St. John Byrd, 'Advice to a Would-be Kennelmaid on Going to the Dogs', Our Dogs 85 (20th Nov. 1931), p. 538.- Creation
-
Creator (Definite): Anon.Date: 20 Nov 1931
- Current Holder(s)
-
- No links match your filters. Clear Filters
-
-
Cited byAn Old Hand to Our Dogs, 'More Advice to Would-Be Kennelmaids', Our Dogs 85 (27th Nov. 1931), p. 608.
Description:Sir,- I quite agree with much written by St. John Byrd in Our Dogs of Nov. 20. But there are several points on which I beg to differ. Re the question of uniform. To begin with, riding breeches are not suitable for kennel work; they are too tight at the knee. Much better for this work are the landworker’s breeches, in either corduroy or khaki drill, for great necessity for all kennel uniform is its easy fitting and easy to wash.
My advice as to kennel coats is: Don’t have them too light in colour; khaki, butcher blue, a good mid-green are all suitable, and will, with care, keep presentable for a week. And the blouses. Nothing looks neater than a khaki scout shirt; it is made of good hard-wearing material, looks clean, washes well, and there is plenty of “play” for movement when scrubbing and grooming.'
Finally, the question of boots. Far better to have good stout shoes, well oiled, plenty of golf stockings, and for wet weather rubber Wellingtons. As for the question of shorts for summer, the wearer must judge for herself. Some look a figure of fun in them, and would be far better wearing the khaki-drill breeches recommended.
The question of Sunday work should really be taken strongly. No other profession has to work as kennelmaids do. They are expected to work six and a half days a week, compared to the five and a half days of other outdoor workers. Even farm workers, when they have tended the needs of their stock, have leisure on Sunday. From my own experience of many years, both in boarding and private kennels, and in my own breeding and boarding kennel, it is not necessary for the kennelmaid to do more than clean, feed, and exercise the dogs on a Sunday. No grooming should be done and no extra exercising. Also, where two kennelmaids are employed, one should be free each Sunday for part of the day.’
Relevant passages from the article:
'She [i.e. the kennelmaid] will probably be expected to provide herself with a uniform, consisting of riding breeches, boots, blouses, and at least three kennel coats. The latter are best as light as possible: the breeches are best of dark fustian; and a tip which cost me several months of discomfort, let her riding boots fit snugly to the knee: mine were a little short, which necessitated my wearing thick golf stockings, even on the hottest day, to turn over the tops. She will be sensible, too, if during the winter months she drops a few well-timed hints that she would be nothing loth to wearing khaki shorts under her kennel-coats during the summer months. Tramping over the moors, clad in heavy riding boots and elegantly fitting breeches, exercising Irish Wolfhounds, in blazing sun, made even me wish I had shosen to dispose of ice cream in a large airy emporium, or to sit adding up figures in a shady office.
The work is hard, the hours from round about six till bedtime. Sundays differ only from weekdays in that the people one encounters in the roads are clad in stiff unnatural garments, and are even more perturbed than usual in meeting a pack of hefty and inquisitive dogs.'
-
Quoted byO. Spelman to Our Dogs, 'More Advice to Would-Be Kennelmaids', Our Dogs 85 (27th Nov. 1931), p. 608.
Description:‘Sir,- In reference to the article in your paper, “Advice to a Would-Be Kennelmaid on Going to the Dogs,” I should like to say I think the writer’s advice most misleading to any girl wishing to take up kennel work as a career. She is advised not to choose a commercial kennel. But surely all kennels are run, if not for profit, at least to pay their own way. In which case, of course, dogs must be sold, and besides, the number of dogs would soon be beyond all control if all were kept.
The writer says that there is little chance of gaining veterinary experience in this type of kennel, “since illness is a disaster to the kennel to be avoided at all cost.” Why should any kind of kennel welcome illness?
The writer’s experience as a pupil is certainly unfortunate; but in most cases if a girl proves to be intelligent and reliable, in a few weeks she will be given responsibility. The hours stated are ridiculously long. No one would expect a girl to work from six in the morning till bedtime: from 8 a.m. till 6 p.m. is far more usual. There should certainly be time to read books and newspapers, for I maintain that, however great her love of animals, that alone is not sufficient to satisfy a normal and intelligent girl.
I agree that the life of a kennelmaid is a great life; but most certainly not, tied, as the writer of this article suggests.’
Relevant passages from article:
'The first thing is this, if she is really keen on dogs, I should advise her to take up child-nursing. Following the method of the inimitable Jeeves, and studying the psychology of the case, I should imagine that she will have not particular passion for children, therefore she will expect no pleasure from that profession nor receive any disappointment. But from dog work (though she would emphatically deny it) she will expect perfect bliss and daily continuity of those joys which she has hitherto enjoyed all too rarely as a hobby. I commend her to the sentiment of the line,
For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand,
and suggest that she nail it firmly above her bed and imbibe it at frequent intervals.
If, however, she is determined, I can only advise her not to choose a commercial kennel, for if she has a real love for dogs it will surely break her heart to be in a place where the animals are regarded as so many square feet of investment, to be fed, groomed, and disposed of for profit as soon as possible. In a kennel which specialises in buying and selling there is little or no chance of making canine friends, or of gaining any knowledge of veterinary work, since illness is a disaster to the kennel which is avooided at all costs.
...
The work is hard, the hours from round about six till bedtime. Sundays differ only from weekdays in that the people one encounters in the roads are clad in stiff unnatural garments, and are even more perturbed than usual in meeting a pack of hefty and inquisitive dogs. She will have little or no time for reading - kennelmaiding is the best antidote I know for a surfeit of superfluous knowledge gathered at school...
...
The compensations of kennelmaiding are many. There will be the thrill of leaning back to watch a tired mother with six small blind bullet heads questing her side - the first litter she has helped to bring into the world; the last round at night, when her tired feet drag a little as she stares at the white-faced stars, and gulps just a little as she thinks how much she loves this queer unruly breed under her care. There will be her first show, and the first time she is left entirely in charge, and as the swaying trailer, brearing the kennel champions, disappears round the bend in the road, and she turns to walk back, feeling like any liner captain or Atlantic flyer, to her kennels. Oh it is a great life!'
