KENNEL NOTES

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 8339, 28 January 1913, Page 2

KENNEL NOTES

By ‘‘Fitzroy.

A correspondent; asks me to publish the standard of the Ausu-aliau terrier, it will appear in nest week's notes.

L.T. (Newtown) asks—" How can 1 ~uike my <log a good watch-dog? Is there .my way of improving a dog who is too ./iiud?” There is no reliable method of miming a docile dug into a ferocious guard of person and property. Hogs, like human beings, differ much in disposition and character; but chaining a

.mg up iu the yard has a tendency to develop the guarding instinct.

Vert, (city) queries—“What breeds does the Airedale terrier come from!'" An I‘lnglish authority says the Airedale terrier was produced originally by a cross between the otterhound and the old English broken-haired biack-and-tan terrier, which abounded in Airedale and other Yorkshire dales at the time, and was used for waterside ratting largely.

"Puzzler" (Westport) asks —“Do small hrindlo spots on a bull terrier involve /disqualification 1" Slight briudle markings on head of a bull-terrier otherwise good in points are no detriment in the show ring.

Heavily marked borzois are not looked •open with favour by most Homo judges.

Boiled linseed in food is a good thing for dogs at all times, and particularly so for bitches in whelp for two or three weeks before whelping.

Mango is most frequently confounded with eczema —a blood disorder sometimes known as “red rash" or “red mango. This occurs in various forms, and with different degrees of irritation to its victim; but it is not so serious, as mango, albeit there are plenty of cases in which it is chronic, and returns again and Again so persistently that it becomes a perfect nuisance to dog and owner alike. It is duo to a disordered state of the blood, and anything (constipation, for •instance) that disturbs the ordinary healthy course of a dog’s life will start It on at once. Dogs very frequently have it during and after distemper, and then it is to be welcomed rather than otherwise, because it helps to rid tho dog’s system of tho distemper imxmritics with which it is charged, and so acts as a kind of natural safety valve. Dogs which have skin disease along with distemper •very rarely succumb to chorea—the dreaded paralysis that so often follows cases ■of mild (or, rather, “suppressed”) distemper. The way to deal with eczema Is to give the animal a good blood mixture made of iron in some form, or dose him with Blaud’s iron pills or capsules; afijo give him aperient medicine as often as necessary to keep tho system fairly alien, and use some lotion or ointment externally to soothe (but not to drive in again) the rash which has appeared. The actual lino of feeding lio bo adopted must depend upon circumstances. Generally speaking, a diet of raw loan meat and coarse brown bread is to bo recommended. Tills is especially a good diet for bitches when rearing puppies. They are peculiarly liable to skin trouble brought about by poorness of tho blood.

.V hub* well known in New York society has, by special pleading, upset the rule of hotelkeepers not to allow dogs in •heir establishment's. She hired a suite of four rooms and three batlu at CIO a day for the winter at the Hits Carlton Hotel. There was a living room, bedroom, and bathroom lor herself. and a room and "bathroom for her maids. The remaining bedroom ami bathroom were, she said, for her baliios, which turned out to be two Japanese spaniels and a Pekingese. The hotel manager wanted to upset the arrangement, but on the lady pleading with tears in her eyes that her pets would give no tumble, he relented. The dogs’ bedroom and baili cost £2 a day. and their daily life is as follows: Sleep in satin-lined baskets: morning bath in scented water. Hrcakfn-st: Toasv and milk, Luncheon ; Lamb chons and creamed potatoes. Dinner: Chicken, mashed potatoes, and ice-cream. Other hotel managers in New York declare that if there aro sufficient persons wiio will pay £2 a day for canine quarters, kennel suites may lyecome a feature of the hotels of the future.

Tho Hogs’ Club was formally opened nt tho Piccadilly corner of Park lane, Xiondon, on Tuesday. November sth. Ch. Hearning Wnnderbuos. Captain Beamish's bulldog, with h ; s own front paws, performed tho opening cereinonv. assisted (quite urmccesssarily; by Lord Teutcrden.

The club is in connection with the United Counties and Travellers’ Club, and its premises are entirely consistent with its swagger Mayfair address. There is ‘‘cloak room” accommodation for 150 dogs; which means that there aro 150 compartments in the one large room devoted to them, each compartment patriotically coloured red, white, and blue. A staff of four pages is employed, with men and maid servants, and a resident vet. The pages will, if required, attend the dogs when they walk in the park—a bore, hut still a duty that every fashionable dog owes to society. The man and maid servants understand veterinary work, and they will, of course, clip, groom, and manicure the dogs, eo that they need never be ashamed to be recognised in the Row. The club will bo very handy for the shows. Dogs can bo brought overnight from the country, sleep in the club, and appear on the show benches nest morning fresh and fit. Mr T. Parker Stanbank is the secretary of the United Counties and Travellers’ Club.

Dogs in England have benefited considerably under the wills that have been proved recently. Mrs Alice Millar, of Holloway Sanatorium, Virginia Water, Surrey, who died on August 4th, 1911, leaving estate valued at .£39,133 gross, with net personalty £19,779, bequeathed £5300 to the Home for Lost Dogs. £SOOO to tho Royal Society for tho Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Mrs Angelique Vagliano, of Hill street, Berkeley square, W., who died on September 10th last, entrusted her dogs liuno and Mascotte and any other dogs which she may possess at her death to the care of her husband, or in the event of his predecease to her maid, Emily Turner, to whom she left £3OO. Mrs Vagliano’s estate amounted to £12,879 gross, with net personalty £12,115. Mrs Henrietta Dodsworth, of Palmerston, Arkindale road, Glenageary, co. Dublin, who died on August 22nd last, aged eighty-one years v leaving personal estate in tho United Kingdom valued at £2836, bequeathed £350 and certain furniture to her maid, Margaret Davitt, to whom she also left her two dogs. Spot and .Tack, directing that the trustees arc to pay £l2 a year for tho maintenance of each dog eo long as they are well cared for. Mrs Dodsworth also bequeathed £IOO to the Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. A lady correspondent asks what breed of dogs are those performing in the bears’ ring at Wirth's circus. They archarlequin Great Danes. Tho Great Dane is a Continental breed noted for its bravery and fidelity. Tho following effusion on the Great Dane appears to me to be seasonably appropriate :

"Name me a hound in. huntsman’s train Which can match the noble Dane! O’er Scavia’s wilds in days of yore Ho battled with the tusked boar. Prom Danske hounds of high renown Hie pedigree is handed down. When sundown skirts the forest chase. And Dian shows her silvery face. The boar’s last throbs of life aro o’er. The noble hound is wet with gore; In triumph is the quarry borne. To lusty shouts and winding horn. When finished is the hunter’s sport. Our hound adorns the regal court. His master’s hall, or lady's bower. Or guards with care his lordship’s tower; The bated wight who chance doth stray. Hoars thro’ the night his deep-mouthed bay; Alert and watchful, long in stride. His strength with symmetry allied. The boldest may not entrance gain The tower where stands the mighty Dane. On long clean neck he carries high A well-poised head, expressive eye; A faithful friend, companion sure, A terror to the evil doer. None may withstand his pent-np force Whan loosed for combat on the course. A coat of brindle. fawn, or blue. Of black, or harlequin ’tis true; Others may have their fancy strain, I sing the hound of Thale’s naiu : Tho Dane! Tho Dane!! The might) Hane!!! Where danger shows her gorgon face. Give me my hound of Northern race— The Northern Dane.”

Dingos are one of the most popular exhibits nt the Dublin Zoological Gardens at Phoenix Park, and Dr Ferrar, I’.Z.S., the superintendent, tells ns that the puppies make most delightful pots; the only drawback to the breed as adults is that, if allowed their freedom, one never knows when tho “blood-lust” may, come over them and when they will kill animals for the mere sake of killing. The dingos at Dublin are. kept in ordinary kennels with large runs, and their staple food is

dog biscuits, with a plentiful supply of bones. In their kennels the dingos aro just as friendly and as playful as the ordinary canine.

Mr J. Sutcliffe Hurndale, M.it.C.V.S., an English veterinary surgeon, writing on the subject of vaccination as a preventive of distemper, says: “Notwithstanding itho efforts, many and various, that have beeh proposed and tried to combat this troublesome and perplexing ailment ahecting dogs, pievonrive and curative, it does not seem that any definite headway has really been made, and although many claims aro made that either or both ends have been attained, still the trouble continues, and valuable dogs succumb to the . disease. I have been a practitioner of veterinary medicines for more than thirty years, and hundreds of cases of distemper have come under my care, as the result of which I have arrived at the conclusion that the attempts to prevent distemper by means of vaccination or inoculation are not sufficiently reliable to command the confidence of a breeder of valuable dogs. Some years ago X put the vaccination theory to the test, and with certain lymphs I vaccinated over one hundred oases, including many breeds. Of these it was reported that some resisted infection after being placed in company with unmistakable cases of distemper; some, over a period of years, never had distemper when kept under ordinary conditions, and an equal number had distemper in a mild form, and recovered rapidly; while a large number had the disease in its customary virulent form. As the result of these varying experiences I determined that this was not good enough to bring before the public as a’ form of treatment for preventing distemper. as it seemed to me that the favourable cases were more like coincidences than anything to rely upon as a preventive; more especially as all dog owners know that it is not absolutely essential that all dogs should bo the victims of distemper. X have owned a number that never had the disease in their lives. This experience served to confirm me in tho belief that it is not reasonable to expect that anything in the form of vaccination or inoculation can bo expected to prevent a natural disease from attacking an animal. Tho question then arises —What have wo to rely upon in dealing with infectious disease? idy firm belief is, nothing but symptomatic treatment. But, someone will say, has that not been tried over and over again, and failed? Yes: I fully admit it has; but in ray opinion the drugs that have been used were selected, both as to application and potency, more on the physiological basis than the therapeutic; crude drugs administered in substantial doses produce physiological effects, but in an ill animal that is not what you want. The drug should be selected in accordance with its therapeutic relation to the symptoms presented by the patients, and in such potency that it will not aggravate the symnioms nor upset the animal’s system by violence of its action.. Further, the case needs watching to note tho changes and developments, with a view to change of remedy as the case requires. All this may read as extremely fidgety and troublesome. but my experience has proved it all to be exceptionally successful. The principle I roly upon in the selection of remedies is that propounded by Dr Samuel Hahnemann, commonly called homoeopathy; but though many, and especially medical practitioners, point tho finger "of scorn upon it, X can only say that tho success which follows its adoption and practice justifies any amount of confidence placed in it, as I have proved during my professional career; and it certainly does commend itself from a common-sense standpoint, as the principle, similia similibus curantur, is always applicable to all cases; hence there is no guess work or appeal to the mere imagination.”