AND HINTS TO BUYERS 15 



with horse -clippers some three weeks before a show, 

 but much judgment is required to estimate the rate 

 at which the new coat is likely to grow. 



As is well known, the wire-haired dogs should have 

 a coat hard and wiry in texture, and this result is 

 sometimes attained artificially by the application of 

 alum or resin. Unfortunately, Pomeranians, too, are 

 frequently trimmed on manes, breechings, chest, and 

 sometimes body, in order to make the dog appear 

 more cobby and even in coat"; this also is a breach 

 of the regulations, calculated to deceive the novice. 

 In other varieties colour is an essential feature, and 

 it is by no means uncommon for aniline dyes to 

 be used to bring about an improvement ; these being 

 made fast by the addition of a little alum, are most 

 difficult of detection. Some fakers favour a solution 

 of permanganate of potash. White markings on 

 black dogs are destroyed temporarily by means of 

 logwood or copperas, while a blacklead brush has 

 been known to give the desirable bluish tint to the 

 coat of a Yorkshire Terrier. I have heard of a 

 pair of tweezers being employed to pluck out the 

 white hairs from the spots of a Dalmatian. A com- 

 paratively venial deception is the soaking of the top- 

 knots on the heads of Bedlingtons and Dandies in 

 buttermilk so that they may have a nice fluffy 

 appearance. 



I am not reciting this disagreeable list of mis- 

 doings to make you feel that every dog breeder is 

 given up to fraudulent practices, for such is not the 

 case. The majority of men and women who take 

 up breeding as a hobby are perfectly straightforward 

 and honourable in their dealings, and would scorn to 

 do anything so contemptible ; but I am merely giving 



