THE FOX-TERRIER 449 



as a variety is sure to suffer. Just as the open-coated Smooths have 

 been improved by a judicious blend of the Wires, so have the latter 

 by an equally judicious cross of the former, by mating, say, a 

 sparsely clad dog of the one to a Smooth bitch that came of a stock 

 excelling in coat. 



Though these remarks on trimming have been principally 

 directed against the Wire-haired Fox-terrier, yet it must not be 

 inferred that the Smooth-haired is absolutely free from the stigma 

 that attaches to its relative. Of late years a more weather-resisting 

 jacket has been called for, as well as one sufficiently long to 

 counteract the White English Terrier-like effect a short coat 

 undoubtedly gives. To obtain this a cross with the Wire-haired 

 dog has sometimes been employed, and though the texture and 

 length of the jacket have been improved, there has frequently been 

 too much of it. The trimmer knows how to get rid of it, and how 

 to produce, by the date of the show, a jacket of the accepted type. 

 If only a dozen fashionable Fox-terriers could be kept under strict 

 supervision for three months, and only legitimate grooming (including, 

 of course, the removal of dead hair) employed, what a revelation 

 there would be ! Although too much washing is not good for the 

 Fox-terrier, be he Smooth-haired or Wire-haired, yet that some 

 cleansing is necessary before shows will be generally acknowledged. 

 All sorts of coat improvers have been introduced, from those that 

 contain alum to the dry-cleansing ones that are little more than 

 baked flour. As a matter of fact, nothing is better than washing 

 with a suitable soap the night prior to the show, using a soap that 

 contains as little alkali as possible. 



There is no need to dilate upon the companionable qualities of 

 a variety so universally known as the Fox-terrier, or to refer to 

 the many ways in which he may be utilised as a " sporting " dog. 

 Those who are desirous of knowing this will find the subject fully 

 dealt with in the two works upon the variety referred to else- 

 where. 



To breed Fox-terriers (or indeed any other variety of first-class 

 stock successfully) is by no means an easy task. The most successful, 

 taken generally, are those who have thoroughly grasped the principles 

 that underlie the science. It is not sufficient to own a first-class 

 bitch and to mate her with a first-class dog excelling where she 

 fails. Rather should she be mated to a dog that not only himself 

 scores where she is deficient, but whose ancestors have also similarly 

 been noted for such qualities. The laws of heredity and of pre- 

 potency must be considered by the intelligent breeder, and the man 

 or the woman who attempts to set up a kennel of dogs on a mere 

 rule of thumb principle is sure to come to grief. 



There is no breed of dog that is so well looked after in the 

 matter of clubs as the Fox-terrier, as there is no breed with which 



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