THE KENNEL.

Otago Witness, Issue 3803, 1 February 1927, Page 33

THE KENNEL.

By

Terror.

and Irreeders o! dog* are cordially invited to contribute to this column. ''Terror” will •adearour to mats this department as interesting sad up-to-date as possible, but in order to do this he must hr.rs the co-operation of his readers, hence ho trusts this invitation will be cheerfully Nepoaded to. Country.”—l should recommend your getting a collie. You cannot get a more intelligent animal or a better or more useful companion. However, a paragraph on “The Choice of a Dog ” which appears in this week’s notes may suggest * a dog equally, if not more, suitable for your purpose. • Anxious.’ —Yes, it is possible for a dog to have distemper more than once, but it does not often happen. See that the kennel is kept dry and that the entrance to it is turned so that the maximum of sunlight can enter. There were 4560 entries at the Birmingham Show on December 8 and 9 last. Tins was a record for Birmingham. Alsatians topped the list with 363 entries, followed by wire fox terriers 324. smooth fox terriers 277, cocker spaniels 240, and Airedales 232. Even big breeds, such as Newfoundlands. mastiffs, and Great Danes, showed increases. Distemper.—The Daily Telegraph (England) reports that an Irish veterinary surgeon, Colonel H. T. Ryan, D. 5.0., has been experimenting for some time for a cure of distemper, and has discovered a new treatment which has proved of immense value in those nervous forms of the disease which produce fits, paralysis, and blindness. The treatment consists of an , injection of oxygen beneath the skin. Fox terrier fanciers may be interested in learning that Mr H. Hinchcliff, of Wellington, is expecting the arrival shortly of a litter from his fox terrier bitch leresa of Tunva. she being mated to the English dog ch. Gay Lally, now in Sydney. Teresa was bred by Mr Alf. Feldwick, and is by Wrygarth Sandpiper ex Woolston Sparks. Buying a Dog.—lt is safer to buy a dog about six months old. By this time he, will be “formed,” and weaknesses, if any, are more easily observed. Examine his limbs. Except in a few breeds, the front legs should be straight, and the hind legs should always be parallel. When the hocks approach one another or are bowed outward the dog is unsound. The eyes should be bright the skin supple, and the coat glossy. .Gather up the skin in the hands. If it is loose, the dog is usually in good health. Examine his teeth. Discoloration may have been caused by distemper, and is not necessarily a sign of ill-health. If they are worn down then the dog is not young. Look inside the ears, and see that they are clean and have no discharge. Canker can be cured, but it_is not necessary to

The. Choice of a Breed: Making a Selection.—Robert Leighton in his book “Your Dog” says: “In the circumstances that there are no fewer than 60 distinct recognised breeds of dogs, varying in size from the giant Irish wolfhound to the tiny Yorkshire terrier, the great latitude of choice becomes embarrassing. But •there are certain guiding rules which simplify the difficulty. There are qualities and faculties which all dogs possess in common as distinguishing them' from other animals. All well-behaved dogs, whatever their breed, give tongue in sounding the alarm, all become more or less devoted to their owner, obeying his wishes and following at his heels; all eat very much of the same kind of food and require the same kind of attention. But each separate breed has its special character and its peculiar constitution; and in determining one’s choice it is necessary to realise that some breeds are more suitable than others for companionship in the house. Some are better adapted to life in the country than in the' town. Some are better watchdogs than others and some are more safe with children. There are many disparities between one breed and another in the matter of the ease or difficulty of management, and there is always the very important consideration of the dog’s suitability in physical bulk to the accommodation that can be afforded. It is obvious that a very big dog, such as the Great Dane, the Newfoundland, the St. Bernard, or the mastiff, is quite impossible as an inmate of a city flat, where there is no yard for an outdoor kennel and no garden to which he can go at necessary intervals. It is too great a tax to have to take him into the street whenever he wants to ‘ make himself comfortable.’ The dog for the city should be one that will not take up tt>s much houseroom or get nervously excited in noisy traffic. Thus the catalogue of breeds suitable for the town is narrowed down to the medium-sized companion dogs, the terriers, and the diminutive ‘ toys.’ In a warehouse or to guard a lonely homestead in the country a formidable deep-voiced watchdog may be needed, but ferocity is not a necessary quality in a capable watchdog within doors. For the duty of alarming the sleeping household an alert terrier, a Schipperke, or- one of the tiny boudoir breeds is as. valuable as a bloodhound or a mastiff. Sporting dogs, which need a great deal of exercise in the open fields, are not well adapted for urban life. But even in the country there are many breeds that are more to be desired than others, while there are some which cannot in any circumstances be regarded in the light of companion dogs, and must of necessity be excluded from the list, such as hounds for the chase.”

Yorkshire and Other Toy Terriers. — Rawdon B. Lee in Modern Dogs says: “That there is a decadence in all these smooth-coated toy terriers is not to be ■doubted, and I am not alone in the belief that this has been brought about by the difficulty in breeding good specimens. This difficulty has' arisen from the misjudged persistency with which the ' fanciers ’ of a few years back bred for diminutiveness alone, trying to produce mites of creatures of 31b or 41b weight, altogether ignoring that such were little more than abortions, too fragile to trot behind their mistress, too delicate to live. The smallest dog I ever saw was a black-and-tan toy terrier which weighed 21oz at 10 months old. but it was neither useful nor ornamental, though it might be considered a curfosity as the ‘ Madame Tom Thumb ’ of the race from which it sprung. One has occasionally read of even more diminutive little canines than any I have mentioned. Such are, as a rule, advertised and puffed by unprincipled dealers, who rig out a three or fourmonths’ puppy in chain and collar, and attempt to palm it off on some credulous admirer as ‘Twelve months old on the second of June, madame—the littlest terrier in the world, and dirt cheap at £10; but the youngster at home has measles, and I wants the coin badly, so, lady, you can have it for £4!’ And many a so-called toy terrier, purchased under such circumstances, has developed into a spindle-shanked mongrel of 101 b weight. bo, fair Headers, beware of such little dawgs as are offered for sale in the streets.” Dog Jumping.—H. M. Cowan, writing to Our Dogs (England), says: "Those who saw my Great Dane bitch Relic of Ruugmook performing for the jumping ‘special’ offered at the Ranelagh Show last year may be interested in the following story told me by a breeder to whom she has been loaned on ‘ breeding terms.’ At a recent horse jumping show some stress was laid on the excellence of the jumping- Relic’s temporary master declared that she could do as well as the horses. He was asked to, back his opinion, and won his bet, Relic doing a clear course. Many dogs can negotiate really high jumps by ‘ banking ’ them, but I have never previously had a dog that would clear them for the very love of jumpmg. On a previous occasion, on hearing a complaint that the butter was missin" from the tea table in the hall, Relic disappeared upstairs, left by the first-floor window 16ft on to a hard road, and galloped off to her kennel. If only she were 15.2 instead of 7.2 hands, what a hunter!