THE KENNEL.

Otago Witness, Issue 2924, 30 March 1910, Page 35

THE KENNEL.

By Tebbob. >r

P»oc!ers and breeders of dogs J are cordially invited to contribute to this column. " Terrar " will endeavour to make this department as 'interestm* and up-to-date as possible, but in order to do this he must have the co-operation of his readers, hence he trusts this invitation -will be obaeriuily responded to. ; The Silver Jubilee Champion Trial of the Waitaki Collie Dog- Club ift to be held at Hakatararnea on Wednesday, May 4. The prizes ar.p most attractive, including £l3 for first, £7 for second, £5 for third, £4 for fourth, and £2 for fifth prize in each of. the three events—Heading and Bringing Back; Head, Bring Back, and Yard; and and Slew. The special. prizes are also valuable. Mr W. H. Ross is hon. secretary. Bulldog men will be interested in the 'new standard framed by the Bulldog Club of England," published below with some notes of co nparison in the two standards by Our Dogs. The approach of show time demands the attention of owners of dogs to bring them into proper condition. The amateur's great fault as a rule is, inattention to this very important matter, and nothing will annoy him more after judging than to be told: '-'Your dog is all right, but it should have belonged to someone else." Want of condition is not always, as has often been pointed out in these columns, due to under-feeding: more likely it is the result of over-feeding, which causes a gross condition. There are breeds which.can be shown heavy to advantage, but no dog she lid be shown over-fat. A dog should be fatj but not excessively so, as this makes him slower in his movements and clumsy. The" coat is also a feature which requires close attention. In heavy and long coated dogs plenty of brushing is required 'to prevent the hair from matting, and also to make it bright and glossy. Except in cases where' the coat is matted the comb shou'd not be used. Abundance of coat i 6 what is required, and the comb will have the tendency to remove a lot. After a thorough brushing broad-toothed comb may be run through the coat occasionally, but it must be useo with great care. A little cocoanut oil may be rubbed' into the coat before brushing. , Washing is sometimes imperative, but should be resorted to only when absolutely necessary. In smooth-coated dogs regular brushing i 6 all that is required.A fairly hard brush may be used. Cocoanut sparingly rubbed into the skin will promote growth. • —The following points issued by the Smooth, Collie Club will be of assistance to readers: —Coat: Flat, short, dense, and of good texture. Height: Dogs (as measured at shoulder),* 22 to 24 inches; bitches, 20 to 22 inches. Head, ears, and eyes: The head should be of a medium width between the ears; long, but free from snipy appearance. When the dog is at rest, the ears ought to be laid back; at other times, semi-erect. Eyes to match colour of dog's markings. Neck and back: Long, strong, and well-arched loins. Legs and. feet: The legs should be strong, h'ave plenty of bono in the forearms. Feet hard and compact. In other respect 6 the points' of the rough haired-variety, answer.

{ ■ —A correspondent who always evinces a keen interest in cloggy matters—especially the collie—-writes me from The Cave, South Canterbury, that he greatly regrets having learned, on inquiry when in that district recently that Mr J. D. Robertson, who, it will be remembered, imported a brace of well bred typical, working collies last year, had had tfle misfortune to lose the whole of a fine litter of puppies therefrom. It appears that the owner, deeming : the\ young family saSe [enough to be securely enclosed while he had occasion, to take lira mother oat working a few hours, on returning found that the whole litter I had been fatally attacked by a stray terrier. Mr Robertson, being a true lover of the sagacious collie, regrets the loss, not so Miuch from a financial view, as h«' deplores the loss of what, in. the natural course of events meant a great acquisinoa to the ranks of the working collie generally, as all the members of previous litters whelped, it will be remembered in quarantine, are giving great promise. My correspondent also states that there is every probability of a dog trial club being formed in the district at an early date, and the consequent likelihood of a trial being held in autumn —probably just before' or immediately after' the Christchurch May fixture, to enable competitors, especially from south, conveniently attending. Once started, this should prove a very popular gathering. An. excellent site is procurable convenient to railway station at Cave, too. THE DACHSHUND. ! By request I give the standard of exceli lence of ihe dachshund: — j Head and Skull.—Long, level and narrow, ■ peak well developed; no stop; eyes intel- , ligent and somewhat small, follow body in j colour. j Ears. —Long, broad and soft; set on low and well back, carried close to the head. Jaw.—Strong, level, and square to the muzzle; canines reourvent. Chest.—Deep and narrow, breastbone pro- . minent.

• Legs and feet. —Forelegs Very short and strong in bone, well crooked, not standing over; elbows well clothed with muscle, neither in nor out; feet, large, round and strong, with thick pads and strong nails; hind legs smaller in bone and higher, hind feet. smaller. The dog must stand true — i.e., equally on all parts of fc'i°. foot. Skin and Coat. —Skin thick, loose, supple, and in great quantity; co.it, dense, short, and strong. Stern. —Long and strong; flat root, tapering to the tip; hair on underside coarse, carried lovv, except when excited; quarters very muscular. Body.—Length from back of head to root of stern two and a-half times the height at shoulder; fore ribs well sprung; back ribs very short. Colour.—Any colour, nose to follow body colour, much white objectionable. Symmetry and Quality.—The dachshund shdjld be, long, low,- and graceful; not 'cloddy. Head, and skull 12, jaw 5, legs and feet 20, loin 8, body 8, symmetry and quality 11, ears 7, chest 7, skin and coat i 13, stern 5, colour 4;—grand total, 100. Weight.—About 211 b; bitches about 181 b. It will be observed that colour is not very clearly defined. Any colour is allowed, and yet much white is considered objectionable. Until recently the acknowledged I colours were reds and black and tans. Now classes are provided at the leading English shows . for "dapled," a colour quite unknown to us in Australia. THE BWLL TERRIER. —Brief Description. — Weight, dogs about 501 b, bitches about ! 451 b. The all-white dog preferred, though slight coloured markirigs are not a disqualification. The head should be long, flat, wide-between the ears, but without any suspicion of muscle on the cheek.- A very slight stop between the eyes should be there. Jaws long and very powerful, nose black, eyes very 6mall, and very dark, lips very tight. " Lippinees" is a very great fault in the breed. Mouth quite level, ears small and thin in texture, and carried as in the fox : terrier. Neck long, and well arched, sloping shoulders, and narrow front, very well sprung ribs, short body, muscular hind quarters, moderately short whip tail, carried low, feet small and cat; like, forelegs straight, and very well off for bone, coat fine and short, but mode- ! rately hard in texture. There is a toy j variety of the bull-terrier, similar to the I larger dog in every respect, and weighing i about 151 b.

THE STANDARD OF THE BULLDOG. By request I publish the revised standard of the correct appearance and the several points in detail of a perfect bulldog, with some notes comparing the new with the old standard, taken- from Our Dogs:— The following description-of the purebred Old English bulldog has been compiled and adopted by the Bulldog Club (Incorporated) as the correct standard type of excellence in the breed, after carefully comparing all obtainable opinions. In forming a. judgment on any specimen of the breed the' general appearance —which is the first impression the dog makes as a whole on the eye of the judge—should be first considered. Secondly should be noticed its size, shape, and rather, its proportions in the relation they bear to each other. (No point, should be so much in excess of the others as to destroy the general symmetry, or make the dog appear deformed, or interfere with its powers of motion, etc.) Thirdly, his style, carriage, gait, temper; and his several points should be considered separately in detail, as follows, due allowance being made for the bjtch, whioh is not so grand or as well developed as the dog: 1. The general appearance of the bulldog is that of a smooth-coated, thick-set dog,-, rather low in stature, but broad, powerful, and compact. Its head strikingly. massive and large in proportion to the dog's size. Its face, extremely short: Its muzzle very broad, blunt, and inclined upwards. Its body short, and well knit: the limbs stout and muscular. Its hindquarters high and strong, but rather lightly made in comparison with its heavily-made foreparts. The dog should convey an impression of determination, strength, and activity, similar to that suggested by the appearance of a thick-set Ayrshire bull. 2. The skull should be very large—the larger the better,—and in circumference should measure (round in front of the ears) at least the' height of the- dog at the shoulders. Viewed from the front, it should appear very high from the orner of the lower jaw to the apex of the skull, and also very broad and square. The cheeks should be well rounded and extend sideways beyond the eves. Viewed at the side, the head should appear- very high,- and very short from its back to the point of "the nose.

The forehead should be flat, neither prominent nor overhanging the face; the skin upon it and abourthe head very loose and well wrinkled.

3. The projections of the frontal bones should be very prominent, broad, 6quare, and high, causing a deep and wide indentation between the eyes, termed the "stop." From the "stop," a furrow both broad and deeD should extend up the middle of the skull, being traceable to the apex. 4. The eyes, seen from the front, should ,be situated low down in the skull, as far from the ears as possible. The eyes and "stop" should be in the same straight line, which should be at right angles to the furrow. They should be as wide apart as possible, provided their outer corners are within the outline of the cheeks. 1 They should be quite round in shape, of moderate size, neither sunken nor prominent, and in colour should be very dark —almost, if not quite, black, showing no white when looking directly forward. 5. Tfie ears should be set high on the head—i.e.. the front inner edge of each ear should (as viewed from the front) join, the outline of the skull at the top corner of such outline, so as to place them as wide apart and as high and as far from the eyes as possible. In size they should be small and thin. The shape termed "rose ear" is correct, and folds inward at its' back; the upper or front edge curving over outwards and backwards, showing part of the inside of the burr. 6. The face, measured from the front of the cheekbone to the nose, should be as short as possible, and its skin should be deeply and closely wrinkled. The muzzle should be short, broad, turned upwards, and very deep from the corner of the eve to the corner of the mouth. The nose should be larsrc, broad, and black; its top should be deeply set. back almost between the eyes. The distance

from the inn*r corner of the eye (or from the centre of the stop between the eyes) to the extreme tip of the nose should not exceed the length from the tip of the nose to the edge of the under lip. The nostrils should be large, wide, black, with a well-defined vertical straight line between them.

7. The flews, called the "chop," should be thick, broad, pendent, and very deep, hanging completely over the lower jaw at the sides (not in front). They should join the under lip in fron' and quite cover the teeth, which should not be - een when the mouth is closed.

1 8. The jaw should .be broad, massive, and square, the canine teeth or tusks wide apart. The lower jaw should project considerably in front of the upper and turn up. 1 It should "be broad and square, and have the six small front teeth between' the canines in an even row.

The teeth should be large and strong. 9. The neck should be moderate in length (rather short than long), very thick, deep, and strong. It should be well arched at the back, with much loose, thick, and wrinkled skin about the throat, forming a dewlap on each side, from the lower jaw to "the chest.

The chest should be very wide, laterally round; prominent, and deep, making the dog appear very broad and short-legged in front. ■■■-" i •', -

10. The shoulders should be broad, sloping, and deep; very powerful and muscular ; and giving the appearance of having . been "tacked on" to the body. 11. The brisket .should be capacious, round, and very deep fom the top of the shoulders to its lowest part where it joins the chest, -and be well let down between, the forelegs. It should be large in diameter and round behind the forelegs (not flat-sided, the ribs being well rounded). The body should be well ribbed up behind, with the belly tucked up, and not pendulous. .'

12. The back should be short and strong, verv broad at the shoulders, and comparatively narrow at the loins. There should be a slight fall to the back close behind the shoulders (its lowest part), whence the spine should rise to the loins (the top of which should be higher than the top of the shoulders), thence curving again more suddenly to the tail, forming an arch —a distinctive characteristic of the breed—termed "roach back." 13. The forelegs should be very stout and strong, set -wide apart, thick, muscular, and straight, with well-developed forearms, wesentinov „n rather bowed outline, but the bones of the legs should be large and straight, not bandy or curved. Thev should be rather short in proportion to the hind legs, but not so short as to make the back apnear lone or detract from the dog's activity, and so cripple him.

The elbows should be low, and stand well awav from the ribs.

The pasterns should be short, straight, and strong. The fore feet should be straight, and turn verv slisrhtly outward, of medium size, and moderately round'. The toes compact and thick, being well split uo. making the knuckles prominent and hieh.

14. Th. hind legs should be large andl muscular, and longer xin proportion, than l.he forelegs, sc as to elevate the loin's. The hocks should be slightly bent and" well let down, so as to be long and muscular from the loins to the point of the hock. ■"■• The lower part of the leg should be" short, straight, and strong. The stifles should be round and turned ' slightly outwards away from the body. The hocks are thereby made to approach each other, and the hind feet to turn outwards.The latter, like the fore feet, should be round and compact, with, the toes well split up and the knuckles prominent. From its formation the dog has a peculiar heavy and constrained gait, appearing to walk with short, quick steps on the tip of its toes, its hind feet not being lifted high, but appearing to skim the ground, and running with the right shoulder rather advanced, similar to.the manner of a horse in cantering. v 15. The most desirable size for the bulldog is about 501 b. " . 16. The tail, termed the " stern," should be set on low, jut out rather straight, then turn downwards. It should be round, smooth, and devoid of fringe or coarse hair. It should be moderate in length—rathe, short than long,—thick at the root, and tapering quickly to a fine point. It should have a downward carriage (not having a decided upward curve at the end), and the dog should not be able to raise it over his back. - ..... - *

17. The colour should- be who>« or smut (that is, a whole colour with a black mask or. muzzle). -• . . .

The only colours (which should be brilliant and pure of their Sort) are whole colours—viz., brindles, reds, with their varieties fawns, fallows, etc., white, and also pied (i.e., a combination of white with any other of the foregoing colours).

The coat should' be fine in texture, short close, and smooth (hard only from the shortness and closeness, not wiry). N POINTS.

The following 100 points show the relative value of the properties mentioned in the foregoing standard description : 1. General appearance, No. of points 10.

2. Skull and head, 13: Size 3, height 1, breadth and squareness 3, shape 2,

wrinkles 4. 3. Stop, 4: Depth 2, breadth 1, extent of

furrow 1. 4. Eyes, 5: Position 2, size 1, shape 1„ colour 1.5. Ears, 4: Position 1, shape 1, size 1, thinness 1. 6. Face, 10: Shortness 1, breadth 1, depth" 1, shape and upward turn of muzzle 1,

wrinkles 1, nose and nostrils 5. 7. Chop, 3: Breadth 1, depth 1, complete covering of front teeth 1. 8. Mouth, 6: Width and squareness of jaw 2, projection and upward turn of lower jaw 2, size and condition o£

•teeth 2. 9. Chest and Neck, 5: Length 1, thickness 1, arch 1, dewlap 1, width, depth, and roundness of chest 1. 10. Shoulders, 5: Shse 2, breadth 2, muscle 1.

11. Body, 5: Depth and thickness of brisket 2, capacity and. roundness of ribs 3. 12. Back (roach), 5: Shortness 2, width of shoulders 1, shape, strength, and arch at

loin 2. ~ 13. Forelegs, 5: Stoutness U, shortness 1, : development 1, feet lg. 14. Hind Legs, 5: Stoutness 1, length 1» ; shape and development 2, feet 1. 15. Size. 5.

16. Tail, 5. 27. Coat and colour, 5. . < , The following are disqualified:— " Dudleys," blacks, and black-and-tans. -■... it will be noticed, on comparing clause' 17 with that of. the old standard, that the committee have done away with placing the ,varipus colours in owier of merit. The great point in the alteration of the scale of points is the giving of five points i'tfor. nose and nostrils, and '.n order to do f so and still keep the total to 100 two marks taken from the size in the skull and >'<head, one from breadth in stop, two halves ,f*from shape and size in ears, and one from ' tbroadth in chop. It is curious that such an important point las the nose should have been left out in the old standard. Making the nose play a prominent part in the face we hope may be the uneans of doing away with the great number ol small noses and pinched nostrils in ibulldogs. Another bad point in present-day bulldogs is their shocking teeth. There are - so" many dogs now being exhibited with •ihardly any teeth, with black stumps stickling in the gums, with uneven teeth, and •some with their molar teeth sut or worn [flown. The committee therefore, presum\lably to" alter the deplorable state of. affairs, Vigave an extra point to the teeth, and to do Jthis deducted one from depth in chop. We jjare inclined to think that even more points janight be given to teeth, as a judge caniftiot take, away marks from general appearance for a toothless dog, as, the mouth " (being closed; it does not detract from the Jgeneral .appearance, of, the dog. The diffijeulty, however, to' give more points would jibe great, as it would mean robbing Peter to . jpay Paul.. Now that the Bulldog Club have inserted jft footnote at the. end of their list,of points, iDudleys, blacks, and black-and-tans disqualifications, there is hardly any differ.enop. ibetween the Bulldog Club (Incorporated) and the British Bulldog Club's standard. The only difference is a difference in wording and that the Britishers, besides Dudleys, disqualify split nostrils and wall eyes Comparing the two scales together it will fee found that m the whole they work out the same. If two dosrs were jurfc..?d by the

two scales it would be found that the one dog would win in both contests. It is absurd to say that one scale f avoprs ; the head and the other the bod?. On the surface it may seem so, for the Incorporated give 10 more'points for the body than the-British: but, on the other hand, the British give 10 more -marks than the Incorporated' for general appearance, which include three for condition, four for size, and three for colour, which correspond with the 10' points given for size, coat, and colour embodied in the body points of the Incorporated scale. Our object of comparing the two standards and the two scales, and showing that they are in spirit the same, is in the hope shat the wish, of all bulldog clubs and the entire fancy may be gratified', and that there shall be in future only one uniform standard for all clubs.