THE KENNEL.

Otago Witness, Issue 3380, 25 December 1918, Page 45

THE KENNEL.

BT TXBBOB. Fanciers and breeders of dogs are oordiany iaTited to contribute to this column, "'.Terror" will end/tavour to make this department as Interesting .uni up-to-date as possible, but in order to do this he must have the co-operation of his readers, senoe he trusts this invitation will be ,oh«tfiuHf tespouded to. During the continuance of the British blockade of German ports we have read a good deal of tho shortage of food in enemy countries and of the length to which their population went to make up the deficiency. Amongst other things we heard much of the tendency to eat dog flesh, and! no doubt many of us thought that to be somewhat of an innovation. Looking up some back fliea of the Otago Witness, I find under

the heading "Kennel Column," January 18, 1900, the following, par, which shows that dog flesh was German food even in time of peace:—"ln Germany they love tho dog, the faithful friend of man. They love' him bo much that they cannot bear the pain of parting from him. Consequently, they have taken to the practise of eating him, and the consumption of the dead dog is giving rise to a flourishing industry, for. according to the 'Statistical Annual of German Towns,' slaughter-houses where dogs are prepared for human food have been established at Chemnitz, Leipzig, Dresden, Breslau, Hallo, and other centres. In Dresden, dog flesh is said to cost about 3d or per lb. In the next campaign the German soldier will not starve. Should the commissariat run short he will eat the 'faithful friend of man' which invariably accompanies German troops on the march." Dear "Terror,"—-I am not aware if, in the past, you have ever devoted any space in your column to the use of our -canine* friends in. the great war. Whether you have-or have not, I think all fanciers, are fully aware of the marvellous part dogs have taken in and behind the lines at the war zone. These specially and high-trained animals of various sizes and! breeds have done yeoman service in the alleviation of the suffering of wounded soldiers and id the carrying of despatches. British papers dwell at great length on the wonderful doings of the dog at the front, so I do not propose • going to any length on this at present. It may interest, however, readers of this column that the war is not the first in which dogs have played an important part., ~-. In earlier days they were more used for actual fighting than for humane work. In/the Spanish conquest of America large mastiffs were used extensively. One of these, Bercerillo, was a dog of enormous size and prodigious strength. So ferocious and so appreciated. was this animal that he received double rations, and his owner received an extra salary for the dog's valuable service.! Another/instance is one called Leoncico, who belonged to Balboa, discoverer of the South Seas.;, This dog fought many memorable battles at the side of his master, and received, officer's pay. The most murderous and savage pack Were brought'from Spain by (strange to say) a German named Federmanij. These dogs were &l. a, most savage nature, and! greatly feared by the natives. It is stated 'that the natives would rather> have faced a regiment of Harquebusiers than this pack of canines. In order to protect jkhem against the poisonoua arrows of, the enemy they each wore a coverlet of light' armour lineal with wool.—l am, etc.,, Fanoikr.—[l have to thank "Fancier" for his very: interesting letter. I may "say, however, that I have devoted a good deal of space in the course of the war in relation to the use made of dogs by the * Allies.] ~ i''-.'i The modern collie has been increased in height as well as in length of skull, but it is questionable whether the change has made collies . either more useful or more valuable. The change, it is suggested, has been brought \ about by the introduction of Borzoi blood. Mr W. E. Mason, a wellknown 'English breeder of collies, writes as follows on this matter. He says:—"lt will be apparent io the thoughtful student of the collie-.that there is more than one type of dog gaining prizes at our leading shows. This, in a sense, cannot be avoided, but we hold that a.bad'dog of the -right type (if the paradox may be pardoned) can often beat a good dog of a wrong type. I need not.split hairs;- but I do feel,' after mature and very earnest thought, that a time has come when a firm hand! must be taken against the prominence extended to dogs owning Borzoi characteristics. Ido not propose to designate the usurpers as Borzois, but shall henceforth refer,to them as of foreign origin. The word Borzoi cannot truly describe the origin of the evilf It is a fact that one of our biggest and most successful breeders has in the past used a Borzoi in seeking for his ideals. A continual striving after length and fineness of headl has evolved many specimens with heads of a totally different type to that of the real collie, even in strains of pure origin. Not to the head onlv do we confine our remarks. In-breeding is responsible for the loss of much of the real collie coat and stamina, and to-day we see dogs placed in the ascendant that have neither the shape, coat, gait, nor head of the true collie. One only has to note the remarks of many of the younger fanciers expressed as they walk along the benches at almost, any show to realise that very few of them recognise the real article when they see it, but the same men consistently eulogise as 'good uns' the specimens with long, fine heads, half-moon skulls, Romanised noses, heavy eyebrows, and optics of the monkey. Deplorable as their case surely is, the responsibility does not rest on their shoulders nearly so heavily as it does on those who knew, or ought to know, better, and it is to that section of the fancy that I venture to appeal." An excellent laxative medicine for dogs is the liquid extract of caseara sagradia (a species of buckthorn), which is a most useful hepatic, and being very mild in its action can safely be given to the most delicate dogs. In capsules, it is easily administered. Dog owners should make a practice of giving this or something' of the kind regularly (that is, once a fortnight), for by so doing their dogs will be kept in a healthy state, and worms will have no ohance of becoming troublesome. It is not necessary to give large doses of aperients; a mild, scarcely noticeable dose, as a rule, Is all that is needed. Some people have a weakness for giving their dogs large doses of medicine, on principle. They seem to think that unless a dog is well drenched now and again he will not keep healthy, and then, if_ the d'og falls ill, he must have one great big dose, which is to suffice for treatment. The folly of such methods is very patent. It is a great deal better to give to a dog a small dose of medicine frequently than a large spasmodic drenching, which, in nine cases out of ten, is not recovered from for several days. Especially is this the case in dealing with diseases which require tonic treatment, in such cases no medicines will do good, unless persevered in with longcontinued patience in small but regular doses. No better instance of the truth of this can be adduced than is offered by chorea—"twitch"—that awful contingency that follows every case of distemper, and most often chooses as its victim the choicest and best of d'ogkind. This, said with more or less of truth, to be an incurable disease, can only be in any degree successfully treated by several weeks, or even months, of slow, patient doctoring. The powerful drugs necessary to bring back and keep tho nervous system to its normal state until the whole constitution has recovered itself can only be given in small doses, and some time must necessarily elapse before their virtues can be felt. Unless we are prepared to follow this out wo ha 3 far better have the dog destroyed.