THE KENNEL.

Otago Witness, Issue 3833, 30 August 1927, Page 33

THE KENNEL.

By

Terror.

Fanciers and breeders of dogs ars cordially invited to contribute to this column. “Terror” will endeavour to make tin's 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 cheerfully responded to.

It is said that the best men in England quite candidly admit that they are still somewhat at sea with the various types of Alsatians which come before them. Such being the case, New Zealand judges may as well be just as candid in admitting ignorance of the breed. A book has been recently published, “ Points of the Dog,” which describes the Alsatian as “ a well-proportioned dog, showing great suppleness of limb, neither massive nor heavy, but at the same time free from any suggestion of weediness-. It must not approach the greyhound type. The ideal height (measured to the shoulder) should not be less than 22in in bitches and 24in in dogs, and not more than 26in in cither sex. The body, rather long, is strong boned, with plenty of muscle, obviously capable of endurance and speed and of quick and sudden movements. Its method of locomotion is a tireless, long-striding gait, and all its movements should be entirely free from stiltiness. The whole dog and its expression of perpetual vigilance, strong fidelity, lively and ever watchful, alert to every sight and sound, nothing escaping its attention, showing no fear, but with a decided suspiciousness towards strangers (in striking contradistinction to the immediate friendliness of some breeds), possessing highly-developed senses, a vivid mentality, and plenty of temperament, strongly individualistic. and showing unique powers of intelligence, three of its most outstanding traits should be its incorruptibility, its discernment, and its ability to think for ..itself.” The great faults in the Alsatians are timidity and cowardness, which the writer says are very' prevalent, and are due to inbreeding. The highest points in the standard (20) are given for nature and expression.

Inflammation of the claws of dogs is frequently met with. Fox terriers in particular suffer from it, especially if they are kept indoors. It is set up’ by overgrown claws, or perhaps by the dog’s foot being trampled upon. There arc swelling and inflammation between the toes, which if neglected become chronic, and the dog is perpetually suffering from something of the kind. First of all it may be remarked that dogs which are kept cut of doors and have plenty of liberty require very little attention to their claws. Running about on hard roads prevents the claws from growing too long, whereas in the case of pet dogs kept indoors. running about on carpets, etc., all day, the disposition is for the daws to grow very long and to curve over, and very ■ soon they will begin to grow inwards towards the flesh. To prevent this, of course, they must be cut from time to time, and should a claw have become overgrown and curved round in the manner described this cutting will have to be done by slow degrees. For soreness and inflammation between the claws there is nothing much better than witch hazel,- which can be used diluted with four or five times its own bulk of water, and is very soothing as well as antiseptic.

The clever gun dog—he that comes of good family and has received a good education—doesn’t need to be bustled by the man who is shooting over hi»i and he doesn’t work any the better by being contused by a multiplicity of orders therefore give him as few instructions as possible, and be kind to him alwavs .Let him understand that without him your sport wouldn’t be sport at all. And in the evening treat him as well as you treat yourself. Make him comfortable His gratitude will know no bounds, and even the least sentimental cf men are scarcely proof against the grateful demonstrations of a faithful dog. Keep your dogs absolutely clean and free from fleas.” says a Home authority, ’ and you will have no more worm troubles. I can quite truthfully say my dogs and puppies never have any worms of any description, and I am convinced that it is due to absence of insect pests. It is really so much easier to keep your pets free from these than to be everlastingly dosing them, and you thus avoid the hundred-and-one ills that most people think are quite inseparable from highly bred dogs. I believe that fleas ere also responsible for carrying many of the infectious diseases at shows and elsewhere.” To this I (“Terror”) may add that a local fancier (now deceased' who kept a large number of Pekingese and boasted that he had little trouble’with diseases amongst them, held each one of them almost daily against a revolving circular brush, carefully seeing that all parts of the coat were treated. The brush was driven by electricity. His dogs always appeared to me to be in excellent condition, their coats beautifully lustrous.

Treatment for Lice.—An Australian owner of a cocker spaniel wrote to his local “weekly ” asking how to treat for lice. He said: “Several times I have washed him with dog soap, giving a really good lathering, after adding some phenyle to the water, but this did not clean his coat. Then I thoroughly worked into the coat a lotion made of two parts of kerosene and one part of olive oil, but still the insects persisted. When the coat was dry after the bath I tried to brush them out with a stiff brush, but it seems impossible to shift the parasites, of which I send you specimens.” The insects were shown to Veterinary Surgeon Alan 11. Robin, of the Adelaide Stock Department, who definitely states: “ The animal is affected with ‘ lice.’ There is undoubtedly a very great likelihood of the insects being transferred to other dogs if he is allowed to run with them. He should therefore be kept apart from them. As the animal is apparently severely infested. the first essential in treatment is to clip the hair short all over the body and burn the clippings to destroy the nits that are attached to them. Following this, thoroughly brush the animal, and then bath in a 2 per cent, solution of creolin solution. This will effecCvely destroy all adult lice on the bodv but has not any effect on the nits. It will thereiore be necessary to repeat the . baths at short intervals to kill off each crop of lice as they hatch out. The kennels and runs where the dog is kept should be sprayed with the same solution and any clothing disinfected. Any straw bending should be burnt.” DISTEMPER IN DOGS. A eterinary Science.—At a conference of veterinary surgeons held in Wellington. Mr O. J. Hawken (Minister of Agriculture) being present, the opening paper was one on “ Distemper in Dogs,” presented by Mr Haugh, of Gisborne. The discussion elicited the following points: (1) Keep dogs quiet and on the chain in a sheltered position for at least three weeks following the initial rise in temperature. Affected dogs must on no account be worked, or they will die quickly. This applies particularly to sheep dogs. (2) Feed affected dogs well, but do not fight them to force medicine into them. Cod liver oil will bo taken readily, and is very helpful in convalescence. (3) Keep sick do<?s thoroughly isolated, or the disease will run through the pack. (4) Vaccine treatment at present in vogue is not attended by beneficial results. I n connection atM 1 tt'-'u * s interest to note that the Mill Hill research workers have been able to protect dogs with a vaccine prepared from the virus of the disease. A general warning to all dog owners appears necessary. as pneumonia during the past 12 months in New Zealand has been verv virulent, and has caused the death of many valuable dogs. Distemper is the primary disease, the pneumonia being the secondary.