THE KENNEL.

Otago Witness, Issue 3888, 18 September 1928, Page 32

THE KENNEL.

By

Terror.

Fanciers and breeders of doga ar# cordially invited to contribute to thia column. “Terror” will endeavour to make thia department aa interesting and up-to-date as possible, but in order to do this he must have the cooperation of his readers, hence ho trusts this invitation will be 'cheerfully responded to. “Wire Hair” asks if his wire-haired fox terrier would be disqualified if his forelegs are not quite straight. The legs, viewed in any direction must, according to the standard, be straight; but if they are not so it is not a matter for disqualification. Touching on this point, Rawdon Lee in “Modern Dogs” says: “ It is no more than human nature that there is difference of opinion as to the merits or otherwise of a terrier. That which may be considered an almost fatal fault by one person by another may be thought of little detriment. Some judges -—men, too, who bear a deservedly high deputation as such—will put a terrier out of a prize list if it be even a trifle crooked on its forelegs or slightly heavy at the shoulders; whilst another dog, narrow behind and weak in loins, to my idea a far more serious failing, is considered pretty well all right so long as its forelegs are as straight as arrows. As. a fact there are judges who have recently gone to extremes in awarding honours to these so-called ‘ narrowfronted ’ terriers. Such have been produced at a sacrifice of power and strength. Most of these narrow-chested dogs move stiffly, are too flat, in the ribs, they are deficient in breathing and heart room, and can never be able to do a week’s hard work in the country.” It will be seen by the foregoing that though legs other than perfectly straight are not a disqualification according to the club’s standard, the showman is. to an extent at the mercy of the fads of judges.

\ Air W. (cordon Hampton, of Bendigo, Victoria, has recently purchased from Dr M'Killop. of Christchurch, the dark blue roan bitch Braeval Bounty, by ch. Umpire ,of Ware (imp.) ex Tifinella of Ware (imp.). She is litter sister to ch. Braeval Banter, ch. Braeval Beau, etc. She is to be mated to Homesun of Ware (imp.). Mr George Bundy, of Ashburton, has mated the Irish terrier bitch Florrie to Hagley Bill, the young dog so successfully shown at Christchurch. Florrie is a daughter of Billington Boss. A greyhound, the two-year-old Cormorant, has recently changed hands for £lOOO. the purchaser being Mr James Rice, of Belfast. Comorant has won £2OO and a silver cup. and holds a record for three Irish tracks. He has also won two puppy stakes at Ballymena and an open stake at Omagh. Distemper is reported to be very prevalent in South Canterbury, a large number of valuable sheep dogs having succumbed to this disease. Sheep dogs are hardy animals, and no doubt are not as liable to distemper in its severe forms as are other breeds, which are, as a rule, more carefully kennelled and regularly fed. Whatever the weather may be, and no matter how hard and prolonged their day’s work may have been, many sheep dogs are allowed (as I have heard it expressed) to “ doss ” anywhere, and do so supperless. No one knows how, or where from, distemper comes, but it requires little consideration to realise that a thoroughly exhausted dog is in a condition to contract any trouble that is going. A rub down, a good feed, and a warm bed would help to ward off a lot of trouble in working dogs. Too much. pampering is no more injurious than is neglect. All extremes are bad. Reference was recently made to the action of the Australian Ladies’ Kennel Club in offering a prize for the most beautiful dog in the show. Such a class is not altogether an innovation, but in the estimation of breeders generally it cannot be considered utilitarian in any sense. A children’s class, however, may serve the very useful purpose of encouraging a love of animals in children, and ultimately tend to the strengthening the Tanks of adult fanciers. Children take a keen interest in dogs as it is, consequently very little inducement is required to stimulate them to the showman stage.. The Australian Ladies’ Kennel Club is therefore to be congratulated on opening classes for children’s exhibits at its annual shows.

The Sealyham.—Rawden Lee, in “Modern Dogs” (1894), in writing of terriers, says: “There is a strain of terrier much talked about of late, known as the ‘Sealy Ham,’ so called from the seat near Haverfordwest of the Edwardes, whose family, it is said, have had the strain for well on to a hundred years. This is another short-legged, long-bodied terrier, with certain characteristics of the fox terrief. He has a hard, wiry, weatherresisting coat; is mostly white with black or brown or brown and black marks, occasionally pure white, and certainly not more than 181 b or so in weight.. He has been described as a short-legged, longish-backed dog, strong and muscular, of unflinching courage, and a hard biter-

too much so in some instances.” Another writer says the Sealyham terrier, whose fame has spread far beyond the boundaries of Pembrokeshire, is mostly used for otter hunting. “It is a distinct type of terrier, which by jud'eious breeding the Edwardes family succeeded after many years’ careful mating in producing, with long, wiry bodies and short legs. This'terrier resembles in certain features the animal whose destruction it was bred to accomplish, namely, the otter. The late Captain Edwardes was extremely proud of the working capabilities of his dogs, and never tired of relating encounters which his dogs frequently experienced with badgers, otters, foxes, polecats, etc. Many is the time that the foxhounds have had to enlist the services of the Sealyham terriers in bolting a fox -which had gone to earth. It is said of the late Captain Edwardes that on one occasion, -when presiding at a political meeting at Fishguard, he was accompanied on to the platform by two of these terriers.”

Dangerous Disinfectants.—Medicos ” (Our Dogs) says: “An East Anglian correspondent forwards a cutting from the Daily Mail about two elderly ladies in Paris having been found dead in a room which had-been disinfected. The report states that the police are examining the disinfectant and the manner in which it was used—and there it ends. My correspondent, however, thinks that as kennel owners use large quantities of disinfectants it might be useful for me to suggest what there is in that way that is dangerous and therefore to be avoided. Well, I agree that the subject is one of some interest to kennel owners, and it may well be that the indiscreet use of disinfectants may have been the cause of the deaths of dogs now and again-, though I do not recall any specific instance of that having been proved. It would, however, be quite an easy matter to make the dogs, ill by the too libera! use of coal-tar disinfectants, which are very popular at the present time, as these are closely allied to carbolic acid and are liable to contain phenol products capable of producing the same effects. It

is well known that carbolic acid has a poisonous effect upon dogs, even bv absorption through the skin, and that' it is risky to use strong carbolic lotions or even soap to dogs. The use of certain ereosotic wood-preservative preparations for inside kennels might prove injurious; but it seems to me that the danger is remote provided there be (as there should be) effective ventilation. The only way in which disinfection might prove dangerous is when it is carried out by fumigation. The vapour of burning sulphur and the vapour of formalin, the two most often in use, are very suffocating. On no account should either be used whilst animals are exposed to them. The kennel or building should be closed up tightly during the process, and then be well ventilated before dogs' are allowed to enter. Either of these vapours will destroy insects effectively.”