154 A GAMEKEEPER'S NOTE-BOOK 



but to rid the dogs of all the unwelcome guests they 

 may harbour. Choosing a warm, sunny day, the 

 keeper gets to work betimes, so that he may have his 

 dogs washed and out to dry by midday ; they must 

 be perfectly dry before nightfall. He sets up a 

 wooden tub on an old box, for his own convenience, 

 and brings forth his pails and cans of water water 

 of just that tepid temperature which a dog likes. 

 He wants his dogs to enjoy their bath, and knows 

 that if he scalds or otherwise frightens them they 

 will be shy of the wash-tub for ever afterwards. To 

 pitch a dog unawares into a tub of water is as foolish 

 as to throw him into a pond. He must be coaxed 

 to his bath with words of encouragement, so that 

 he will see there is nothing to be frightened about. 

 Properly treated, dogs soon learn to appreciate the 

 wash-tub, and there may be trouble in making them 

 come out. 



Having brought the dog to the tub, the next work 

 is to put him in and thoroughly wet his skin not 

 an easy matter with a retriever, who may lie in water 

 for ten minutes and yet keep his skin dry. So the 

 keeper works in the water by hand, rubbing the 

 hair the wrong way, and gently persuading the dog 

 to lie down. Once comfortably settled in the tub, 

 a happy look comes over the dog's face. This, by 

 the way, may not be true of the face of the keeper's 

 wife, should she come to her door to watch pro- 

 ceedings, and find that her good man has borrowed 

 her new wash-tub. To make the best of a bad busi- 



