618 THE AMERICAN BOOK OF THE DOG. 



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my mind, should always be looked upon with suspicion as 

 showing a strain of Spaniel blood. In black dogs the eyes 

 should be a dark, rich red, and in white ones a dark-brown. 

 In Germany, where these dogs are kept solely for use, color 

 is not deemed of such consequence, but in this country and 

 England solid black or white are considered absolutely 

 essential. A few years ago, black was by far the rarer color, 

 but lately, since black Poodles have become fashionable, 

 many more of them are seen, though, if a thorough exam- 

 ination be made, it will be found that at least fifty per cent, 

 have either a white star on the breast, a white lower lip, or 

 a white toe or two. 



In coat the German Poodle differs from every other dog, 

 inasmuch as the hairs should felt, or "cord," to use the 

 technical term, in long strings, slightly knotty and wavy, 

 and of about the thickness of a crow-quill, though they 

 are often seen much thicker; but this is due to lack of care 

 when the coat is growing. 



The entire coat, from the base of the skull to the root of 

 the tail, should divide evenly down the back, showing a 

 clearly defined parting, and should touch the ground, com- 

 pletely hiding the fore legs and feet, and thus, combined 

 with the cords from the throat and chest, give the dog the 

 appearance of being in petticoats. 



Whether or not this enormous amount of coat is all 

 composed of living hair I have never been able to satisfac- 

 torily determine, but I strongly suspect that where we see 

 extraordinarily long and closely felted cords (and I have 

 seen one dog who, though only eighteen inches in height, 

 had cords on his shoulders twenty-one inches long) the 

 greater portion of them is old and dead coat, especially as 

 toward spring many cords show a disposition to become 

 attenuated at about one inch from the root, and to come 

 away with a slight pull, causing the dog no pain, which 

 certainly would not be the case if the hair were alive. 



So decided is the tendency of the German Poodle's coat 

 to cord, that even if you should comb it out (an almost 

 impossible task), with a few hearty shakes it divides up 



