CONDITIONING THE COAT. 1 69 



dog, but it would be advisable when the coat is badly off 

 and very rough and staring, for it would keep the hair 

 down, and a moderate degree of heat being conducive to 

 fine hair, the extra warmth would have a tendency to make 

 the coat fine and glossy. On the other hand, were a collie, 

 for instance, soft in coat it would not do to blanket him, 

 but on the contrary it would be well to make him give up 

 his kennel quarters for a time and rough it. 



Now comes the grooming, which must be done faithfully 

 at least once, or better twice, every day ; and the longer 

 the time the owner devotes to it the greater his dog's 

 chances of winning. 



The hair once straightened out, — exceeding care and 

 gentleness being used in the operation — unless the coat 

 is naturally rough, shaggy or curly the comb should be 

 laid aside, to be resorted to only when absolutely required. 

 And it is not safe to use it often on a long-coated dog like 

 a collie, because the teeth are liable to get down to the 

 undercoat ; and many a dog of this breed has had his coat 

 ruined for the show season by carelessness or ignorance 

 on the part of the kennel-man. Nor is the use of the 

 comb often necessary with the common varieties of dogs, 

 other than those with coats like the deerhound, where a 

 good brushing is given every day. 



The brush — of bristles from an inch and one-quarter to 

 an inch and one-half in length for long-coated dogs, or a 

 dandy brush for the smooth-coated — should be used for 

 at least half an hour every morning. This should be fol- 

 lowed by hair gloves, and these be kept busy for about 

 the same length of time. Then should come the rubbing 

 with the bare hands, — the one means of all for putting on 

 a high polish — and this also should be persisted in for 

 half an hour, and even an hour if possible. 



All this must be done at least once a day in order to put 



