14 THE CHOICE OF A DOG 



from anything likely to cause irritation ; eczema can 

 be cured, but it means a good deal of attention, and is 

 most decidedly not worth buying if you can do with- 

 out it. The healthy puppy will look well, have a 

 bright eye, and handle agreeably. His skin should 

 be loose and capable of being drawn up in folds. 

 If this is the case, you may safely assume that there 

 is not much wrong with him. 



In case you should propose buying an adult dog, 

 a few words as to the pitfalls in which the unwary 

 may stumble may not be out of place. Certain 

 varieties lend themselves more readily than others 

 to the art of the faker. All the rough -haired Terriers, 

 such as Fox, Irish, Airedale, Scottish, Welsh, and 

 Dandie Dinmont Terriers, are frequently denuded 

 by plucking and rasping, or even by the use of 

 scissors, of a good deal of superfluous coat, being 

 much smartened up by the process. Indeed, things 

 have come to such a pass that I am afraid more 

 Terriers are shown plucked than in anything like a 

 natural coat. The evil has been far-reaching because 

 many breeders have found it easier to do a little 

 barbering than to take the pains to breed for coats 

 of a correct texture and length. The consequence 

 is that an amateur takes a fancy to a Terrier at a 

 show, buys him in the hope of exhibiting on a future 

 occasion, and in a month or six weeks is disheartened 

 to find that he has grown hair as soft and almost 

 as long as the wool of a sheep. If plucking were 

 universally recognised as legitimate, no one could, 

 of course, take exception to it";_ but the regulations 

 of the Kennel Club as to the preparation of dogs 

 for shows lay it down definitely that it is illegal. 

 In some cases it is not unusual to go over a Terrier 



