THE KENNEL.

Otago Witness, Issue 3396, 16 April 1919, Page 45

THE KENNEL.

By Terror. Fanciers and breeders of (Jogs 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 have the co-operation of his readers, hence he trusts this invitation will be cheerfully responded to. - '

The half-annual meeting of the executive oT the New Zealand Kennel Club lapsed for want of a quorum, three of the members being unable to attend through business pressure. The chief business of -the bi-annual fixture js the allocation ol ohallenge trophies for Che year for the Various clubs According to the rules those present may adjourn the meeting until the following day, and then transact any busi ness which may bo brought forward. As none of the members present could arf*an#e this, the meeting lapsed. It is time that the rules were altered to provide for such a contingency, and instead of the meeting being held on the following day, it should be held on the same day. ral Australian clubs' asking when Mr Crabtree is likely to arrive in New Zealand as they are anxious to secure his services. I understand that the Dunedin Club ar<i arranging for a visit in 1922. This is in order to give breeders a chance, as on aocount of the war there is very little young stuff about.

The ninth championship show of the South Australian Bulldog Club is to be held on Saturday, May 3. I "have not seen a schedule, hut according to Australian papers it is a comprehensive affair, and contains a fund of information. New Zealand bulldog: fanoiers may be interested in learning' that in a list of past winners it is shown that the celebrated Tommy. Burns holds the best record, he having- won on four occasions—in fact, no other dog has won more than once. Four English dogs in Wroxham Raisuli. ch Nuthurst Precocity, Don Hoe Briston, and gr ch Kilburn Bombshell have*scored in this event, while it is worth noting that during the last eight years the club's challenge cup for best bitch has, on seven occasions, been annexed by English importations, gr ch Failsworth Pride winning on two occasions. 'Fancier," writing to the Adelaide Observer relative to fox terriers, says: "Some time ago I" was much interested in a controversy by such English authorities as Messrs Theo. Marples, Francis Redmond. Desmond Otfcmnel, and R. Vicary on the size of the fox terrier. Many fine points were raised, and after carefully reading the correspondence from these breeders I artf of opinion that their objective is a biglittle dog, with ample bone and substance, built on graceful lines; the dog about 181 b to 191 b, and the bitch from 1641 b to 171 b. They must bo perfectly balanced throughout, possessing big ribs, short back, anof a hard, weather-resisting coat. Mr O'Connel, in my opinion, struck the key_ to the situation Vyhen he advocated the big dog of undoubted lineage and possessing t the characteristics above referred to as the ideal stud dog. I have proof that to use the small dog_, deficient in ribs and bone, is bad, as invariably his progeny are slabsided, with spindley bone. , If asked to say whether our local breeders pay sufficient attention to these important points, my reply would be in the "nogative, and I am confident many of our judges overlook these important points when running the judicial eye over .the dogs submitted for their opinion. I do not infer that they wilfully neglect these points; but a case oame under my notice some time back where a dog of undoubted merit —in fact, he was tho best smooth fox terrier bred in South Australia — who had won two ohallenge certificates and many first prizes against imported dogs, was turned out of the ling cardless, on the plea that he was too big. The company was poor, but this dog was shown in grand form, and he did not exceed 191 b in weight. If this point was of such vital importance to English breeders and judges, should wo have seen or heard of such champions in Levenside Luke. Venio, Dukedom, Oxonia, Orcadian, or Octavious, dogs that have made history. They were full up to size, and in some cases over. Verdicts such as these mako one wonder why this _ great diversity of opinion if the standard is any guide. I realise that breeding fox terriers of class is not child's play, and am acquainted with men who have been breeding for 25 years, and so far they have not succeeded in producing a good dog, while othersi have given up trying. # However, there is always hope, and it is leasing to note that in local circles an imp?«iment is' noticeable. If wo exercise the greatest care in the selection of our judges, and" refuse to patronise the man who breeds from all and sundry, we may reasonably look, forward for better dogs." —-There are various forms of abscesses constantly 1 being met with in canine practice, but tho worst form is that which contains pus. Why some abscesses contain pus and others do not it is difficult to understand. Amongst dogs which are often given to fighting and bite each other about the face and ears the usual form of abscess caused is that known as "serous." Bites on the ear are often very painful, find generally contain a reddishyellow fluid, which has to be removed very. much in the same way as a pus abscess has to be dealt with. In the case of a serous abscess the knifo should be_ used at once; but with an abscess containing ordinary yellow pus it is better to wait until the ptace appears to bo ripe for discharge and then deal boldly with it. A serous abscess, as a rule, can best be dealt with by the use of a seton, which will enable the place to drain itself, and then no other treatment is required except a. little anti-' septic lotion In the case of a pus abscess, however, tho knife only needs to bn used once and for all, and for the rest bathing and bandaging with warm water and a dressing of carboliscd Aaseline should suffice to put the matter right. Whilst dealing with abscesses a few words may be added with regard to ulcers, which do not, however, often occur amongst animals, and when they do are traceable usually to something wrong in the general state of health and the condition of the blood. Inbreeding amongst certain classes of domestic animals —dogs in particular—is responsible for running sores, no doubt; so, too, pampering and want of normal natural conditions of life. The best treatment for ulcers or running sores Is to bathe them with copper sulphate lotion, and apply a little char-

coal dressing as an antiseptic. Sometimes little- ulcers occur in the mouth, and in these oases the best thin*? to use is a little powdered alum.—"Medious," in Our Dogs. A psychio tremor appears to be passing along- the 'Agony" oolumn of The Times. The other day a brave or enterprising- person, with the usual prosaio box office address,, was appealing for a haunted house. Then the following - inquiry is made:— happens to animals after death?—Advertiser, who has just lost a Soyed and faithful dog, would be grateul for any comforting thoughts on this subject." Unfortunately for both these advertisers, no agency exists for providing practical work-a-day information on such subjects as these. " There is such a thing as 'animal psychology,' " an Evening- Standard representative was informed at tho offices of tho Psychical Research Sooiety, "but from the very nature of the animals the investigations into the subject would naturally be difficult." The society would not commit itself as to whether it could or not comfort animal lovers who would like to believe that there is another world for animals. There were certain books on the subject, scientific inquiry into all psychic matters was necessarily slow and difficult—and that's about all that could bo said. —Evening Standard and St. James's Gazette.