FANCIERS’ COLUMN. THE KENNEL.

Otago Witness, Issue 3755, 2 March 1926, Page 57

FANCIERS’ COLUMN.

THE KENNEL.

The Otago Witness has b«sen appointed the official organ ior the publication o i announcements of the Dunedin Fanciers’ Club.

Terror.

By

Fanciers and breeders of dogs are cordially incited to contribute to this column. “Terror”’ will cudeavour 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 renders, hence he trusts this invitation will be cheerfully responded to. “Whippet.”—This dog is a miniature greyhound, and is described as a cross between a greyhound and terrier in the first placo, but the breed is now a complete entity of its own. It is very popular in mining centres in England and Australia for racing on a course. For general purposes from 151 b to 181 b or 201 b is the most useful weight, and of cither whole or mixed colours. Fawn, bramble, blue, rod, and whito arc very common ones. The coat should bo fine and (dose. The constitution must be sound (otherwise a whippofc is not the slightest use), and the chest of good capacity—i.e., the dog ought to bo well-hearted. A long, lean, finelychiselled head (wide between the eyes and flat on the lop, with bright, expressive eyes, and small rose ears, are essentials, Shoulders should have a sood slope; the neck long, clean, and inclined to be straight, not arched, as stated by some authorities. Fore limbs: These must be as straight as a line, have good bone, be long, have well-dev eloped muscles, and well placed in relation to the body. Tho shoulders should be long, the arms long, foroarms very long, and pasterns long, but proportionate. The loins are very important features in a good whippet. This region should show strongly developed muscles, be slightly arched, passing in front

on to a broad and square back. Front ribs to be well rounded and long, the back ones short. Hindquarters, tail, and feet: If a racing dog is poorly developed in these regions, he is no use for the purpose. The outlines of the individual muscles ought to be plainly seen. Long first and second thighs are a sine qua non in the whippet. Both width and strength are necessary. Well-bent stifles and strong hocks are equally essential, with feet round and well split up. The tail should be long, tapered, and nicely curved. General appearance of the whippet: A smart, racilvbuilt, active-looking dog, of various colours, having a deep chest, narrow waist, and long, beautifully modelled muscular extremities. . Mr James Lilioo, of Lochiel, Southland, has purchased from Mr Mark Hay ton of Otley, a sheep dog, Kep, that is reported to have few equals in the show ring. Kep has a great number bf successes to nis credit. He has been at 33 trials since his first appearance at seven months old, and has won 31 prizes, including 15 firsts and five challenge cups. He is of Border collie breed, keen to obey, and his style is good. New Zealand Dogs.—Messrs Rogen and Somerville’s blue-roan cocker spaniel bitch Roano has whelped a litter of eight puppies sired by ch. Rochlyn Rangi. They include four blacks and four blue-roans. Roano was imported from New Zealand, and is a bitch of nice all-round quality. Mr F. Rogen, who has recently returned to Victoria from a visit to Now Zealand, states that cocker spaniels on the average are better in New Zealand than in Victoria, but “we have a few individual dogs that stand out.” In toy dogs, terriers, and sporting dogs, he says, New Zealand is a long way ahead of Victoria in type and quality. In rough-coated collies they have a good number of typical stocks, and in Border collies they are very strong. In Airedale terriers New Zealand is improving its stock by importing some of the best dogs from England. The question is often asked, “What is the normal temperature for a dog?” It is lOldeg to 101.5 deg, always allowing that young dogs have a slightly higher temperature than older ones. Anything over the degrees mentioned denotes fever. Action in Pekingese.—“ Lady Betty,” Our Dogs (England) regular correspondent on Pekingese, says: “Two essential characteristics in Pekingese are soundness and character, and action and carriage in the ring are the tests for these, the only tests it is the judge’s duty to apply. Persistent bad carriage in the ring, refusal to walk or run properly slinking action and tail dropping—all these are due to defects of either body or character. They may be due to unsoundness or to cowardice—in either case, a. defect in a vital breed characteristic. As Mrs de Winton rightly points out. much lies in the hands of the owners, to whose neglect of proper training much of the defective show carriage may be due. Most dogs need training to show properly. There are a few natural ‘ born showers,' fearless and courageous from puppyhood onward, but the majority heed a little training, and this fact "novice owners do not always realise. But when a deg is accustomed to show surroundings, ond no longer a puppy but an old hand at the game, if he still is unable to move freely, with head erect and tell well over the back, he should not be awarded highest honour in any case, because he has failed in either soundness or character, and posably in both vital points. As regards training dogs so as to prepare them for the disconcerting surroundings of a show, the method of the late Lord Decies with his Pekingese may be mentioned as an example of thorough preparation. Lord Decies used to lead his Pekingese around on Paddington platforms, where they became so used to crowds, noises, and strane odours, and so confident that no harm could come to them on their owner’s lead, that the worst noises in a show left them quite calm and unperturbed ” There is nothing bolter than a solution of quassia as a remedy for and prevention of all sorts of external vermin on dogs or cats. It is a simple and inexpensive remedy. Quassia chips may be purchased from any chemist, and may be bought in quantities to save expense, as they will nevci deteriorate in strength if kept dry. To make a solution of these, nil a basin with chips to about half, and ackl cold water. Hot water is not necesto bring out the bitter alkaloid from the wood. Do not make more than you will use in the next 24 hours, as once "wet the chips quickly become inculdv. Thoroughly dress the coat and skin with the solution, and repeat the process day by day. if necessary, until all parasites are exterminated. The solution is quite harmless to the oog, even if it should lick itself. Feeding Our Dogs.—Noel M Sedvwick, in an article in Our Dogs (England), writes on this very important subject as tollows‘ Many of our canine companions suffer through the medium of overfeeding and what is more important, by the choice ?■ foofi m. and the hour of meal time. There are degs of all sizes and shapes, of all ages and breeds, from the gentle lap-dog to the hound of brutal strength and energy, yet to them all there snoulcl be assigned a fundamental principle in connection with their feeding, the very punctuality that we humans enjoy, though of a somewhat lesser degree and variety and with a greater space of time extending between the meals. A dog require l * one large meal a day—a good time for this being when we eat our breakfast-and a small handful df biscuits before it retires for the night. Too often are our pets fed at all times and upon all kinds of dainties available, with the result that they become listless, inactive, and unpleasantly smelly. Such method of feeding is fatal for a sporting dog which is expected to ) 7 °„ i, 0 , £ ,,n * soon becomes pulled and lazy, and in a great many cos ’? , n , jnritation sets in, and continual scratching ensues. This is irritating for both man and dog, but it is the dog who is actually in distress. Wholesome food is tho keynote to health, and to-day there is a variety of dog foods on the market that have been prepared with the object of giving the greatest amount of nutriment to the dog with n minimum of inconvcnionce to those who feed it. As the main feature of the meal these biscuit foods cannot bo bettered. The scraps from the. household, or pieces of cheap meat from the butcher, should be boiled down into n tasty stew and mixed with tho biscuit meal, this having been previously soaked in hot water. An addition of milk is nlwnys appreciated. Biscuit foods may be had in variety, and, with the rate of progress, manufacturers have perfected their foods, and so «ro able to market them in pureness of material, fully cooked, and

ready for use, except for the minor item of soaking them in hot water as before mentioned. Nothing tends to make dogs a nuisance at meal times more than the habit of giving them scraps from the plates, and a spoilt dog may well be compared with a precocious child. It should be remembered that it is cruelty rather than kindness to overfeed a dog, for a fat and * scratchy ’ dog is too taken up with its material and irritating troubles to enjoy its life as fully as it would do were t healthy, in good condition, and less pampered. In the interests of obedience and routine the dog should be fed in one place and at a regular time, and it is essential to keep the feeding and drinking utensds clean, and leave no stale food or water in them. Fresh water is an asset, and this, too, should be found in one placo, so that the dog can refer to it when it is thirsty Half the diseases arise from the stomach, and so this organ of the anatomy should receive the first consideration, and plain and wholesome food be administered as above, in place of the more common and sentimental scraps, which are so well meant, but which do irreparable harm to the system. If method is studied and firmly adhered to, there > is no reason why so many of us should kill our canine pets out of pure kindness.’*