THE KENNEL.

Otago Witness, Issue 3829, 2 August 1927, Page 33

THE KENNEL.

By

Terror.

Fanciers and breeders of dogs 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 cooperation of his readers, hence he trusts this invitation will be cheer, fully responded to.

IT. C. —The disqualifying points of a fox terrier are a cherry nose, tulip or rose ears, and a mouth undershot or overshot.

“ South Dunedin.”—lt may be a case of cataract. Aged dogs frequently become blind through this. The cornea may be affected or the crystalline lens, the chambers of the eye, or the nerve of sight. A veterinary surgeon may be able to tell you the cause and suggest treatment.

“ Dog-lover.”’-—I think it is merely a case of indigestion, and you should try the 'following recommended by J. T. Barton, M.R.C.V.S.: —Bicarbonate of soda, 2dr; powdered rhubarb, 24gr; mix and divide into one dozen powders. Give one powder, just as it is, night and morning. Feed on rice and milk, boiled fish, boiled sago, bread and water, potatoes, and meat finely cut up. Mr R. W. Brown (Dunedin) has disposed of a coloured cocker bitch by Felbrig Joe (imp.) ex Braeval Brownie to a South Otago fancier. Mr M. Stewart, well known as a shower of Poms, is shortly leaving for Sydney, where he will in future reside. He is taking Ruffles with him. Mrs J. Lewis (Greymouth) has procured a miniature Pom slut, wolf sable colour, from Mrs A. Gibson, of Wellington; dam, St. Albans Betty; sire, Kilbirnie Winkie.

Mrs H. W. Kitchingham has presented to the Greymouth Technical Hostel Fund a smooth-coated fox terrier slut by Dusky Gib ex-Pale Ale. A lucky prize for the winner!

Mr Bracks has disposed of the balance of his collie pups from his Australian-bred pair. He is only retaining one for next season’s shows.

Apropos of setters, a breed also good at retrieving, a Mrs L. Clarkson (says the Melbourne Leader) tells of an Irish setter bitch that had a great reputation as a retriever. On one occasion she had been doing great work on a duckshooting expedition, and the birds were left in a boat whilst the sportsmen had lunch. When they came to look for the ducks they had gone. A search revealed them placed carefully in the party’s motor car, with the setter mounting guard She had carried them all from the boat to the car ready for the homeward journey!

The Elkhound.—Mr Johnny Aarflot of Aasta, Osterdalen. Norway, is the author ot the following interesting notes on the elkhounds in their native country. He says: “ In the Stone Age, several thousand years before tame dogs were known m the central parts of Europe, there existed two distinct races of dogs in Norway, Sweden, and probably in England, too. rossils of tame dogs from this ancient time have been found in several places in Norway. As an example of these finds may be taken the excavations at V isteliulen (the Viste-hollow) at Jajren. Archaeologists have put the date ot this find at 5000 or 6000 years B c. Like the other excavations of these old x l --'\ CC v ,° f mankind - the excavations at A isteliulen contain fossils of two distinct types of dogs, a smaller and a bigger one. The smaller type, Cam's patustris, is very much like the finnehund of our days. The fossil bones of the bigger tj pe have been compared with skeletons of our elkhound of to-day and as they are in every way similar to’each other, there can be no doubt that these nnn7^+ arC itV‘ e r ® mall ? s an exceedingly ancient elkhound. As fossils of other tame animals have never been found in these old excavations, it is highly probable that the elkhound is the first tame animal known to mankind. Ep to our daj l s k j le olkhound has been kept as a watchdog, for hunting, and as a herd dog oi-way and in the greater part of this time dogs of other races were very rare m the country. From the beginning of the nineteenth century, however, other races of dogs became more and more common in Norway and Sweden, and in the last decades of the nineteenth century elkhounds we. e rare in Norway and nearly extinct in Sweden. The cause of tjns was probably that the elk, through

unlawful hunting, was nearly eradicated. Thanks to better hunting laws, however, the elk again became common, and as the elkhound is the only really good dog for hunting, Norwegian elk-hunters took up with zest the task of saving it from extinction. To-day elkhounds are far more numerous than any other breed at the shows of,the Norwegian Kennel Chib, with an entry of some 60 or 70 out of about 400 dogs exhibited. In Sweden they often hunt the elk by driving. This is perhaps the cause of the elkhound being now rarer in Sweden than in Norway; only some five to ten elkhounds are benched at the shows of the Swedish Kennel Club.” Pedigree dogs of 74 breeds are now recognised by the English Kennel Club. The selfish individual imbues his or her dog with selfish ways (writes H. Hutchinson in Dog Bulletin). What more deplorable sight is there than the podgy, spoilt, overfed lapdog, usually the pet possession of a selfish owner. Even the owner herself would be the first to disclaim a charge of cruelty! And yet it is real cruelty to destroy the health and character of a dog by coddling him and filling his stomach with all kinds of fancy titbits of foods.

We hear now and again of “wolf children,” and “ Medicus,” who edits a column in Our Dogs, recently cited a case. A correspondent signing himself Ernest Victor Hunt evidently does not credit the possibility of wolves sucklin'' human infants, for he writes: “ With reference to the article by ‘Medicus’ under the above title, how anyone, and especially an expert, can propound and beliei e in such utter trash passes my comprehension. It was possible, maybe. 100 years ago, but I hope not in 1927.’ J.he article says a she wolf will carry off a child and bring it up with her own cubs, and cites the instance of a cat suckling rabbits in support. Now, the cases are not analogous. The young of animals are given an instinct that teaches them to make for their parents’ teats, and moreover, have four legs to crawl about and get up to their parent. Not so the child, who would lie on his back helpless. Again, a child wants milk up to at least K months old. and the she wolf’s milk would dry up when her cubs were six or seven weeks old. She then feeds her cubs by vomiting the partly-digested small animal food over them. Does the article suggest that a small baby could live on this diet? Moreover, the wolf’s teeth, in carrying a Hindoo child, who rarely wears any clothes, would cause serious wounds to say nothing of sundry bangs on the head in transit. The article tlum o-n„ s n" ta . say: terrible to contemplate 1 V ,ea . °t a human being deveiop. wolf habits and brute appearance, but not in the least surprising.’ The whole of the ai tide, but more especially these words. I deplore What is the evidence? 'Wise old Hindoo, says the article. ‘A silly old spoofer,’ say I. The article then goes on to confuse environment with and i Clte x- the greyhound being built for speed. Neither evolution nor environment have anything whatever to do with the greyhound’s build, which it owes to„ selective breeding on the part oi man.

TREATMENT OF BITCHES. Writing in the Dog Bulletin (America) on the treatment of bitches when whelping, W. M. Charlesworth says: n 9 a i e i Very im Portant thing in the care ot bitches coming in whelp is often neglected, i.e., the bitch should be treated for worms a fortnight after the date of mating, and once f.gain a fortnight later. Steady walking exercise, two or three tinies a day, and a final run last thing at night is better than allowing the bitch to A un , , ? ose all day - Under the latter method she may pick up undesirable food, or, worse than anything, may do herself damage in scrambling through or jumping over gates or fences. Give plenty of good food in three meals, so as to avoid overloading the stomach by one large meal. A supply of fresh water should be renewed daily. ' “Provide a Kennel free from draughts, and a liberal allowance of dry, clean straw, which in wet weather should be changed not less than every two days The floor of the kennel under the straw should have a good depth af sawdust on

it to absorb any moisture and make daily cleaning of the kennel easy. “ Raw meat, cut fine, any good hound meal, a rice pudding at midday, with a change from raw meat to cooked meat occasionally, is a slight indication as to diet. — Oil a Fine Medicine.— Two days before the bitch is due to whelp give a good dose of castor oil and salad oil, half and half. Castor oil alone is liable to gripe, and should be mixed with either linseed or salad oil to avoid this. “ Provide a good-sized, clean sack for her to lie on, and to put the puppies on as soon as they are born. This gives some purchase for their feet, and sometimes assists a weakly puppy to get his due nourishment, which he might not get without it.

“ Prepare some good beef tea, and have some of the well-known milk foods handy, so as to give the bitch a drink after she has whelped. I give from a quarter to half a pint, just warm, frequently, particularly if she is a long time whelping. “ I f the bitch is short-faced, such asztoy spaniels, pugs, Pekingese, and the like, it is wiser to remair with her until all the puppies have arrived, as these bitches are usually unable to attend efficiently to the first-comers, even if they can manage the last ones. As a general rule, however, bitches are best left quiet, just taking a look occasionally to give lielp if needed and to count the puppies. Make sure that in her exertions she does not crush any under her body. — Dietetic Treatment.

“ I find it is a good plan to persuade the bitch to leave her kennel for a short run as soon as you are sure she has finished whelping. This is, I consider, an important thing, as it is far from good for her to remain in kennel for many hours without a run at such times. “ Clear away all straw and sawdust and put down clean sawdust and clean sacks on the sawdust. Do not leave straw in the kennel after whelping. I find the puppies are liable to get caught up in it, and if any are weak they find difficulty in crawling back to the mother.

“After 12 hours use a clinical (magnifying) thermometer, and test the temperature night and morning. A slight rise from normal (1014) is probable, but should it be above 1031 have the bitch examined at once by a veterinary surgeon, as it is probable that there is a dead puppy unborn, which should be removed at once. This operation should not be undertaken by an unqualified person, as the bitch may easily be damaged. “ The normal time for a bitch to carry her puppies is 63 days, but they may come a day or two sooner, and as soon as she is seen to be seeking solitude in her kennels and refusing food she should be carefully watched. Some bitches go over the normal time. A day or two is quite usual, but the temperature should be taken if the bitch is a day late, and any rise is indicative of trouble.' When once the labour pains begin and are strong, and after a couple of hours no puppies appear, do not wait longer, but get professional assistance at once. “ If the bitch becomes very exhausted, give a little brandy and milk every halfhour.

“For the first two days give only milk foods (noi plain milk) every two or three hours, and leave a bowl with her at night. On the third day, if she is all right and temperature normal, or nearly so, give bread and boiled milk or gravy, boiled fish or rabbit, care being taken to remove all kidneys, liver, etc., of the latter. L ter give a little meat, soaked biscuit, etc.

“ Raw meat :s the best milk producer, and while she is nursing her puppies—for the first three weeks at any rate —she should be fed liberally three or four times a day, and, above all. make her take a short run first thing in the morning and last thing at night and several times during the day. “After two or three days the bitch often has an attack of diarrhoea, which must be checked at once by giving a good dose of castor oil and salad oil, and if it does not cease in 24 hours give any well-known make of diarrhoea powders.”