100 DOGS : THEIR MANAGEMEKT, 



Was?iing dogs is not a custom deserving of half the 

 consideration which is bestowed upon it. The operation 

 is not so necessary as it is generally imagined. Soap and 

 water make the hair look white ; but the coat usually 

 becomes soiled the quicker because of their employment. 

 The use of alkalies, soda, or potash, in the water, ren- 

 ders the immediate effects more conspicuous ; but unfor- 

 tunately these substances also make the after-conse- 

 quences more vexatious. They take the sebaceous or 

 unctuous secretion from the coat. The skin is deprived 

 of its natural protector in this animal ; the cuticle grows 

 weak and dry. The hair is rendered rough ; is prepared 

 to catch the dirt ; and not unfrequently the skin itself, 

 by nature striving to counteract the effect of its depriva- 

 tion, pours forth a secretion that aids in causing it to ap- 

 pear foul. Above all, the warmth, so repeatedly and 

 often inhumanly applied to the entire surface of the body, 

 debilitates the system of the creature, and generates in 

 the long run certain disease, even if by the drying imme- 

 diate disorder be not engendered. The warm-bath to 

 the dog is peculiarly debilitating, and the heat which the 

 hand of a cook would endure with a sense of comfort, 

 will sometimes cause the dog to faint. Panting is a sign 

 of sensible weakness in this animal, and few of these 

 creatures are washed without exhibiting it. If washing 

 is insisted upon, the water should never be warm, and in 

 cold weather only should the chill be taken off. The 

 soap ought to be of-the mildest quality ; but the yelk of 

 an egg is much to be preferred, and in its effects is every 



