THE KENNEL.

Otago Witness, Issue 4041, 25 August 1931, Page 29

THE KENNEL.

By

Terror.

Fanciers and breeders of doge are eordially invited to contribute to thia column. “Terror" will endeavour to make this department aa interesting and up-to-date as possible, but in order to do thia be must have the to operation of hia leaders, hence ho trusts this invitation will be cheerfully responded to.

“Margaret” asks what is the correct Weight of an Airedale. Dogs, 451 b; bitches, 421 b. The Airedale is the largest of the terrier breeds. “Novice” asks how long bitches remain in season. The period lasts about three weeks—one week in developing, a week in which it may be said to be at its height, and another in which the physiological disturbance gradually passes away, the parts resuming their normal appearance. There are what are described as “ false heats.” They are characterised in much the same way as the others, but the bitch absolutely refuses the male, and is, moreover, very bad tempered, snapping and snarling viciously whenever he approaches. Mr P. P. (Invercargill) advertises for sale a Kerry Blue terrier, bred by Lieutenant-commander Prentice's imported Northop Blue Girk This is a sacrifice necessitated by lack of kennei room.

The Scottish Terrier. —In an article by James Garrow published by a Home paper the following criticisms appear: — “ The furnishing on the foreface has given rise to much controversy, and at the present time is greatly exaggerated in some specimens, completely destroying the much-desired expression of the dog. If the dog has the power of muzzle it does not need great heavy beards and whiskers to emphasise same. These hirsute additions destroy the ‘ tout ensemble ’ and make the dog look ridiculous. This is doubly exaggerated by the fact that the majority of breeders clean the entire skull and neck of all top coat, leaving only undercoat. When the shaggy eyebrows are also left in full bloom the appearance of the exhibit is undoubtedly grotesque. The average exhibitor is not a tonsorial artist, and lacks the sculptor’s eye for proportion. . . . There is a danger of getting terriers too short in the body, so that it would almost appear that the ribs were carried into the hindquarters. A certain amount of space is required in all varieties of dogs, especially a working type of dog.” The writer goes on to indicate the required points, and with reference to coats puts forth the opinion that the reason for the long popularity of blacks as against brindles is that the former carry more profuse coats and have not the same wiry texture, and therefore respond more readily to the arts of the trimmer. He adds : “ There are very few good trimmers: they are, like poets, born, not made.” He censures the beginners who “ in their haste resort to clippers, clearing the skull and neck of al] hair possible, which, of course, has no good effect at all. It looks just what it is, a clumsily performed job.” He truly describes a dog so trimmed as one calling forth ridicule rather than admiration. Further on he most emphatically hits the right nail on the head by saying that long skulls and faces are points which “ seem to obsess a big number of our judges.” How often this is brought home to us 1 There are certain judges under whom it is useless to show a dog unless it has head, length of head, and possibly nothing else to recommend it, but head at all costs. In his concluding remarks. Mr Garow says : “ It would be better for the breed if judges were more temperate in many of their demands. Certain points are becoming exaggerated, such as length of head and face, profusion of furnishing, shortness of back. Breeders, especially British breeders, ca n accomplish almost anything where live stock is concerned, so that if care is not taken to check these abnormalities, then freak Scottish terriers ■will be produced which will not be advantageous to this grand old national breed.”

A surgeon, writing in the Home papers on bulldog type," says breeding for too short backs in bulldogs is thoughtless and cruel. Bulldog breeders expect Nature to perform a physical impossibility—i.e., a bitch with a narrow pelvis to give birth to pups with wide shoulders, large skulls, and blunt muzzles 1 If the exceedingly narrow pelvis *is what the “standard” advocates, then the standard is making for the extinction of the breed. But does not the standard only mean that, compared with the width of the characteristically broad shoulders of a bulldog, the hindquarters will necessarily appear narrow ? It certainly is not a rare occur-, rence for bulldog breeders to lament the loss of litter after litter, and very often the loss of the bitch as well. ENGLISH SETTERS.

Like the allied pointer, the .setter is a gundog of high intelligence, the complicated part it plays in the finding and

marking of game and obedience to the sportsman’s commands requiring considerable gifts even in so highly intelligent an animal as the dog (using the word in a general sense) undoubtedly is. trained or untrained. Heredity has much to do with the ready adaptation of the breed to the ritual of the shooting field, and also training in order to perfect the instinct (acquired memory) to do the same things as its highly 'bred parents, the training serving as a mnemonic- or reminder of what is the proper part it has to play in the pursuit of game. Likewise the setter, has, as- the pointer, remarkable powers of endurance. It cannot, it is true, hunt so long without water as the pointer, but it is extremely hardy, persevering, and can be relied upon to do its work without becoming tired before its masters. Ihe setter moves in as distinguished a manner as the pointer, and its movements are marked by dash, elegance, and grace. The qualities of the setter have been brought to perfection by the modern field trials, which have done so much to bring out the working qualities of gundogs. The setter should have a glossy coat, soft, silky, but not curling. The legs should be well feathered. In colour the setter varies considerably. It may be red or yellow, orange beltoil. lemon and white, liver and white, black, black and white, black and white ticked with black splashes, blue beltoil. black, white, and tan markings and black and white ticked, the most in favour. The skull should have a well-marked occipital protuberance, and be long and with a square muzzle and full lips. The ears should be set on low. soft. thin, close to the cheeks, with silky hair. The eyes should be brown or hazel, of medium size. The neck should be slightly arched. The back and quarters should be strong, with wide loins and strong hocks. The setter should carry its tail horizontally, and it should have long straight silky feathers, and narrow towards the end. The shoulders should be well set back. The forearms should be strong, straight, of moderate length, wel] fringed behind. The short pasterns should be carried erect. The feet should be cat-like and covered with feather. In many respects the requirements in the setter resemble those for the pointer.

THE HARDY HUSKY. —Usefulness of the Eskimo Dog for Transportation Purposes.—

Notwithstanding the advances made by the aeroplane towards solving the problem of transportation in Canada’s Far North, the Eskimo dog still remains a major factor in meeting local needs. Explorers and investigators of, the North-West Territories and the Yukon branch of the Department of the Interior, who through their work in the Arctic regions of the Dominion have been brought into close contact with the native dogs, agree that the dog train will long remain of great importance as a means of transportation in Northern Canada. The Eskimo dog or husky is the only domesticated animal of the Eskimos of the Canadian Arctic regions. Like its master, it is generally believed to have had its origin in Asia, and probably was brought into North America by these people. Pure-blooded Eskimo dogs are now very rare, due to the fact that since the first contact between white men and Eskimos, and particularly in recent years, much attention has been given to increasing the size and strength of these northern dogs for draught purposes by cross-breeding with other kinds of dogs. Unfortunately this breeding has often been carried on in a rather indiscriminate way. and although in some instances a faster or heavier type of dog has been developed, it is highly problematical if, for general purposes under Arctic conditions, any improvement has been achieved. A pure-blooded Eskimo dog is fairly large and wolf-like, averaging from 22in to 28in in height over the shoulders, and when in good condition from 601 b to 1001 b in weight. It is strong and powerfully built, with unusually heavy chest and neck. The muzzle is rather short and broad and the ears pointed. The legs are short but very strong, and the feet small and compact and densely furred between the toes. The underfur is short, but remarkably thick, and is overlaid during the winter by straight hairs 3in to 4in long, except on the shoulders, where a mane-like tuft .6in to Tin long is found. In colouration the present-day Eskimo dog shows a great deal of variation, but for the pure-blooded animal probably whitish-grey with a somewhat darker back may be regarded as typical. . Characteristic of the Eskimo” dog is the mag-

nifieent bushy -tail, usually carried curled 1 forward over the hip. 1 In hardiness the Eskimo dog un- I doubtedly surpasses all other domestic animals, including the reindeer. It can stand the lowest temperatures and sleep out in the severest blizzards without any shelter. When necessary it can, like its master the Eskimo, withstand starvation surprisingly well, and cases have been recorded of dog teams that have worked Hard under severe conniiions ulna little or no feed for several weeks. During the winter the dog is used for hauling sleds, and in the summer for towing umiaks or canoes along the shore and for carrying loads. Hitched to a sled, an Eskimo dog is required to haul loads from 1001 b to 1501 b per animal, depending on the condition of the trail, but for long trips probably 1001 b per dog is the average. The largest teams are used in Greenland and in Alaska, where 12 or even 16 dogs are harnessed to the sled for long trips, while the smallest are used by the Eskimos of the central part of Northern Canada, their teams usually consisting of four or five dogs. For “ packing ” a primitive sort of pack-saddle is made from sealskin. Strong dogs will carry loads of half their own weight.

The most trying time for an Eskimo dog is during the summer, when the weather is hot and the mosquitoes and flies torment man and beast. In the history of Arctic exploration the Eskimo dog has earned an enviable position. Although of late years the dog train has been supplanted by the aeroplane and the radio as a means of transportation and communication between far northern points and the outside world, it still remains an important factor in filling local transport needs under the varied and often adverse conditions found in tin Arctic. —Canada (weekly, illustrated).