THE POODLE. 



131 



T. Heath Joyce, who has investigated tlie 

 history of the breed, states that the Poodle 

 was first introduced into Great Britain 

 during the Continental wars at the begin- 

 ning of the nineteenth century. For a long 

 period he was held in contempt as a mere 

 trick dog and the companion of mounte- 

 banks, who were believed to train him with 

 cruelty ; but in recent years his great 

 natural intelligence and apt- 

 ness in learning have won 

 for him a due appreciation, 

 while the remarkable charac- 

 teristics of his coat have 

 placed him as an interesting 

 indi\"idual in a class apart 

 from all other dogs. 



The profuse and long coat 

 of this dog has the pecuh- 

 arity that if not kept con- 

 stantly brushed out it twists 

 up into little cords which 

 incre;ise in length as the 

 new liair gro\\-s and clings 

 about it. The unshed old 

 hair and the new growth 

 entwined together thus be- 

 come distinct rope-like cords. 

 Eventually, if these cords 

 are not cut short, or acci- 

 dentally torn off, they drag 

 along the ground, and so 

 prevent the poor animal 

 from moving with any degree of comfort or 

 freedom. Some few owniers, who admire 

 and cultivate these long cords, keep them 

 tied up in bundles on the dog's back, but 

 so unnatural and unsightly a method of 

 burdening the animal is not to be com- 

 mended. 



Corded Poodles are very showy, and 

 from the remarkable appearance of the 

 coat, attract a great deal of public atten- 

 tion when exhibited at shows ; but they have 

 lost popularitv among most fanciers, and 

 have become few in number ouing to the 

 obvious fact that it is impossible to make 

 pets of them or keep them in the house. 

 The reason of this is that the coat must, from 

 time to time, be oiled in order to keep the 

 cords supple and prevent them from snap- 



ping, and, of course, as their coats cannot 

 be brushed, the only way of keeping the 

 dog clean is to wash him, which with a corded 

 Poodle is a lengthy and laborious process. 

 Further, the coat takes hours to dry, and 

 unless the newly washed dog be kept in 

 a warm room he is very liable to catch 

 cold. The result is, that the coats of 

 corded Poodles are almost in\"ariabh- dirty, 



MRS. w. BOWERS- CH. CANNON HILL BEAUTY 



BY THE DIE GRACE DARLING. 



BRED BY MADAME DAGOIS. 



and somewhat smelly. The exhibition 

 of this ^•ariety has also been much dis- 

 couraged by the action of the Kennel Club in 

 disqualifying, on the objection of an ex- 

 hibitor, all the corded Poodles at one show 

 (except those of the objector) on the ground 

 that their coats were oiled. 



This rule of the Kemiel Club invol\-es 

 the necessity of every trace of oil being care- 

 fully removed every time a corded Poodle 

 is exhibited at a show, and consequently the 

 variety is becoming less and less popular. 

 At one time it was suggested that cordeds 

 and non-cordeds were two distinct breeds, 

 but it is now generally accepted that the 

 coat of every well-bred Poodle will, if allowed, 

 develop cords. 



Curly Poodles, on the other hand, have 



