KENNEL NOTES

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIV, Issue 21065, 17 June 1938, Page 11

KENNEL NOTES

(By

Foxie.)

I had the prlviledge of seeing the inmates of Mr M. G. Bruce's kennel of English Setters during the weekend and was agreeably surprised with the quality of the stock, especially three youngsters, two dogs and a bitch now about four months old. All have lovely heads, great bone and beautiful bodies, are nicely marked and of the best of blood. Another kennel visited was Mr J. R. Stewart’s Sierra smooth coated fox terriers. Bromley Beauty is nursing a fine litter of two dogs and two bitches. There was another dog puppy but it did not live long. Mr W. C. Leversedge, of Fendalton, Christchurch, has been appointed judge of all breeds at the Challenge Show of the Southland Kennel Club to be held in July. Mr H. R. Millar of Auckland reports that his Old English sheepdog bitch Opihi Emma, which he purchased from the Opihi Kennels has whelped a good litter of 20 pups. What a family?

The Otago Kennel Club meets monthly during the winter. At a recent meeting a talk was delivered by Mr A. G. Chisman in "Mendelian Inheritances Applied to Dog Breeding”. Mr Chisman is a fluent and interesting speaker and with the help of r’Jagrams on a blackboard brought his points home to an interested audience. So interesting was the talk that Mr Chisman was asked to repeat it at a later date. This custom could, with good results, be followed by the local club.

The Dunedin Fanciers Club will now be hard at it getting everything in order for its forthcoming show. There is an array of trophies available and it is pleasing to note that these prizes are available to be won by allcomers. The policy of restricting prizes to members, or local exhibitors, does not appeal and the man who spends pounds in getting his exhibit to the show is entitled to a “shot" at the prizes.

Is Your Dog Well-behaved, Bright, Happy? There are hundreds of dog-owners who are anything but content with their dogs; they covet their neighbour's or anybody else's dog who appears to be brighter, smarter, more intelligent and more alive than their own. Usually, these envious people are those who take very little notice of their dogs. They don’t actually neglect them; they feed them all right, look after them when they’re sick, and give them a walk pretty well every day. They keep them healthy, but beyond that they do nothing for them. They regard them, in fact, as part of the household in much the same way as the grandfather clock is a part of the household. Then, when in the course of time their dogs become just about as interesting as the face of the clock, they are disappointed. If the truth about these people and their dogs were to be told, the dogs, if they could work things out with our minds, would be just about as disappointed in their masters as their masters are in them.

“What a life!" they’d say: “No fun, no excitement. Nothing to do except sleep and eat and go for that dreary old walk to the shops and back again! ” A dog, after all, is what you make him. Mongrel or pedigree, he has inherent intelligence, faithfulness, good spirits, keenness and cleverness, every quality you want in a dog, if you take the trouble to bring out these points. But you won’t develop such characteristics by looking after his physical side and ignoring his mental side. You must make much of him right from the days when he is a tiny pup; and you must let him have some fun in life. Give him a ball to play with; teach him tricks, talk to him, and train him to have some definite job to do. Let him guard the chicken run or the baby’s prain, or sit on watch in your car whenever you leave it: iet him do any of the hundred and one things in which a dog can be really useful, if he only learns to fetch the newspaper off the. doormat every morning. And if the opportunity occurs, do let him have a jolly good hunt from time to time; there’s nothing better for him in the world, in spite of raud and rain and bramble-scratches. The only thing is that you must not let him wander off on his own to hunt in ease he gets into trouble. But often you can arrange to iet him do a bit of ratting or work hedges for rabbits, whether you take a gun yourself or whether you simply let him gallop to his heart’s content just for the sake of his enjoyment. It doesn’t hurt a rabbit to be chased, but it is good for a dog to do the chasing. If all this seems to you to be a great deal of fuss about nothing; if you feel you just can't be bothered with a dog to all this extent, then you can at least provide him with some companionship. Why not let him have another dog for company? Two dogs are little more trouble than one. Or why not keep a cat? It is astonishing how the canine tribe will grow fond of the feline if the two r.re left together.