THE KENNEL.

Otago Witness, Issue 3029, 3 April 1912, Page 35

THE KENNEL.

By Terror. Fanolers and breeders of dogs are cordially invited to contribute to this column. " Terror " will endeavour to make this department as interesting and up-to-date as possible, but in order to do this he must hare the co-operution of his readers, hence he trusts this invitation will be cheerfully responded to. The Dune Jin Fanciers' Club's committee has appointed Mr R. Menzies to judge bulldogs, and Mr H. Kyle, of Christchurch, to bo judge of all other breeds at their show in June. The question has been raised in a South Australian exchange as to whether it is allowable for the owner of a o'og to throw a ball in the ring while the judging is in progress. The ball is thrown to attract the attention of the dog. and make it stand to the be>r. advantage. That it is allowable the writer quoted says he is quite willing to admit; but it may not bo exact'y fair to exhibitors who are not versed in the art of showing- a dog to the best of advantage. Fox terriers are, in most cases, the variety trained to the use of the ball. The adjudicator is often influenced by the t>o-ition of the dog while in the ring. There can, however, be no objection to the use of a ball unless it interferes with the other competing dogs, and the judge is inconvenienced.

—Another Australian scribe deals with the question in the following terms: — '" The custom of attracting the attention of the dogs by means of various devices is common in the show rinfrs o f Enuland, America, and the Continent. The <lo-r is theiv to show his best, points, and anything that will bring this result about is allowable, so iong as the judge is not: distracted ct disturbed in his view of the <i< gs. Training is a big part of a dog's success in the ring, and' if the throwing of a ball, the shaking of a box of matches, the dropping of a handkerchief, or oilier means of bringing our the best points, are adopted, it is really a help to the judge, because lie has a better chance of discovering the points of the dogs with their aid. As a rule, each exhibitor leads his dog round the ring, which method is bound to give the best results, for the dog will usually exhibit his best gait for bis master. If a man may lead his dog. why may not he throw a ball? The fact that the dogs lead well with their owners gives the judge a better chance of viewing their points. The vital thing required is to induce tho dog to display his best points, so that ho may be judged on bis merits, and, i*" tho throwing of a ball brings about this result, it should be regarded as allowable, so long as tho judge is not disturbed and the ringstewards are satisfied." Tho death of Mr Louis Delius Borsdorff is reported at Heklelberjr, Germany. The deceased was for several years an enthusiastic breeder of collies in Melbourne. He was also a prominent member of the Victorian Poultry and Ivenn"! Club. Among the collier reported by Mr BorsdorfY were champion Ormskirk Palmboarer, who had a sensational record at leading English shows. In conjunction with the late Air Charles Lynnott. be imported the famous collie Ormskirk Amazement. Judges, not prophets wanted. "Hard-

shell," of Adelaide, expresses his opinion on a question which has often been dobated as follows:—"Where does the judge begin and end? Take fox terriers. Suppose a particular strain goes out at shoulder as the dogs mature. Suppose the judlge knows of this fault, Should it weigh with him in arriving at his awards when the dogs come before him in the ring? Some- of the fanciers say ' Yes,' but they don't think deeply enough. A sound view of the situation is that the judge is supposed to know nothing about pedigrees, or the dog's future; all he has to do is to award the prize to the best dog on the day. He is there to judge the points of the dogis brought before him. Ho has to decide on something that he sees in the ring —something that is, in fact, not en something that might or might not < T in the future as the dogs mature. Su ; se he said: "This* is a good puppy to-day; he is the best dog in the ring, bur.—some other puppies from the same strain have gone out at shoulder as they grew up. This puppy might go the same way, therefore I won't give him a place.' What wculd the harvest be? Suppose the judge argued to himself like this, and the dog, didn't go out at shoulder afterwards. Where would the judge who did this kind of thing finish? If he were allowed to work along lines like this there arc other things that would have to come in. and then it would be a case of the judge peering into futurity—a thin-j that no man can do successfully, and a good job, too, — and placing his dbgs according to his idea as to the way they would be likely to turn out later on. No, it seems plain that the judge's job is to place the dogs as they appear to him in tho ring on the day lie can't go past this: lie doesn't want to, and would make an unholy hash of the judging business if he had to peer with tho short-sighted vision of the human into tho mists o ( futurity. This wouldn't be judging; it wculd be prophecy, and wo want, judges, not prophets, in the showring." "Standard," oi the Melbourne Weekly Press. SOS: "The regulations regarding the importation of dogs to Australia are very annoying to those who wish to import There is not so much cause for complaint with respect to dogs exported from the United Kingdom. The period of quarantine in such cases has been reduced. But importation of dogs from other countries has been prohibited altogether, and' several persons, unaware of this new regulation, havo brought dogs to our shores These importations had either to be destroyed or returned again to the place froim which they came. Yet there does not appear to be any sound reason why dogs from countries other than Great Britain should not bo allowed to land here."