THE CHOW-CHOW AND HAIRLESS DOG 547 



These dogs are somewhat peculiar in disposition, and will some- 

 times take singular likes and dislikes ; they become very attached 

 to their owners and are fascinating companions, but are somewhat 

 more quarrelsome than some other varieties of foreign dogs. 



The selection of puppies should not take place too early, as at 

 the time of birth the ears are not erect, but should become so 

 later on, nor is the tongue black. The latter is red when the 

 puppies are born, but in course of a short time a spot or two of 

 black is to be seen which gradually spreads until the whole tongue 

 is covered. This, however, is not invariably so, as sometimes the 

 tongue becomes only partially black, and in some cases does not 

 change at all. In the latter event a dog's chance of winning would, 

 at the present time, be lost altogether, whilst in the former it 

 would be very materially diminished. According to the points 

 of the Chow-Chow Club, a dog that does not carry its tail in the 

 orthodox way should be disqualified, but it ought to be borne 

 in mind that dogs that are at all shy will at once drop their tails 

 when frightened. Although such a defect as the tail not being 

 carried properly in the ring should unquestionably be taken into 

 consideration by the judge, it is a mistake that a dog, however 

 good it may be in all other respects, should be thrown out of 

 competition altogether solely on account of one fault, and one, 

 it should be remembered, that the dog may not really possess, as 

 the bad carriage of the tail may be caused by the strange surround- 

 ings of the show ring. 



Chow VIII. (Fig. 1 10) one of the best dogs of the breed exhibited, 

 has had a very successful show career, his typical head and deep 

 red coat leaving nothing to be desired. 



There is another variety of these dogs in which the coat is short ; 

 the head much resembles that of a raccoon, and the skin on the 

 forehead is slightly wrinkled. In other prick-eared dogs the inside 

 of the ear is protected by hair, but such is not the case with these 

 dogs, the ear being as smooth as though it had been shaven. 

 Several good specimens of this variety have been exhibited in recent 

 years, but one of the first seen on the show-bench was Chinese 

 Puzzle, a bitch sent to the Zoological Gardens by some one who 

 was under the impression that she was a rare wild animal. 



The following are the points of the breed as drawn up by the 

 Chow-Chow Club : 



Head. Skull flat and broad, with little stop, well filled out under the eyes. 



Muzzle. Moderate in length, and broad from the eyes to the point (not 

 pointed at the end like a fox). 



Nose. Black, large, and wide (in cream-coloured specimens a pink nose 

 is allowable). 



Tongue. Black. 



Eyes. Dark and small (in a blue dog light colour is permissible). 



Ears. Small, pointed, and carried stiffly erect. They should be placed well 



