FAT — FEEDING 



concealing blemishes. As a matter of course, detection 

 leads to disqualification and other penalties, but the fact 

 remains that faking does exist, though possibly not to so 

 great an extent as formerly. Amongst the practiced which 

 constitute this offence against honesty are — severing the 

 muscles of faultily carried ears to make them lie properly, 

 manipulating badly carried tails, removing patches of 

 objectionable colour and superfluous hair, filing teeth, 

 dyeing coats, and applying resin or other such substances 

 to soft coats in order that they may appear harsh. In 

 former days the lip-strings of bulldogs used to be severed 

 to encourage the lay back of the nose, but of late the 

 practice has been discontinued. (See Trimming.) 



Fat. — A fat dog is never a healthy one, and a stud dog 

 or a brood bitch v^hich bears the burden of adipose tissue 

 to an abnormal extent is seldom likely to produce puppies. 

 Some dogs, however, appear to lay on flesh in defiance of 

 all the precautions their owners may adopt to prevent it ; 

 but if they are given plenty of exercise, and fed sparingly 

 but sufficiently on wholesome food, their bulk may be 

 reduced. Raw flesh and dry biscuits are the best things to 

 feed them on, and if the dog is in the habit of drinking a 

 large quantity of water his allowance may be limited. (See 

 Feeding.) 



Feather is the term applied to the fringe of hair which 

 grows on the back of the legs, on the lower side of the 

 tail, and on the edges of the ears of some breeds of dogs. 



Feeding. — Upon the question of feeding much of the 

 success of the breeder depends, as from the first mouthful 

 a dog eats to the end of his life his health, condition, 

 activity, and general well-being will largely be affected by 

 what he gets to eat. The puppy will not develop if he is 

 improperly fed, the sporting dog or the terrier will not be 

 capable of doing the work expected of him if he is in- 



85 



