FANCIERS' COLUMN.

Otago Witness, Issue 3429, 2 December 1919, Page 45

FANCIERS' COLUMN.

The Otago Witness has been appointed the official organ foivthe publication oi announcement* ol the Dunedin Fanoiers' Club.

THE KENNEL.

B? Terror. Fanoierß and breeders of dogs are oordially lnrited to contribute to this column. "Terror"' will endeavour to make this department as 'interesting and up-to-date aa possible, but in order to do this he must have the go-operation ol His readers* hence he trusts this invitation will be cheerfully responded to. the same t>reed her next litter will show ho trace of the misalliance. bably a case of mange, and I cannot do better than refer you to some notes on its cause and ccfife by "Medicus," taken from Our Dogs, which appear in this week's notes. Visitors from Dunedin to the Canterbury Kennel OVub's show, held last week in Christchurch, report that the exhibits were of good quality, and the entry was good. They speak highly of the hospitality of the Christchurch fanciers, and acknowledge that they thoroughly enjoyed their visit. I am promised a report of the bulldog section for my next week's notes. This- week I am publishmg some remarks by One of our local spaniel fanciers.

The number of spaniels benched at the Canterbury Kennel Club's Show, 1919, was not of a large number after looking round at several other breeds, especially-the Airedale and fox terrier, which appear to be the stronghold in Canterbury at the present time. (Nevertheless, the sporting dogs found a good proportion of. interest, owing to the. class of dogs benched being well up to the equal of previous years' shows. The black cockers lacked in numbers to thj coloured cocker, but the quality was on the side of the blacks, as the special for the best cocker went to Mr A. Kidd's bitch, Sylvan Smart Set,' a nice cloddy 1 type. Although a litsl'e short in head, and could be slightly lower, but good in bone, body, and ear placement, showed Well, and should make an excellent, worker. Mr Kerl-'s Lady Gambler was.-unfortunate in being placed second, as she is of nice quality, good in bone, head, ears, and shows well. The opinion round the ring was that the decision should have been reversed, but the judge perhaps found something to warrant his deciding the red ticket being given to the younger of the two. Mr Price's dog, Melrose Bruce, wa'i" a nice type, looked well, but lacked a little in action, being good in head, ear, bone, and coat, with a nice dark eye, and should do a lot of winning in" the near future. Touching on the coloureds, they were a fine, all-round lot, and the supremacy went to Mr Campbell Aitchesoh's black-and-white dog, Papanui Swell, which is a dog well to be proud of. His actions were ' excellent, and he possesses all the good qualities of a cocker—■ nice head, ears, body, bone, and dark in eye. Mr Speddiiig's Rocklyn. Laddie- is rather loose in'front, little weak in eye, but otherwise a nice type of coloured dog. Ho was somewhat timid in the ring. Mr Kerr's Straven '. Lass was a nice type of bitch, good in head, ears, and bone, but a little weak in colour of eye. In the puppy classes Mr Price benched some promising youngsters,, which should be heard of at later shows, especially his coloured puppy dog, Melrose Bobs. Dear "Terror," —After an absence of sorjie years I have lately attended two of the leading dog shows. What chiefly struck me was the great deterioration in nearly all breeds in the last few years. The reason for this deterioration is, in my opinion, the rediculous classification adopted by the various Kennel Clubs, under which dogs which are very inferior spe'eimens take a number of first prizes simply, for want of competition. To give a couple of instances with which I am personally acquainted: A friend of mine some time ago was presented with a puppy bred from parents with a long list *of prizes to their credit. He intended to send it to a, show, but before doing so asked me for my opinion of it. Thp animal was utterly untypical of its breed, and I told him that he had better keep it at. home. However, he sent it to the show, and in due course I received a telegram that it had taken six firsts, to which I replied that there could not have been any other competitors. This proved to be the case. In six classes it was the only entry, while in two others it had only one opponent, which was each time placed above ft; However, it has a record of six first prizes. Another acquaintance of mine had a bitch puppy, which, though obviously of a certain breed, was a "very poor specimen indeed. I was therefore surprised to hear that it had been sent to a show, and had won no fewer than seven first prizes in the following clases: —Puppy (open), colonial-bred, limit, novice! maiden! ! and junior ! ! ! I can understand the puppy and open classes, but the others seem to mo quite superfluous, and should be done away with. Exhibitors of horses, cattle, sheen, poultry, and pigs are content ,to win in one class with each exhibit, and exhibitors of dogs should be satisfied to do the same. The majority of the doors now being shown ore poor, not to say bad. specimens of their varieties. Owing- to the multiplication of classes and want of compr-tit'on dogs which are not worth a .commended card go forth to the world as winners of many first prizes. These dogs are bred from and their progeny sold to the uninitiated public on the strength «>f these numerous prizes. And so the deterioration ffoes on steadily till there i<s IJifccdlv a good dorr to be on the bpnehes. At one of the shows that T lately attended there wore 574 classes, which attracted T 8 individual dogs. Some of the entries did not put' m an appearance, so that thera were iust three classes per doe. An average of three dogs p*>r class would he bad eno"gh, but three classes per dorr is absurd. The winners of many first prizes boat exactly the same onnonents in class after class, except where tb<>v had a number of win-, without competitors. The biercrest class in thfi whole show had only six entries. What. I ask. is the valnc_ of prizes won tinder such conditions, n/nd is it any wonder that almost- every breed of dog in New Zealand is losing ground? Two reforms s-~em to me necessary —(1) to do nwav with nil these superfluous classes, and to limit them to open and poppy classes, and (2) to cret competent judges who will not be afraid to pass over inferior specimens for want of merit. As long as dogs which are really bad specimens of their breeds are loaded with first prizes, so long will the

deterioration of our dogs continue. —I am, eto., Senex."

The feeding of dogs in summer time is a matter of importance towards maintaining condition. Meat is the natural food of the dog if the dog ii in a sttae - of Nature, but kennelled the dog is in an entirely different sphere. Certain alterations in its diet are necessary at all times, especially during hot weather. The food of an ordinary adult dog may be made up of a mixture of boiled meat, boiled green vegetables, boiled rice and oatmeal. The parts must be varied from day to day. The mixture may be made enticing by soaking the vegetables, rio3, or meal with f, strong gravy. Once or twice a week a easpoonful of flowers of sulphur and a similar quantity of magnesia may be added to {he mess. Onco a week a small feed of fresh bullock's liver may bo given to each dog. This will help to regulate the bowels. Also as a change of food a dog biscuit may occasionally be given. Each week the dog should be subjected to a bath in which some effective disinfectant has been mixed. After tho bath the dog should be well rubbed down and afterwards well exercised.

—As I have spoken of bathing I may. as well acknowledge that there are authorities who denounce tho washing of dogs. Mr Hayne, a local fancier, who keeps about 40 Pekingese, never baths his dogs; but he keeps them clean by brushing. He has a circular brush with strong bristles, which is made to revolve at speed by electric power, and the dogs are held against the brush until all parts have been thoroughly brushed, with the result that there are-no vermin, and the coats always have a beautiful lustre. Every dog-owner, however, has not an electrically-driven brush for the effective cleaning of their dogs' coats, nor have they establishments which can be conveniently hosed down at short intervals, and, lacking such facilities, I don't see jhow vermin can be exterminated from either the dogs or their kennels unless plenty of water, soap, and disinfectants are used.

—Mange (which must not be confused with eczema or "red rash") is a complaint due. to the presence of parasites which burrow under the skin of the dog, and set up a pustular, eruption which cannot be mistaken. There are two forms —" earcoptic " and "follicular," into the distinctions between which it is not necessary to. enter here, because the treatment for both is precisely the same; and - what a fancier wants to know is how to diagnose «mango and then how to cure it. It is usual to say that mange is due to dirty surroundings, but that is only partly true. Dirt may encourage it, but it does not originate the mange parasite. A dog kept chained up in a filthy kennel, with dirty skin and matted hair, is likely to be a more promising host for the parasite than a clean, well-groomed dog could ever be. Nevertheless, the cleanest dqg will sometimes receive a visit, arid the parasite quickly ensconces itself under the "skin and sets to work. Speedily there is a multiplication, and in a few days the dog may be. attacked in all directions. The symptoms, as I have said, must not be mistaken for eczema. There is a frightful, remorseles itching, the dog being unable to rest for many seconds; the hair falls off rapidly; pimples filled with pustular matter appear—quite different in appearance from tlie mere redness of skin which characterises eczema; and as- for the afflicted dog himself, he is speedily reduced to a condition of impotent misery and weakness. What is to be done? First a good hot bath with plenty of soft soap. _ During this give his skm a thorough elcansing, and then carefully dry him with a soft, spongy cloth. When he is dry dress him with mange ointment. Of this there are many kinds on the market, all of which arc more or less reliable, provided they arc properly applied in such a manner as to get at tho vermin. It is necessary, whatever is used, to get it well down below the hair and right on to the skin, where it will visit tlie parasites in their homes. Strong "blue" or mercural ointment, and sulphur _ ointment, mixed in equal quantities, is an excellent application, and should be used morning and night until the plague is stopped. When a dog has been cured of mange, something should bedone to get the hair to grow again freely where it has fallen off. - What I have to say on this applies equally well to cases of eczema. Recently several instances have come under my notice in which cocoanut oil (a white paste sold by chemists) has proved very serviceable for this purpose. It is not of much use to rely on preparations of cantharides. so often recommended for the purpose. Cocoanut oil is more in the nature of a nutriment, whereas cantharides is an excitant, supposed, to act by stimulating tho oroots. Another excellent thing is anhydrous wool-fat—the product of sheeps' wool, sometimes sold under the name of lanoline. A mixture of equal parts of woolfat and cocoanut oil, to which a small quantitl of finely-powdered flowers of sulphur has been added, will perhaps form the most satisfactory of all hair stimulants.

A sheepdog club has been formed at Clyde, and 50 members enrolled. Mr S. T. Spain was elected patron and Mr J. H. Keddcl president with Mr J. L. Davidson as secretary and Mr J. M'Leod assistantsecretary. A strone committee was elected, and Mr C. Attfield offerod to provide the sheep for the trial.