Tubbing the Show Dog. 207 



ever, when I did arrive, there was Gripper lying upon the 

 arm-chair seemingly as white as snow, clean and sweet as 

 willing hands could make him. My housekeeper, being 

 fond of the dog, had "tubbed" him herself. Next morning, 

 at seven o'clock, he had a run out, when, to my amazement, 

 a blue shade appeared through the jacket, and, turning 

 back the hairs, there was the skin of the little terrier as 

 blue almost as though it had been painted ! Of course, an 

 overdose of the powder had been used, and I need scarcely 

 say Gripper did not appear in the show ring that day. 



A wire-haired fox terrier requires a little more attention 

 than the smooth one, and it is the custom to trim and pluck 

 the former to make him appear to the best advantage. 

 Considerable skill and experience are required to do this 

 properly, especially in the manner in which the hair is 

 pulled off the face in front of the eyes. Then some strains 

 require the jacket taking off the body in handfuls almost, by 

 plucking, singeing, or burning ; others have their jackets 

 made crisper or harder by artificial means, magnesia and 

 alum being generally utilised for such purposes. Such pro- 

 cedure is quite unfair, and I regret very much that the 

 Kennel Club has proved its inability to put a stop to the 

 practice. Indeed, this "faking" or trimming, by whatever 

 name it is known, has come to' such a pass that a disruption 

 was very nearly caused between the members of the Fox 

 Terrier Club those who kept the smooth variety being, of 

 course, opposed to the practice. Whether such trimming 

 will continue with so little check, time alone will show ; 

 but so long as it is tacitly allowed, which is the case in 

 almost all instances, I do not in justice see why the owners 

 of black and tan terriers should be disqualified for pull- 

 ing any brown or white hairs out of their dogs, as they 



