The DOG in the HOME & KENNEL .sx Ophthalmia or inflammation of the lining membrane of the eyes , is exceedingly common among dogs .sx It is due to a variety of causes , such as the poison of distemper , exposure to draughts , and very frequently to the habit which many owners have of so seating their dogs in the open motor-car that there is no protection against the wind .sx The existence of the malady is denoted by wateriness of the eyes and intolerance of light .sx In distemper the discharge adheres to the of the eyelids , very often sealing them together , and if the disease is not checked the cornea of the eye becomes opaque , or cloudy , and may lead to total blindness .sx It is important to examine your dog's eyes in the process of grooming , and if they are at all bloodshot , or dim , a few drops of boracic eye lotion is an easy and effectual remedy .sx In acute cases of inflammation the animal should be kept for a few days in a darkened room and fed on invalid food , and the bowels should be opened with the castor oil and syrup of buckthorn mixture .sx The weeping eyes so often seen in the Pekingese and the Japanese are sometimes due to the closing of the lachrymal ducts , and in such cases the attention of a veterinary surgeon is required .sx The Incompetent House Dog .sx When acquiring a new house dog one can never be sure that it will fulfil one's expectations .sx Allowance has to be made for the animal to get accustomed to its new surroundings and adapt itself to strange conditions .sx Its character and its alertness as a watch can only be appreciated when it has been an inmate of the house for several days and perhaps even weeks .sx The impossibility of knowing on short acquaintance what a dog will turn out to be is illustrated in the experience of a reader who is anxious to know what is wrong with his house dog .sx He lives in a solitary bungalow on the river bank not far from London and as his wife is alone all day during his absence in town he installed a house dog .sx He was offered a big , pedigree , white Bull Terrier , and , naturally , secured him at once - the largest and finest specimen of the breed he had ever seen .sx The Terrier has now been in residence four months , is well fed and cared for and has a thoroughly comfortable home .sx But he is absolutely useless as a house dog .sx " He takes no notice whatever of suspicious outside noises , never even pricking his ears , and instead of barking or growling at the approach of a stranger , as any ordinary dog would , he runs to meet him , wagging his tail .sx Everybody is welcome , no matter how suspicious looking or uncouth .sx " " On two occasions , " writes his perplexed owner , " he has followed strangers and got lost , and he never makes any attempt to find his way home , but just " pals on " with people until handed over to the police .sx When he sees me coming along the river bank he never runs to meet me , nor gives any indication of being glad to see me beyond a perfunctory wag of his tail , which he would give anybody .sx Yet I feed him , put him to bed , and pet him in every way possible .sx What is the matter with the dog ?sx Why does he make friends with everybody , and why does he fail to appreciate a good master and a good home ?sx He is not deaf , because he is quite obedient to the word of command and answers to his name readily enough .sx But as for being any use as a house dog , well , we might as well keep a rabbit .sx " I am interested in being assured that this Bull Terrier is not deaf - a common fault in the breed which would have explained everything .sx But it is clear that he is deficient in many of the attributes which we look for in a competent house dog .sx The absence of the homing instinct , and his failure to discriminate between friend and stranger , suggests that he may be lacking in the sense of smell .sx If he has a good nose , capable eyesight , and is not deaf , I am at a loss to account for his stupidity on any physical ground .sx He is two and a half years old , and at his age he ought to have all his faculties in good order .sx But I am told that this is his fourth home within a year and it looks as if his former owners were not anxious to keep him .sx It is evident he has not been ill-treated , or he would not be so friendly with strangers , but he may have been improperly trained , and if this be so I fear that it is too late to rectify matters without the expenditure of a great deal of time .sx It is not a question of the particular breed , but of the individual specimen .sx There are wise dogs and fool dogs in all breeds , and this one happens to be one of the fools .sx " Naturally , " concludes its owner , " nobody can live with a dog for four months without getting fond of him , and we are distressed at the idea of having to replace him by a more trustworthy dog .sx " Nevertheless , in the circumstances , I suggest that this is the only remedy .sx The Canine Population .sx The writer in one of last Sunday's newspapers expressed the regret that the census forms did not include an extra column to be filled in by the householder stating what dogs he kept and what breed .sx This would have provided an excellent means of determining the aggregate of the canine population , but the owners of the miscellaneous kennels composed of various breeds would have required a space larger than the size of a postage stamp in which to make their record and it would be an impossible task to disentangle the details and set them forth in a clear and precise volume of statistics .sx THE WRONG WAY AND .sx To feed young puppies which have a tendency to the undershot jaw on entirely soft food is wrong .sx They should be given plenty of small long bones ( not of rabbit or fowl .sx ) These will tend to expand and thereby shorten the lower jaw and assist Nature in correcting teeth .sx THE RIGHT WAY .sx It does not seem likely that we shall ever be able to arrive at a nearer estimate of the number of dogs kept in this country than that which is provided by the Inland Revenue returns of licences .sx These give an approximate idea but there are many exemptions and many evasions ; the licence is paid only on dogs over six months old and the authorities take no cognisance of the difference in breeds .sx If the dog owner on paying his annual tax were required to name the breed of each dog then we should be able to learn what proportion the various breeds bear to one another in the scale of popularity and to what degree the dogs of recognised breeds are outnumbered by crossbreds and mongrels .sx The registrations at the Kennel Club represent only a very small percentage of the total population of dog , and , of course , they are concerned exclusively with pedigree stock intended for a public career .sx Waifs and Strays .sx In these days when most people have at least a smattering of knowledge on canine affairs , it is not often that a really good dog can be picked up from amongst the waifs and strays to be seen at the homes for lost dogs .sx The animals that find their way to these places of refuge are usually the curs of low degree , the deformed and diseased mongrels that have been purposely been sent adrift by owners who have had no interest in harbouring them .sx It is very rarely that a dog of recognised breed and respectable parentage sinks to the level of destitution which would warrant its being treated as a valueless waif .sx For a large percentage of boarders at Battersea the most appropriate destination is the lethal chamber .sx Nevertheless , we can sometimes chance upon a fairly decent dog at these institutions , and there are dealers who make a point of regularly visiting these places in the hope of picking up a bargain .sx The instance was recorded in the DOG WORLD recently of a visitor at the Dogs' Home at Battersea being so charmed by one particular dog of unfamiliar breed that he bought it for a few shillings to discover later that he had come into possession of an exceedingly good Keeshond ; and I noted in this place a few weeks ago how Sir Claud Alexander bought at the same institution a dog that was covered with mats and mud , but which on being washed and groomed revealed itself as a typical Clydesdale Terrier and the subsequent winner of many prizes at championship shows .sx The law which makes it necessary that all dogs shall wear a collar with a name plate is an effectual safeguard against loss , and I understand that since this order came into force there has been a perceptible diminution in the number of good dogs that gravitate towards the homes for waifs and strays .sx The Landseer Type .sx The same reader , who has been studying a copy of Landseer's well-known picture , " A Distinguished Member of the Humane Society , " asks if the dog represented would have been typical of the breed , seeing that it is white and black , instead of wholly black .sx Most decidedly it was typical of the breed when the picture was painted in 1838 , and it remains so typical that it is still of value in enabling us to make comparisons with specimens of the variety to-day .sx The white and black variety were at one time very much favoured , but of late years they are seldom seen and very few have reached the perfection which distinguished such champions of the black variety as Shelton Viking , Gipsy Princess , King Stuart , Bowden Perfection , Lady Buller , Waterwitch , Timbucktoo , Rothwell Bess , and Ferrol Neptune .sx The Lighter Side of DOGGY DOINGS .sx AWARD OF A " DOG WORLD " BISCUIT .sx LATELY I have not been able to award one of my biscuits .sx I am sorry .sx It would seem that either nothing is happening amongst doggy people which calls for a biscuit or that I do not hear of anything suitable .sx I am , to be quite frank , disappointed that my good friends do not keep me better posted about the unusual happenings which must be taking place somewhere , and which , I think , if they were jocularly and good-naturedly referred to in my page , would add a little to the gaiety of dog lovers , if not of nations .sx As I have before said , I have plenty of biscuits to give away , and while nobody can eat them , the winners can hang my Certificate of Humour in their homes or kennels , and which will , I am sure , not only interest their friends when they call to have a drop of whiskey , or a cup of tea - perhaps with a drop of whiskey in it - but these Certificates of Humour will earmark and band down to posterity some of their notable achievements .sx I have , however , heard this week of an incident , which , I think , well deserves a " DOG WORLD Biscuit .sx " Mrs. Demaine , one of the DOG WORLD Pug correspondents , is , of course a prominent breeder and exhibitor of Pugs , and it appears that she entered four dogs at the Pug Dog Club's open show , announced to be held at the Holy Trinity Church Hall , Great Portland Street , London , on April 22nd .sx Mrs. Demaine , good lady that she is , is one who is everlastingly drumming it into other people the necessity of making a special note of this , that , and the other .sx A Friend Indeed .sx And yet she herself appears to have failed to make a note of the fact that the Pug Club's show was to be held on the Wednesday .sx She had somehow got it into her head that it was to be held on the Thursday , and she was actually preparing to take her dogs to the show on the latter day .sx