Club Executive, notwithstanding the straightened iinancial circumstances of the club, and as far as I can galJiei my action In directing attention to the matter has met w ; th general approvaj. Those who seem anxious to uphold the action of tho executive appear to do so under the mistaken :mpres6ion that the South Island kennelmen are anxious to sever connection with the North Island, and have a club of their own, and desire to take advantage of the action of the club vs now constituted as a ; pretext. As a matter of fact, I believe i that southern fanciers would regard disunion with regret, and preferable only in lieii of the pre<wnt mismanagement. From ,\arious souices, I learn that the present i-ppre^snl-ation 'S considered unsatisfactory, and if this can ba •ilteied so that "contributing bodies may have fuller j control and the annual meetings held in turn at «»ach of the larjre ! centres, there would be little to complain 'of If the treasurerhhip h= to ba an honorary office, there should certainly be no salary paid \\"'th regard to the salary to the secretary. I have heard no one complain of the amount paid und«r that head. £25 being the least that could be offered for the work done, but the giving of a bonus

out of a reserve fund has certainly raised the gall of many. lam glad to report ihere is good reason for believing that the outcome of the storm of disapproval which has been raised over the recent actior of the executive of the club bids to bear good fruit, and it is ardently to be hoped that such will be the ease.

— Fanciers will be pleased to learn that Mr J. W. Thomson has returned, after his trip round thy world, much improved in health, and glad to be back amongst his o'd friends.

— The Kennel Club of New South Wales will hold its annual show on December 2,. 3, and 4. The fixture of this year will be held in the Exhibition Building. Prince Alfred Park, Sydney. Two hundred and fifty-eight classes are included in the schedule. The list of special prizes is a veiy long one, the actual number being 127. There are also a number of trophies to be competed for. The judges in t?ie following ba3eds are as follows: — Greyhoun-d-s, Mr Percy Lamb; Australian terriers. Mr P, B. Grieveson; barbs, Kelpie, catile clogs, Mr J. CJuinn ; Sydney silky -and Yorkshire terriers, Scottish and Skye terriers, Mr T. Forsyth-; pugs, Mr W. H. Davies; all other breeds, Mr J. C. Coupe. Entries in nil classes close with the hon : - secretary, Mr A. B. Hellmrich, on Wednesday, November 24. His address is Victoria Arcade, 63 Elizabeth street, Sydney.

— The giving of nauseous medicines to dogs often; results in more harm than good, if the patient is of a nervous temperament and has to- be put- under restraint, or perhaps .has to be forced to take the medicine after a more or less Titanic struggle between -himseif and his owner. Now. abov^ all things, we should avoid a struggle with a dog that needs a dose of physic ; and as there are ways in which the most nauseous medicines can now be given in a form that JS practically tasteless, a little manoeuvring will geaie-rally result in the end being 1 attained without any trouble and without the dog being made worse as a result of struggling. I need not dwell npon the well-known "capsule" method : that is applicable to most medicines now. But suppose, as is sometimes the c&*e, a liquid drench needs to be given, the best way is to use an ordinary glass syringe with a piece of ordinary feedinsr- bottle tubing attached to the nozzle. The fubing can be slipped well over the back of the tongue, and then ihe dog will not taste the physic. Never attempt to give medicine to a dog by' forcing his jaws open and then pouring it down: struggling and chocking- will reeuTt to a certainty. On the contrary, close the jaws, and by pulling back the lower i lip, form a pouch or funnel ; into this tne ' medicine can be poured, and the dog must : inevitably swallow it. Of course it is better ■th avoid liquid medicir-es altogether if possible; and it rarely happens that this form cannot ba dispensed with. As an example of how easy it is (not to say advantageous from every standpoint, including the medical) to avoid the necessity of giving liquids. I might instance the case of a purging draught. If I want to pive one of my dogs a doss of Epsom salt what I do is this: — I pop two or three capsules of the dried salt down his throat before he breakfasts in the morning, and a few minutes later he has some warm broth. The effect is marvellous ! He knows nothing of -the medicine — for do»s will swallow cansules without any trouble; and then the warm broth forms n drench and acts at once. How infinitely better that is than dissolving the salts in water and trying to pour it down ! It is the same with powders'. The way to give a powder to a doer vto sew it up in a piece of meat — i preferably tripe. First throw a piece or > two of the "genuine article" to the dojr, and he wUI bolt these. Then follow on with ( the piece, containing the powder, and down that will go in the. same way. I have only known oi one oase in which a catastrophe happened- on these lines. The "package" caught one of the dog's fangs, and was torn open, the powder being discharged full into his open mouth! I do not think that dog ever forgot it ! He was a black retriever, f great intelligence ; and I shall always remember the look he pave me ! Sometimes doa-s become addicted to the habit of vomitinf medicine soon after they j have' taken it. The only way to fret over Ihis nuisance it to tie the animal's head up for an hour or so. co that he- cannot gfive way to his feolin<r». Some medicines, such a? sanfonine. male-fern oil, and nodophyllin, make dogs fool bilious.

— The treatment required to keep a lonc:coated doc in proper condition necessitates careful and regular attention for a considerable time. The first deration is to wash the dog well, and after letting him dry thoroughly, comb out all knots oi lumps of hair or foreign matter, takinar care to comb as little hair out as possible. After the coat has been washed and properly combed, regular and careful grooming with n «?oft brush will be all that >s required. With resnect to the short ir wire-haired breeds, they ma> be washed every week, and they are not nearly so mush trouble to keep right in coat, an occasional brushing beincr sufficient to make ;t lie nroperly. Spaniels are ?om-?times inclined to be a bit wavy in coat, and thi- can be remedied by rubbinpr a little castor oil on the hair, and crushing well with a soft brush.

— TJv request J publish the following descrintion of the Borzoi or Russian wolfhound. I don't know of any of the breed in the neighbourhood of Dunedin, but am informed that they arc in evidence in the North T«lan<3. FiVnkT. Barton. M.R.C.V.S., says: "The Borzoi apoears tr be unquestion-:-ably of Ru<«ian origin, being:, in anatomical structure, closely allied to the greyhound, and in hip -native country is uswl for hunting the wolf, a bracv being 'slipped' I after the wolf has be^n beaten out of cover, j much in the same fashion as the prevhounds I coursine:. The hounds retain their hold until the huntsman arrives to secure it. Russian wolfhounds have during recent vpars become remarkably fashionable in Entland. probably in a larjre measure owing t< rhe fact that Queen Alexandria, the Duchess of Newcastle— whr owns some of the finest specimens in the country — md i many other of aristocratic lineage, have ' be?n keen supnorrers of these noVilp r»v»a- | mres. In 'Rnjrland the only ps« for tb«se hound* is tint of oomrmnion-h"") Tliev when trained, fairly <»oorl lion^ rloi;thouffh the uncertain r»mr«r of many of j these hounds ,v>nd->rs hem 'in.t \erv r.-'li- ■ able. Although iU; ;\\< %-irriirg n most j bsnicrnant «iip«nn. thi» will oft»n be I found to be ?<»c>r>t i\ p. \ rynieal hoivo: should have a loner lonn he f! fl; flat and nrrrow skull, and a lor?, tapenn? muz?]", tlic head of tho bitch Ivinjr .=omewhnt finer than that of tb^ doc. Greyhound-like on is and ( dark, ellfptically-shaped eyes. Ohost. narrow and deep, with great depth of rib be-

hind the elbowe, one of the most striking features of the breed. Neck, very muscular, rather long and deep where it joins the shoulders, and these ought to be fairly oblique but well clothed with muscles. A long, straight back aiv broad loins with powerful quarters, long- thig-hs and Jow placed, strong hocks are counted points for the show bencn. The hind limbs, in relation to the body, are placed very far back, only just appearing to be under it at the lower part of the extremities when the dos; is standing still. Tail must be heavily feathered, long, and carried down, the socalled '"gay' carriage being a drawback. Fore limbs. — Good fore limbs are a sine qua non. The arms should be well muscled, and the forearms long, straight, broadening out as .hey approach the arms, and tapering from a trifle above tho knees until the feefc are reached. These ought to lie long, toes well arched, and close. Colour. — Grey, or orange patches on a white ground. Coat. — Shore and smooth on the -Tiead, .ears and fore limbs. The frill on the neck should be abundant and somewhat curly. That cot ering the head, body, tail and hindquarters long and silky. Height. — Dogs from 28in, and bitches from 26in. Faults. — A drooping nose ; a sickle-shaped carriage of ,th© tail, short back, weak forehead, etc. Theo. Marples, editor of Our Dogs, in his 1906 revision of Vero Shaw's book, "How to Choose a Dog," says:— This most beautiful dog is a native of Russia, 'where it is used fpr 'wolf -hunting purposes; in shape and outline it closely resembles the English greyhound, though it is a much taller animal, with a deeper chest and more flatsided, i.e., the ribs are not so round or well sprung, and again they differ in coat, which in the case of a borzoi is long and silky in texture. Th« ooloui is usually white, mixed with fawn or grizzled markings, but whole coloured fawns also a.ppear. Another point of difference between the two varieties is thatrthe nose of the borzoi projects a little giving a sort of "Roman-nosed" expression to the countenance. The points to look for in puppies are identical with those of the greyhound, wit.h the exception of the differences named above. In a puppy six weeks old: Heavy bone, straight fore lege, deep chest. In a puppy six months old : A long head with punishing .■"■•vs, deep chest, straight fore legs, with \ nty of bone, well arched muscular back, bent hocks, and tucked up loins. Average age at which the breed arrives at maturity, about three yeare.