FANCIERS’ COLUMN.

Otago Witness, Issue 3617, 10 July 1923, Page 47

FANCIERS’ COLUMN.

The Otago Witness has been appointed the ofBU *ial organ for the publication of announcements if the Dunedin Fanciers’ Club.

THE KENNEL.

By

TERROR.

fannlera and breeders of dogs OTe cordially Sited to contribute to this column. “Terror*’ wit! •ndeavour to-make this department as interesting and op-to-date as possible, but in order to do this fee must have the co-operation of bis reader*, feence he trusts this invitation will be oheeriuUy responded to. —* ‘Anxious, ” Bannockburn. —I bare interviewed the Government veterinary surgeon and others interested in dog ailments, and all agree that if your dog is living when you read this he should not live much longer. Seven years of possibly strenuous life is evidently as much as his constitution can stand. I am sorry I cannot give you more encouragement, particularly in view of the great interest you take in the patient. —“Pom.” —l am putting particulars of what a pomeranian should be in this issue. —Mr A. Dunne, of Dunedin, purchased a few weeks ago a nice miniature orange sable pomeranian bitch from Mr J. Doe, and has now bought a very nice 221 b miniature chocolate sable dog from the same breeder. These dogs are unrelated. The bitch is by Itheia Sunstar —Itheia Biddy, and the dog is by Ch. Sunkist Galloway—Sunkist Kewpie. A litter brother to the dog owned by Mr Doe has won at Dunedin and Ashburton three firsts and two specials for best dog or bitch, and a challenge certificate. —Mr J. Doe's (Invercargill) young black cocker bitch Rabymere Black Bess has been mated to the blue roan cocker clog Gunner Mac, winner of three firsts and two seconds at Dunedin. —Remuera Tni, a black pomeranian bitch, has been mated to her kennel mate Hazeldene Sable Boy, and Mr Doe tells me that he hopes for something exceptionally good from this combination, the pedigrees of both containing the names of great winners. —Mr F. Best, of Hamilton, has bought from Mr Doe the Irish terrier dog Kabymere Rebel Result, shown at Dunedin show. —Mr J. B. Williams has mated his winning coloured cocker birch to Mr Jri. Ottley’s stud dog Hairloom. This will produce a double cross of Southboro Sentinal (imp.) blood. —Mr Ben Kench has had a few tempting offers for his Australian-bred Irish terrier bitch, which was a good winner at Hamilton show. This breeder also has a line puppy from’ the above by Mr Shepherd's old favourite, Bumpy. —Mr O’Connor had the misfortune to lose his Irish terrier bitch through getting a chill. lie had her entered at Dunedin show, but did not bench her, as she took bad a few days before. —Mr W. 11.I 1 . James has a pair of nice fox terriers (dog pups) by the Australian-bred dog Tyreel, ex a bitch by Southboro Symbol. This fancier has been in a private hospital for some weeks, but his friends will be glad to hear he is well again. —A Big Entry.—The Ladies’ Kennel Association (Inc.) England, at its one-day

show held at Richmond (London), on May 16 last, had a total of 3657 entries. Pekingese provided the largest number —viz., 242; Alsatian wolf dogs came next with 133; cockers third with 177- Irish terriers fourth with 176; Pomeranians 155; wirehaired fox terriers 129; smooth fox terriers 121; Cliovv chows 120. Fifty-six different breeds were represented, and many of them in considerable strength. The smallest entry was pointers, two. —Trimming.—A great deal has been said and written regarding trimming dogs for show, but as a writer to an English paper puts it, there is much to be said in favour of the practice. He says:—“To take any rough-haired terrier into the show ring today ‘untrimmed’ would be to court certain failure. I think the object or purpose of trimming is entirely misunderstood by ihose who write about it. Why is it done? A man s beard, if not trimmed occassionally, would grow like a wilderness, and at every turn the rising youth would air his impertinence by shouting ‘Beaver!’ Now, no man shaves or trims his hair for the fun of the thing. lie does it to improve his appearance facially, and to make himself presentable and fashionable. The chief reason for dressing dogs is to make them look attractive to the public, so that they may ‘fancy’ them and wish to purchase and keep them as a hobby. I have owned, bred, and judged champions at Crystal Palace, Darlington. Newcastle. etc., especially Bedlingtons, Irish and Scotch terriers, all of which must be trimmed a little for the show bench, on:y sufficient to Mease the eye, and particularly about the head; and the dog has as much right to have his hair dressed as the man. To write or talk against it is like flogging a. dead horse. It does no good, but a. lot of harm. . I think both fox and Irish terriers should be docked shorter than at present, as so Tie of them have on unpleasant habit of curling their too long tails over their backs, and they should be as nearly as possible erect. To me a gay tail in any terrier is an eyesore. However, the show dogs of our kingdom are much handsomer than anything from abroad, and I find a .g’ood Irish terrier. Bedlington, or cocker spaniel can generally carry' off the specials for ‘best in the show.’ Therefore, f g r heaven’s sake, give u,p grumbling, and ‘Smile, smile, smile.’ ”

The great Chicago show, March 29, 30 and 31, benched close on 600 dogs. --Press Criticism.--Mrs Edith Conway Evans, of Shepherd’s Bush, a breeder and exhibitor of Pekingese, sought in the King’s Bench division to recover damages from Our Dogs for adverse criticism In the report of a show at which Wee Wu. Mrs Evan s dog. was exhibited, the critic wrote that. Wee Wu was not sound on its legs, and the lady owner affirmed that the value of the dog had been lessened thereby and (hat several fanciers who had booked’their bitches for the stud services of Wee Wu had cancelled them after reading the criticism. At the end of a lengthy judgment Mr Justice Shearman remarked : “The conclusion I have arrived at on the facts is that this criticism was honest, and that being so, it is not actionable, and the action must be dismissed with costs.” As “Our Doga” points out, “a great principle was vindicated—-i. e., the freedom of the press. As an English daily remarked: “Mr Justice Shearman’s judgment in the Pekingese dog case is clearly just, and much more important than the case itself. . . . The criticism, just or otherwise, was evidently quite honest. There was no evidence of malice. The action ought never to have been brought. But it may have served some purpose if it helps to establish a cardinal principle of newspaper criticism which ought never to be in any doubt.” —The Pomeranian and Pomeranian Miniature. —Now one of the most popular of show dogs, the Pomeranian, first came into real prominence about 30 years ago, although he had been known to us for many yeare before that. So far back as 1871 a class was provided for them at the Kennel Club’s show. There was on that occasion three dogs exhibited. Nowadays, at even the smaller exhibitions, we count them by the score—of all colours and shades of colours. The Pomeranian and Pomeranian miniature are alike in characteristics, the only distinction between the two being that of weight, the former exceeding 71b. and the latter weighing anything from 71b downwards. The principal points are coal, head. ears, and bodv shame. The head should be foxy in shape, the muzzle fine, and the skull rather flat (not apple-headed); the ears should be small, finely pointed at the tips, carried not too far apart, and perfectly erect: eves medium in size, neither round and large nor too ferrety; the body should be very short and compact. the ribs well sprung, and the chest modernfelv broad; the leg bone very fine; the tail should be turned over the back, upon which it should lie almost flat, the hairs of the tail and the frill of the neck meeting at the shoulders: the coat should consist of an under and outer coat, the former being der.se. fluffy, and heavy, 'the latter as abundant as possible, and narsh in texture: it should be particularly profuse on the tail (plume) and neck (frill), and the more coat on the body the better. The forelegs should he wHI feathered, and the hindquarters plentiful!-,’ endowed with long hair down to the hock joint. The body coat should stand well off-i.e.. it must not part in the centre or lie flat to the bodv. The feet should be small, and the action extremely lively arid buoyant. There are many colours—whites, blacks, browns, light and dark (the latter frequently called chocolates) blues, orange, beavers, creams, and shaded sables, the latter consisting of dogs shaded throughout with three or more colours: the hair to be as uniformlv shaded as possible, with no patches of self-colour. There are also parti-coloured specimens, in which the colours (whatever they are) should be distributed on the body in patches.