THE KENNEL.

Otago Witness, Issue 2913, 12 January 1910, Page 35

THE KENNEL.

By Tkbrob.

Fanciers and breeders of dogs are cordially invited to contribute to this eolna-n. " Terror " will endeavour to make this dt'p-vLsisnt as interesting and up-to-date as possib'.p, but in order to do this he must have the co-operation of his readers, henfce he . trusts this invitation will be chjerJiuLly responded to. The commencement of a New Year brings to the fore many wislies for " peace ; and goodwill," and : t is not inappropriate j to extond a word in favour of those faith- j fu'l members of the animal kingdom, whose-1 well-being is the ©special interest of the! readers of these columns. The " fancy," • a brotherhood knowing no distinction of j riches or poverty, class or creed, nation or : elime, and every member should do bis best to inculcate a better and higher feeling to- I wards the dumb creature, and the dog in j particular, a<s being the most intellectual — j the' nearest to human —of that dumb creation. The lover of the dog knows better than any scientist how faithfulness, reason, j and intelligence run into each other ; n the character and disposition of the dog. j A dog should be fed according to the , amount of work it performs. The food .eaten j and the air taken in must, be equal to ' the loss of weight by bodily waste. De- j ■fkiency of food means loss oi weight and j excess results in undue fattening. Though j a flesh diet is very suitable, there is abund- ! ant evidence that a mixed dietary is better, i one' where only one or two dogs are kept ] nothing is more suitable than table refuse, j A free supply of fresh water if .indispens- j able.

j A dog of highly-strung nervous tern- I perament is liable to become over-wrought, | ; just in the sam« way as a man of keen, , i 'intellect may become overdone, and then ! : will be guilty of all sorts of eccentricities, j ; A gun-shy dog is often, a vkifcim to tern- i j porary nervous breakdown, and under pro- | per treatment may recover and become as j j useful again as ever. This nervous break- j s down may quite well be the result of over- j ! fatigue of body. The principal remedy j • will therefore be complete rest. Let the j ; dog be taken away from field work alto- • S gethcr for a time, and let him be kept I { as quiet a»s possible. Give a liberal diet! j and a thorough change of life, if only j ; for a few days. Tonic med'icine also is j ; desirable —to which we will refer presently. ] j It will bo time enough to start him again j t on field work when he shows—as he. will j •arobably show —unmistakable signs of his ,

readiness to go sporting- again. When gunshy a dog very often is not only nervous at the time of a discharge of the weapon, but he is positively afra.id of the very sight of the gun itself. But when ne is better ho will begin to show once again his old rejoicing at the sight of the gun beng taken out of Its case» With regard to tonic medicine, we do not, think there is anything better for a dog suffering from "nerves" than Ea-stcn's syrup. This is a preparation of phosphate of iron in combination with quiaine and a minute proportion of strychnine, and its effect is to brace up the nervous system generally, improving the appetite, and making the patient feel strong and fit, The simplest and safest way to give this remedy (for bear in mind that strychnine is highly poisonous) is in- the form of capsules, which arc sold by veterinary chemists in different sizes and strengths- for various breeds. Twice a day a capsule of the proper size, should, be given-r-preferably an hour or so before feeding.— and this treatment ought to be kept, up for a month. The first Japanese imported into England was Mousme. which arrived in London, brought by Dr W. Hickman in 1862. Her coat was black and white, wellfeathered tail of and pa'.vs. delicate frame, and weighed about 61b. She died of grief and jealousy on the birth of Dr Hickmn's son a few years later. Her case is mentioned -in Dr Wynn Westoott's book on " Suicides," as pr-c-cf of animals consciously putting an end to their lives. Cioverley Brotus, a bull pup, which was jointly owned by Mv Oborri, of Kensington, and Mrs Palmer, a- dog fancier, of Putney, has just been sold to an American fancier for the record sum for a bull pup of £SOO. The (pup, which is 10 months old, weighs 701 b. PROLAPSUS OF THE VAGINA. (From the Kennel Gazette.) This is a protrusion of a fold of mucus membrane of the vagina through the vulva. It, only occurs at the time of heat, and not during or after parturition, as stated by Ashmount and others; at any rate, I have never seen a case at any other time. All bitches are-liable .to this accident during oestrum, but it is of a much commoner occurrence in largo hitches, as St, Bernards, Mastiffs, etc., than those of smaller kinds. In these latter, except with bull bitches, it- rarely happens. It is a very troublesome complaint, because once a bitch has been m this condition (which generally shows itself for the first time at the second heat, when the animal is about 15 months old, but it does sometimes appear at the first period) it generally occurs again at eaeh period of oestrum. It is difficult to say why one bitch should' suffer in this way and another not, but I. have noticed it generally occurs more often in those bitches that have a somewhat- larare and. roomy vagina, and where the mucus membrane is loose and abundant, and during heat, when the parts are congested and swollen, it seems as if the passage was too small to contain the whole of the thickened membrane; hence the prolapsus of a part. The protruding portion always arises from the same part of the vagina, that is, the floor just anterior to the orifice of' the urethal canal. In very sever? cases a whole ring of membrane protrudes, looking not, unlike a severe prolapsus ani. When the accident occurs the prolapsus generally shows itself .at the commencement of the heat. At first there is just a small pinkish-coloured round body at the orifice of the passage; in a day or two it increases in size and shows itself externally. As time goes on the parts, in consequence of constant irritation from the continued! movement, of the tail, frequent, straining, dirt, and also from the bitch injuring it when sitting down, it becomes much swollen and congested, and as a result the prolapsus continues to increase in size until in some instances, with large bitches, it may be as big as a Malta orange. In thes-!> cases the bitch is frequently straining to pass water, which she docs afc times with great difficulty, therefore it is hcoessary to watch these cases closely, or the bladder may become over-distended and serious trouble result. The prolapsus has a neck formed by pressure of the lips of the vulva; underneath, the swelling is a furrow leading to the meatus of the uretha, above is another furrow leading to a cul-de-sac.

In slight cases, as the heat passes, the swelling gradually diminishes, and in the course of a week all external signs have disappeared, but to return again the next time the bitch comes in season. In bad cases, even after the heat has passed, th© prolapsus remains, necessitating either the bitch being destroyed or undergoing an operation. Treatment; —A bitch suffering from prolapsus of the vagina should be kept particu-larly-clean by having the protruding parts washed two or three times a day, or oftener, with a weak tepid solution of Condy's fluid or saratas. and a clean soft bed should be supplied to prevent the parts as much as possible being injured. The prolapsus, after being cleaned, should bo returned; it is. not a bit of use just pressing- it back into the passage, but after passing it into the vagina it should be pushed well forward with the fingers as far as they will reach. Sometimes the prolapsus, when very small, dees not show itself again, but this is not often the caee;

however, to assist its retention it is a good plan after returning the part to pump cold water into the vagina .w.ttt a large syphon enema syringe for at least a quarter of an hour. Should this fail in causing - the r.embrane to retain its position, then, after returning it to its place, again inject, into tho vagina a quart of water in which two rablcspoonfuls of alum have been dissolved, or else an ounce of the tincture of perchloride of iron. However, these remedies are only occasionally successful in simple oases, for as a rule the prolapsus recurs cs fast as one returns it, for, as before stated, the bitch is constantly straining, and each titri'2 the tumour becomes larger and mere difficult to replace, until at last it Is impossible to do so. Some veterinary surgeons recommend that after reducing the prolapsus one or more thick and strong metallic sutures should be placed deeply through the lips of the vulva. Of course, (his answers the purpose for a, time, as the suture forcibly prevents the urolapsus appearing so long as they hold, but tho bitch, as just mentioned, is constantly straining, and generally in time forces them through the t&in, causing disagreeable supplicatory wounds, which add to the discomfort of the patient, A small instrument called a pessary has been used, but it sets up so much irritation, and often causes such a profuse discharge that I consider' it does more harm than good, besides, like the other remedies mentioned, it has only, a temporary effect, for the prolapsus is almost sure to appear again at the next heat.

A small prolapsus does not prevent a bitch from breeding so long as' the protruding part can be returned before- service, otherwise it is impossible for coition to take place. The treatment I suggest is an operation which in 90 per cent, of cases effects a radical cure, and at the same time- does.not prevent the bitch from breeding at future periods. It consists of removing the prolapsus entirely with the ecraseur. It has been recommended by some veterinary surgeons, esTieeially by French ones, that the protruding mass should be removed by ligature. I have operated in this wa,y several times, but with indifferent success, the large mass of dead tissue induced by the ligature often sets up such a degree of local inflammation, which in some .eases extends internally, that peritonitis follows, which frequently terminates fatally. Besides with the ligature even when successful the case hangs about a long time. On tho other hand, when the ecraseur is used, the operation is clean and quick, the patient often having quite recovered in a week, besides being very much more successful, for I reclron that not more than 5 per cent, prove fatal, whereas the mortality Is at least 25 per cent, with the ligature operation. Mv mod* of operating is as follows: After placing the patient on a table and laying her on the. right side, the protruding parts and the surrounding skin are thoroughly washed with a 5 per cent, carbolic soap. Then around the neck of the prolapsus at four different points 1 inject rather deeply three drops of the 4per cent, solution of cocaine. This lulls the pe.in considerably, though it may not stop altogether. Chloroform. I do not think is necessary. I next proceed- -to pass a stout- metal sound into the urethal canal, which I give to an assistant, to hold with instructions to keep the parts well free of the ecraseur chain. This is important, as one might otherwise cut throuffh the urethal canal, which would probably be fatal. Everything being ready, the chain is placed round the neck of the prolapsus quite _ half an inch clear of the meatus (opening to the urethal canal), and after fixing it, to the ecraseur the handle is very slowly turned until the orolapsus is disconnected. I may mention here that in cases of some standing the mucus membrane hafl become much thickened' and hardened, and. a very strong chain is required, or it will break. To prevent harm arising from such accidents it is advisable to have a spare chain at, hand.—A. J. Sewell. THE GORDON SETTER. Standard of Excellence.— By request I publish the standard of excellence of the Gordon, setter, as laid down by the British Gordon Setter Club: Head. The head of the Gordon is the most important part of the dog; it is much heavier than that of the Laverack or English setter, and the depth from the occiput to the lower angle of the jaw is greater than in either of those breeds. •The skull should bet slightly rounded. broad at the top between tho care, and the occiput well developed.

Forehead.—The forehead above the eyes should be well developed and defined, th. 9 stop nicely chiselled, the eyes lustrous and intelligent, full, not small or piglike, giving an expression of intelligence, which is of first importance in the Gordon. Nose. —The nose should be moderately long, and broad across the top, giving room for the nerves of scent.—in fact, the opposite of snipyness; the nostrils well distended, forming the widest part of the nose; the under jaw should neither be under nor over hung. Mr Pearce's Kent had a very heavy muzzle and under jaw, with remarkably bright and penetrating- eyes. In these points his likeness has been transmitted to hig descendants in a remfl.rka.ble degree. Body.—The body of the Gordon is also heavier than that of the English setter, but may be judged on the same lines; the tail should be short and scimitar like, the neck moderately lon p.- and strong, but not heavy, the feet inclined to be larce and strong, with arched' toes, arid with hair between them to protect the feet. Coat. —The coat should be straight or slightly waved, not cuny, Tlhe great beauty of the doe; is his lovely colour; prominence should therefore be given to if-, in judging. Formerly, without doubt, the prevailing colours wore, black, white, and tan; of late there hias been little white seen at shows. The black should be a. jet, not brown or rusty; the tan should be a rich dark mahogany, not .pemcilled with black: the tan should be exhibited on. the inside, of the thighs, showing down front of stifle to the ground. The fore legs should be nure tan from the knees downwards. The muzzle should also be tan ; the spots over the eyes and on the points of the shoulders should be well defined, not blurred; blurring- and diffusion over the be.lly and other parts is obieot ion able.

A splendid intelligence, fine scenting power, and great endurance are the main characteristics of the Gordon, and a wellformed head is of the first importance if wc are ts /fcvelop and nifeiaiaiu. that

intelligence which is the charm and usefulness of the dog. STANDARD POINTS FOR JUDGING POIN"T3 Head ... 33 Nock, shoulders, and chest ... 14 Loin and quarter 12 Feet and legs ... ... 16 Colour 10 Coat, feather, and quality 10 Tail ... 5 Total 100'