THE KENNEL.

Otago Witness, 1 June 1910, Page 35

THE KENNEL.

By TERRon. and breeders of dogs are cordially invited to contribute to this column. "Terror" will endeavour to make this department as interestloK 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 cbaeriullr responded to.

The first paragraph in the poultry column contains reference .to this week s show of the Dunedin Fanciers Club, and will be found as applicable to Kennel interests as it is to Poultry. A correspondent informs me that he has a. working collie puppy dog- 12 months old which, though well till very recently, has now gone oft its feed, and there w saliva hanging in great quantity from its mouth, and it has also a bad cough. The case is probably one of catarrh, with inflammation of the salivary glands. Throw three or four grains of powdered chlorate of potash on the back of the tongue two or three times a. day, and give half a teaspoonful of syrup of squills, with five drops of ipecacuanha, wine twice a day. ..._'< Wattlebark," of the Austnlasian, writes:—Fanciers of ten years back will remember Mr John de Beer, who, before removing to New Zealand, was an ardent fancier and a staunch supporter of the Victorian Poultry and Kennel Club. He was interested in Great Danes for a number of years, but he always had a 1 iking for the quaint Dachshund. Lately iVIr de Beer communicated with Mr R. Simee, so well known as a breeder of these dogs, and as a result purchased an all red seven-months-old dog puppy. This dog leaves by the s.s. Mo-ana during the week for his new owner's address. It is by l-he veil-known winning Dachshund champion Joy Joy—

Chamnion Kinchen. The proper feeding and housing of i dogs is a subject that need present no ! intricacies to the average intelligent indi-

vidual. Yet few take the trouble to master it. Broadly speaking, the best families of various breeds have been raised to their i present state of superiority by continual attention to breeding and feeding, and it

cannot be. said thai either of these agencies J ■Jia.s played tho'moro important Vole, as! both are-equally necessary to, produce. 3,n<j ■ maintain lmprovtMuoiit. The v;wue or highly bred dogs lies largely in the (act that liberal feeding and good o,llc continued for generations have produced an organisation capable of rasrmiidiiig .to proper feeding and care, and >» turning them into good account. To keep the : vital powers of such animal* at iho mr.xi- i mum by liberal nutrition and a general high standard of living must bo tnt- prm- j cipal aim of the breeder wim seeks to , maintain unimpaired, the vucku oiuiliti.-s I for which he values his stc.ck. j It. is a common thing to see a higli-elass j strain deteriorating rapidly in mexperi- j p.nced hands. Uoss receiving pa.atuble, j varied, and digestible food, containing liberal quantities of animal origin, grow j more rapidly and have stronger, larger : bone and more vigorous organs than those j fed mainlv on starchy foods; so that therations of breeding stock should consist. largely of meat. In consider ng the ad vis- , ablcncss of this or that we have to bear in mind that the stomach of the dog is very small—which shows that it is unwise to ( give bulky nutriment. For this reason • vegetables" are not desirable. It ■wui.d bo the height of cruelty to turn a carnivorous animal into a vegetarian. Oatmeal is very useful but it must be cooked for at least three hours. Puooies thrive well on brown 4 bread mixed with boiled meat, and the ; soup in which it is cooked. Many oeop.<> ; out too much water to the meat when it j is being cooked. We believe in feeding as . dry as possible. Broken biscuits, bread, ■ rice or oatmeal can be incorporated w'th ; the cooked meat without being flooded'.in a washy Honor which is of sme.ll nutritive value. The great advantage of cooking is that anv parasitical life is destroyed in the process. A good feed or fresh raw meat, once or twice a. week will be found beneficial. The fact that dogs v/ill p;ck ur> offal and. eat it leads some to imagine that it does not matter whether the meat is fresh or not. But we are firmly convinced that frequent gastric troubles are caused bv tainted meat. Then there is the c-.ai ger of ptomaine poisoning from -its use. Are we not frequently hearing of dogs changing bevond recognition after passing into new hands? Neither luck nor change ot environment has invthing to ; do with this , transformation, which has been effected • solely by the wiser methods wm*M>yed by the new' owner. Again, how often do we ' know of a rwmw which as a voungster was distinctly inferior to his brothers and sisters coming along so well that he beats them easily in nftev life? On investigation it will usually be found that he hnd <rone , into the possession of a. man who had the skill to make the most of him. An instance of the faithfulness ot "our friend the -doe-." was noted recentlv at Parkes ' (N.S.W.I. A lad named 1 Devenish- - wont rabbit shootinsr. accom- . naniod. bv~hi*-.dog. As the boy did not re- - turn at night a search was instituted, and , he was found.next morning in an old shaft. I The boy had memped down the shaft in pursuit of a rabbit, and he was unable to , cet out. The searchers were attracted to the spot by the dog, which kept watch j throughout. —No sportinu, terrier 'the Field. Eng- ; land, savs) has made such ranid progress in popularity as the We«t Hisrhland white ' terrier, for whos" .ns p. d-'stinct variety Colonel- AfaWm, of Poltalloch. had. so lono- a struggle. Sine those davs, howover, admires o f the Wr-d h-ve done Wonders for it. 0* the West Hisrhlartder j it, cannot be said that working ittrib"t«fl ' have sacrificed to cood looks. The i bulk of men and women in hunting coun- | tn'es who h-rve enrolled themselves a? ad- j mirers "* *hn bard"" white terrie" of the , West Highlands bv ioininp- _ the club f-M->r-ed to encourage the breedme- of the rirrht tvne or bv sun-hortinff classes now provided «•*' all the lending «how« have no*, lost sisxht of the fact + hat the old terrier is. prim-a.vilv n. worker' ! It would bo sroir>' T over well-traversed j to veneat. the nvguments u=cd bv , Colonel Malcolm a.n rl other owners in eun"ort of tVr> vprno-nition of the. terrier bv the Stud. "B-ok o*"mittee of the governing I bodv. but the rR-vdd increa.se ?n the ri'irobe-" j of admirers of th" breed fnllv vindicated i the _ approval, of tbe Kennel Club. The j greate«t »idmirere o f the variety n-oint out several differences, tne, ehiie* one ' l °'' ln ' in evnrpission. That these West Hisrhland wh-'te towif>rs ae-e »nort.«""'n mav h*> fathered from the fact tba+ this s°ason it iV««norted the terriers Swjnte«. rv,bho"">. n.n-i Jura, owned bv the i?"n. Mrs T -ionel Portm.an. nave accounted for nine b-->dcw>rS and six without any othe'- '•errcer' beini»' nre^ent. Thove ™as an arMiinvfto- seonel recentlv to the Vmin"">nt of t};ii:„ «. ne tv>* bnllV of t.no gnd Poval Tn'sn Rifles, at Dov»y. Tt mav be VomeTnb/"-ed f OAvino- to llis ha.vin"- discra" o '' himself bv biting an errand boy. B"' ,; e had been sent awav c -om Tlover. His ne<v has row u "-""oip the '.ninial bv>k. T t nnpea.rs that, gillie jince his exile beaan has been so "•-orose that evevvone his been afraid of j him. The man's; nvplanation i= that the ; Jnrr has wMwd fo" the sound of th° j Hugjeq. and ctronT pre *" bo mad" +o ohtoiv. b.-o P.-'llie went, throuoh + he South African war. and wears the medals.

CHRTSTfR TTW r«ur SHFEP-POG T»T,tT«.

CHUTSTOHTTHCTT. Mav 27. At tbfi Christehnrch sheen-dost trials toda" Mi H. G. Wnters. of Barewood, Central Otaaro. von +he fn-st prize of £25. the champion itoH medal, and the chalcup in the Heading. brimrinigf back, lioWi'in; in the rinar. and yarding class. Mr TT. T. Little's Don was second. Mr W. J. Craig's Fan third. Mr R. ft. Eollonkfs "Rob..fourth*, and Mr A. Tiirpin's Lady fifth.