412 



THE NEW BOOK OF THE DOG. 



coat will become. If you are constantly 

 " redding " it, as they say in Scotland, you 

 must inevitably tear some out with every 

 repeated operation. All that is necessary is 

 to keep it from tangle, and this is best done 

 with deft fingers rather than with a raking 



MISS A. WHISHAWS 



DROP-EARED CH. PIPER GREY 



BY WINSOME BOY BALLOCHMYLE BASHFUL. 



comb. If your dog has a flea, or ticks, or 

 any skin eruption, due to heated blood or 

 under-feeding, he will do more in a couple 

 of minutes to ravel and tangle his coat with 

 scratching than would be done with weeks 

 of neglect. To groom him once a week 

 ought to be enough. 



Needless to saj', it is well to see that 

 he does not injure his jacket by scrambling 

 through gorse bushes or trying to make his 

 way through forgotten gaps in wire netting, 

 whose points will soon take tribute of 

 treasured locks. See that there are no 

 projecting nails in the kennel, and that the 

 boards have no hidden splinters in which 

 hair will catch and be torn. The open 

 kennel window ought to be so constructed 

 that he cannot poke his muzzle through the 

 bars, and so wear away his beard. 



The kennel should, of course, be far 

 removed from the hen run, where fleas may 

 abound ; and it is advisable to leave no 

 scraps of food lying near to tempt rats, 

 which will surely bring vermin. It is well 

 periodically to sprinkle the inside of the 

 kennels with paraffin — an excellent in- 

 secticide — and if fleas should indeed make 

 an invasion, paraffin is also to be recom- 

 mended, mixed with neatsfoot oil, as a 

 dressing for the dog's coat. It will kill 



all insects, and at the same time nourish 

 the hair. 



A Skye Terrier should never really re- 

 quire conditioning for a show. He ought 

 to be kept in such a way that at a couple of 

 days' notice he is prepared to face the music 

 of the ring. This is the secret pertaining 

 to all long-coated dogs, and the desirable 

 condition can only be secured by daily 

 observation and scrutiny. This necessary 

 scrutiny cannot be relegated to a kennel- 

 man, and it has been found by experience 

 that a woman makes a far better hairdresser 

 of Skyes than a heavier fisted man. 



There are some owners of Skye Terriers 

 who hold that these dogs should never be 

 washed with soap and water ; who argue 

 that cleanliness may be maintained merely 

 by the use of the long bristled brush, and 

 that, however well rinsed out after a washing, 

 the hair \\-ill always remain clogged with 

 soap, spoiling the natural bloom which is 

 one of the beauties of a Skye's jacket. This 

 is a matter of opinion, and it may be said 

 that all depends upon the amount of soap 

 used. A liquid preparation in which a 

 limited quantity of soap is included cannot 



MRS. HUGH RIPLEYS 

 DROP-EARED CH. PERFECTION. 

 BY MERRY TOM JOYFUL. 



Photogiaph by Kimiil. 



do harm. As a cleansing agent, however, 

 nothing is better than Scrubb's ammonia, 

 sufficiently diluted. Subsequently the groom- 

 ing may be facilitated by the use of some 

 light, volatile oil, applied with the brush. 

 The mating and breeding of the Skye 

 require careful attention. Already it has 

 become difficult to obtain a complete out- 



