448 THE AMERICAN BOOK OF THE DOG. 



Some of the disinfectants in common use are very effective 

 and convenient for use in exterminating vermin, and should 

 be used for keeping the surroundings clean, as well as on 

 the dog. 



The practice of docking the tail and cropping the ears 

 of Yorkshire Terriers is almost universal, and while the 

 former operation is accompanied with very little pain, being 

 usually performed at from four to six weeks after birth, 

 there are good grounds for questioning the practice of crop- 

 ping the ears an operation which can not be performed 

 without pain; for even if anaesthetics are employed, and 

 proper astringents applied to the wound as soon as pos- 

 sible, there must necessarily be considerable suffering dur- 

 ing the process of healing; and while it is generally admitted 

 that an uncropped specimen would stand a small chance of 

 winning under most judges, yet it is sincerely hoped that the 

 sentiment against the practice will prevail, and that the 

 fashion of cropped dogs will be ultimately abolished. 



In preparing and keeping a Yorkshire Terrier in condi- 

 tion for exhibiting, considerable skill is necessary that it may 

 be properly presented in the show ring. No breed of dogs 

 owes more to condition for show purposes than the York- 

 shire; and a dog of this variety exhibited in bad order, or 

 unskillfully brushed, when presented to the judge, has a 

 good chance of being beaten by an inferior dog in good 

 hands. Where they are kept exclusively for the house, of 

 course less care is required, but the coat should be kept free 

 and well brushed at all times. 



It is quite an undertaking to breed a Yorkshire combin- 

 ing the proper color, texture of coat, and correct Terrier 

 type; and no amount of care or attention on the part of the 

 owner can turn a badly bred, ill-formed specimen into a 

 good one. Owing to the fact that the female, like that of 

 other animals, is quite as important an element in breeding 

 as the male, it is necessary to be as careful in selecting the 

 dam as the sire. A faulty specimen of either sex should 

 be avoided for breeding purposes. The theory some people 

 hold, that the breeding of a bitch possessing certain faults 



