THE KENNEL.

Otago Witness, Issue 3854, 24 January 1928, Page 33

THE KENNEL.

By

Terror

Fanciers and breeders of dogs are cordially invited to contribute to this column. “Terror” will endeavour to mako this department as interesting snd 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.

“Pom.” —I can only advise you to give him a good brushing every day with a brush having good strong bristles. By persevering with this grooming you will improve the coat and the health of the dog, and the vermin will disappear, leaving no nits with half a chance to survive. Major A. J. Dawson, author of “Everybody’s Dog Book,” says;. “The domestic dog needs thorough grooming or brushing every day; the more of a house dog he is the greater his need for everyday brushing. But that is not all. He also needs periodical washing. It is the easiest thing in the world, however, to inflict real suffering upon him, and even to induce actual skin disease (and rheumatism) in him by means of the wrongkind of washing. The use of irritant disinfectants like carbolic and common soaps, instead of a good shampoo, and the right kind of non-irritant vermin preventives, can make a dog’s life a burden to him. Dogs should be washed in warm water, and ‘ rinsed off ’ thoroughly with tepid, almost cold water. The towelling should be vigorous, but before this is done the dog should be encouraged to shake himself. Finally, he should be given a warm, dry resting place in the sun or moderately near a fire until entirely dry.” Imported Whippets.—lt is reported that a very nice young dog arrived by the Manuka from Melbourne "for Mr M. F. Woodward, of Scinde Kennels, Napier. This is the black dog Stage Prince, weighing 2241 b. He is beautifully bred, coming from great racing stock. His sire is The Comet, who is by Flying Comedy ex Ovidin Fairy; whilst his dam is Stage Queen, by Sinbad ex Medic. The Comet holds the record for fastest heat in Melbourne. Flying Comedy is a very good all-round dog, who won both the flat and hurdle championships in Melbourne in 1923 and 1924.

A newly issued Terrier Year Book says: “ The new values of pedigrees, according to ' Modern Theories of Breeding,’ depends upon discarding the old preMendelian theory that any living being has a blend of the qualities of its two parents or of its four grandparents, etc., in the light of the now clearly established fact that no qualities can be inherited in any way other than in completeness. ‘ For instance, a dwarf who is a true dwarf and not a mere sport, and a giant, who is also of giant descent, if they have children together (human, animal, or vegetable), do not produce them of normal size, but either giants or dwarfs. Qualities are inherited pure and entire.’ Now, as this 'established fact’ has a very definite bearing upon the production of the seven perfect points of a fox terrier (head, shoulder, ribs, quarters, legs, coat, and action), it seemed worth while to tackle the writer of that article at close quarters and ask him just one hard question, and the question, terse but wide in significance, was: 'What about a halfcaste?’ His answer is: 'The child of a European father and a negro mother is in reality seldom or never anything approaching a true blend in the matter of colour, though popularly supposed to be; moreover, it is very difficult to obtain exact evidence on the purity of blood of the male parent in sufficient numbers of cases to make the comparison valuable. Weismann’s experiments upon animals running into 40 and 50 generations are a much better illustration; and he, like all other modern scientists, is convinced of the impossibility of inheriting blended qualities; but the evidence of this is too technical for a letter.’ ” Commenting on this Our Dogs (England) says: “It is, of course, on this recent discovery that the value of line-breeding, emphasising the influence of the tail male and the tail female, to the comparative exclusion of the remainder of the Galtonian pedigree, depends for its importance and value.” Exhibition of Hermanhroditic Bitches. —The secretary of the Kennel Club (England) at a meeting of the General Committee held in September last placed before the committee an inquiry from an exhibitor as to whether a hermaphroditic bitch could be exhibited, together with a veterinary statement as to the hermaphroditism, stating that the animal was useless for breeding. It was pointed out that the object of disqualifications " h ” and “ j ” in Rule 13 was to prohibit the exhibition of dogs or bitches that cannot reoroduce their species. It was decided to inform the exhibitor that the question of exhibition must be left to individual judgment, but the committee views with disfavour the exhibition of dogs or bitches incapable of reproduction.

Cocker Spaniels.—The following interesting note is by a contributor to Our Doga (England) : —" Comments on a good specimen may sometimes savour of hyper-

criticism, but they are put forward in the interests of the breed, and I think it will be agreed that honest and unsparing criticism has been a big factor in bringing the .cocker to its present, high standard of excellence. There are pitfalls into which it is easy to stumble where a promising youngster is concerned. This by way of a prelude to the suggestion that early maturity is often the precursor of over-development. A ‘ made-up ’ cocker at six or eight months too frequently loses quality, and runs to coarseness by the time it reaches 18 months or two years. In this connection an interesting point, which I can verify from experience, was suggested to me some time ago by a cocker expert. His identity is not material; he has bred and owned manj- premier dogs, including a full champion. He has found that almost invariably .puppies which show signs of a wave in coat are early furnishers, in which case there is danger of subsequent coarse development. On the other hand those with straight coats are late in making up, but they are ‘ lasters.’ Personally I incline to a puppy which at six or eight months runs rather to ‘ legginess,’ so long as it possesses bone a-d framework.”

Several questions answered by Rev. Rosslyn Bruce: (1) Can I make sure of winning if I have the best dog? Yes, if you can exhibit his merits. (2) How can I teach him to stand right? Nature must do that for you. (3) Must I train pups to a lead when two months old? Certainly not. (4) Must I use a rubber ball for him in the show ring? By all that is holy and all that is sporting, most emphatically no. (5) Should I keep him on a lead at home? Angels and ministers of grace! No, never. (6) Will you publish an exact verbal description of a model terrier? The Fox Terrier Cluh standard is our unfailing standard. (7) Will you name a picture you consider the ideal of a fox terrier? Not one, but three—Mr Arthur Wardle’s ch. Duchess of Durham and ch. Donna Fortuna. Miss May Reeks’s ch. Oxonian, and Mr Ward Binks’s three champion litter (ch. Wrose Indelible, ch. Cromwell Miss Legacy, and ch. Dunsting). There are six, but the' ideal is a seventh, who moves elusively among them, though' the picture of the single dog is probably nearest to it. Faithfulness of the Alsatian.—The following incident speaks volumes for the extreme faithfulness of the Alsatian. It happened at Gullane, the East Lothian seaside ’-esort. where an Alsatian was standing guard over the clothes of some children bathing. One of the children, a girl, got into difficulties about 50 yards from the shore, and when the Alsatian heard her cries for heln it at once swam out to ner, got hold of the child’s swimming costume, and dragged her to the shore, after which it barked continuously to attract attention. The child was little the worse for her experience. Feet and Eye Ailments.—Sore feet and swelling between the toes are common troubles. The usual treatment is to poultice, and in due course dress with boracic powder and bandage. If the eyes are affected—opthalmia—due either to exposure to the sun or to the presence of particles of dust, bathe, with. milk and water, or a lotion of 2gr of sulphate of zine to loz of distilled water. It is a remarkable thing that the “ biscuit-fed ” dog is usually more . immune to downailments than his “haphazardly” fed brother. Summer or winter, therefore, give a dog his regular ration of biscuit and keep him fit and hard.