THE KENNEL.

Otago Witness, Issue 2928, 27 April 1910, Page 35

THE KENNEL.

By Terror.

Fanciers and breeders of dogs are cordially in*vited to contribute to this column. " Terror " will endeavour to make this department as interesting and up-to-date as posEibte, but in ord-er to do this he must have the co-operation of his readers, hence he trusts this invitation will be chaerrnUj' responded to.

The New Zealand Kennel Club have allotted' the following challenge classes to the Dunedin Club—viz.: Irish terriers, rough collies, deerhounds, pugs (fawn and black).

The schedule for the Dunedin Fanciers' Club, now in circulation, advises fanciers of the fact that the show is to be held in conjunction with the South Island British Bulldog Club on the Ist, 2nd, and 3rd of June. Entries close on the 7th May. The judges are:—Collies, Mr F. Rogen; bulldogs, bull terriers, and pugs, Mr W. Stanton : spaniels, Mr W. J. S. Dunlop; all other breeds, Mr W. Henderson. Exhibits for the Dxinedin Fanciers' Club show for dogs must be at the old Massey-Harris buildings' by 9 a.m. on Wednesday, the Ist June, and children pets and cats by 9 a.m. Friday, the 3rd. Fox terriei fanciers will be glad to learn from the report published elsewhere" in these columns that a club has been formed in the interests of this popular fancy for the South Island. Fox terriers are great favourites in this part of the Dominion, and included amongst the local fanciers are some of the best known breeders of Australasia. Under such circumstances it is perhaps only reasonable to expec. that even the North Island breeders will regard the establishment of a club for the South Island as in the best interests of the fancy generally. Both clubs (north and south) working in harmony should tend to make the fox terrier even more popular than it is.

A collie bitch arrived by the Turakina last week for Mr James Lilico, of Invercargill, and is now quarantined in Ly ttelton. She whelped a litter of ten on the voyage, but unfortunately only two dog pups survived. These are by the great trial winner K-ep, some particulars of which appeared in this column in the Witness of the 13th 'inst. As the bitch is bred from the_ best lines of working blood in Scotland it is safe to assert that there has seldom been better bred pups from a working standpoint imported into the Dominion. On hearing of the loss of the bulk of the litter Mi- T.ijioo cabled homo for another bitch, a granddaughter of the great Old Hemp, to be forwarded out as soon as she is mated with Kep. This will be a combination of working blood which cannot be equalled in anv oart of the world.

—Mr R. Menzies's bull bitch champion Bargenaistress whelped one dosr ancl two bitch puppies to same owner's Rector, the stud and show dog recently purchased from Mr Alban Gee, of Sydney. —Mr R. Hopkin's bull bitch Sweet Chutney whelped three dog puppies to Mr Msnzies's imported dog Chadwell Prince, but unfortunately two of them have since died. '

Two bull bitch puppies by Greenston ex a Kilbirnie Conqueror bitch were re-

ccntly purchased by Mr T. Snow, one of which has since been sold to Mr Menzies. —Mr J. Adair's Greenstone bitch Moonstone has visited C'hadwell Prince.

—Mr J. Thomson's fox terrier Runswick Cicely (imp.) whelped four pups (one dog and three bitches) to same owner's champion Glendon Major. —Mr J. Maude says that in Australia it is very seldom that wc see a Yorkshire terrier with the length of coat which one finds, them with in the United Kingdom. This may be due to a difference in climate, but I am more inclined to the idea that it arises from the ignorance of their owners as to the best way of growing a coat. Every Yorkshire terrier, no matter bow kept or cared for, will not produce the desired length of coat. One sees very few champion Teds or Dreadnoughts in a lifetime ; nor yet do we meet many Mary Anna Fosters, or Patsy Karawongles, who Knew how to grow a coat, and. when grown, how to keep it on the dog. To those who are no: initiated in how to produce hair the following preparation, applied sparingly, should commend itself, as it is applied to the coat by many breeders: —Castor oil 3oz, olive oil 3oz, coooanut oil loz,, vaseline lOoz, tincture of cantharides 1 dram, and oil of rosemary 1 dram. The feet should be booted to prevent scratching, and little outdoor exercise should be given. Whether for. show purposes or otherwise, the coat should be groomed carefully every day, no matted hair being permitted. It should be brushed the way of the grain, parted in the middle, and worked . downwards. Washing calls for some skill. One of the best soaps is Sunlight. The tub should be filled partly with warm, soapy water, and the dog placed in it. The suds should be brushed well over him, the brush being worked trie way of the coat, which must on no account be allowed to get in a tangle. After he has been rinsed with lukewarm water he should be wrapped in a soft towel, and l patted gently, so that the greater part of the moisture may be absorbed. Again note, that on no account must the hair be ruffled. Afterwards the drying process should be completed by the use of several brushes. Lady Marcus Beresford has for many years made a specialty of rearing and breeding cats. At Bishopsgate, Staines (Eng.j. slit has what she has called her '"Catteries," where the cats live in a creeper-covered cottage, with a small kitchen for cooking the food, racks to hold the white enamelled bowls and plates, a medicine chest, and a room of archives, where documentary evidence of pedigrees and descriptions of all the cats and kittens in the establishment are filed. —ln "Notes for Novices" Our Dogs says:—"Abortion is by no means an uncommon trouble amongst bitches, but it is only occasionally that one comes across an animal habituated to this nost annoying and vexatious practice. Usually premature birth of whelps is due to a temporary or passing cause —some accident it may be, or over-exertion, or a fright, or a dozen other extraneous causes: these would similarly affect various animals, and it is well known that the bitch during her time of pregnancy needs to be protected as far as possible against the happening of any such untoward circumstance. But when abortion has occurred and docs occur again and again with the same animal, it is obvious that there is some internal trouble, and the meet essential thing, by way of preliminary, is to have her examined by a competent veterinary surgeon, with a view to ascertaining if possible what is the 'determining cause, and how, if at all, it can be remedied. Nothing : n the way of medical treatment in such cases will do good, except so far as rest and quiet will avail.

"The troubles of breeding are not confined, however, to such cases as are referred to in the preceding paragraph. A commoner difficulty is that presented when a bitch is unable to give birth to her puppies—an experience of which most bulldog breeders have knowledge. Often the. trouble, when it does not arise in a particular breed, like the bulldog, is due to a little bitch having contracted a misalliance with a dog of much Larger breed. What I want to warn the amateur against in these cases is the danger of well-meant but clumsy interference. It is a job for a veterinary surgeon entirely; or should no vet. be at hand in an out-of-the-way country place, an ordinary doctor who is a lover of dogs would be the next best man; failing whom some old shepherdwho has been accustomed to assist at lambing time is probably the most reliable person to fall back upon. In these matters experience counts for everything, and .theory for very little indeed. "When there has been any parturient trouble with a bitch it is most necessary that she be well looked after for a week or ten days at, the least, since danger often lasts, and blood-poisoning may be started even when it might be supposed that all danger had passed. A bitch that has been exhausted by prolonged birth agonies needs exceptional care, and should be deprived (for the time being at all events) of all her whelps except one or two, until strength has been recovered and the milk supply is working properly, and even then it may not be desirable to bring back the whelps that are being fostered for her. Nourishing food is essential, but it should be liquid or semi-liquid; milk or thin oatmeal and milk is the best staple food for the first two or three days, then get on to lean meat and plenty of it, in addition to the gruelling. I do not believe in stimulants if they can be avoided, as they cause unnatural nervous excitement, and tend (as do also drugs) to disturb the natural secretion of milk, and thus cause trouble in another direction."

A POLAR DASH: DOGS ARE THE REAL HEROES.

When explorers writ© of their dash to the Pole, it is the persistence and. tenac.it> of the dogs which go far to make the account so interesting. Without them explorers would fare badly, and the devotion of these plucky little beasts is generally repaid by death. Captain Umberto Cagni started on his expedition with 80 doge, -returned with only six, and for the last fortnight of the journey he and his companions were obliged to subsist entirely on dog-flesh. On iSansen ancl Johansen's famous journey the story of the dogs is one long-drawn-out tragedy—hard, unflinching work being repaid with death as one after another of the dogs was required for food. When Nan&en and Jo'hansen reached open water, their last two doge, which throughout had been most faithful, had to be killed; and this is how' Johansen described the last scene:—" Ungrateful creatures that wo human beings are! After these clogs had toiled for us and suffered such cold and hunger that it was a wonder Luat thov

held together, all we rewarded their fidelity and devotion with was death, now that w believed we could get back to a life ofc civilisation amongst men again. It was a heartrending business to be obliged to kill them, but unfortunately it had to be done." In order to make it less painfu) they each shot the dog belonging to the other.—. Badminton Magazine.