474 The Dog Book 



dog; in fact, we know one that was. That was Gaelic, a dog Graham had, 

 and as at that time there was Httle love between Graham and the club 

 secretary, Dr. Carey, we were surprised to hear that Graham had sold 

 Gaelic to him, for the dog had done quite a bit of winning. Next time 

 we met Billy we asked the reason for the sale. "Well, Gaelic is not the best- 

 coated dog in the world and I'm a busy man. Now the Doctor isn't. He 

 ives away down there at Borris, with hardly a thing to do, and he is in a 

 fair way to go to the bad if his idle hands are not occupied, so out of real 

 friendliness and a desire for his salvation I sold him Gaelic, and — he'll 

 keep him busy." We do not remember the dog being shown much, if at 

 all, after that. Anyway that was the only dog that we ever heard of that 

 was presumably tampered with or prepared. We never used the terrier 

 combs that are a necessity nowadays and tend to tear out the under coat, as 

 well as the old coat that may be removed. 



That style of showing we are never likely to return to, but we most 

 certainly are exhibiting our dogs more naturally than was the case a year 

 or two ago, when trimming was carried to an unwarranted extent. We 

 have only seen one case of extreme trimming this season, when the head 

 of a well-known bitch was outrageously barbered. That was bad enough, 

 but we regret to say that for the first time we saw during the present year 

 the pernicious filling of the coat with a preparation of rosin. We saw two 

 dogs so treated, and as we were exhibiting against them we told the persons 

 interested in them to brush them out at once and never let it be done again 

 at any show we attended. This was at once complied with. One of the 

 dogs was owned by an amateur and he expressed surprise that we objected, 

 saying that every person did it. We responded that such was not the case, 

 and only once before had we seen such a thing. It is perhaps a little difficult 

 to say exactly where preparation by trimming ceases to be legitimate. Still, 

 the line of deception as to a dog's demerit is not altogether undistinguishable, 

 and anyway rosin in the coat is fraud, pure and simple. The question is 

 solely that of deception practiced on the judge, or sought to be practiced 

 on that official, and not that of the preparation of the dog in a legitimate way. 

 It is not deception to clean up a dog's feet so that they are of good shape, 

 round and well knuckled up, for that is not deceiving the judge, but to clip, 

 singe, or pluck a naturally woolly headed dog is deception, for with his 

 woolly topknot he would soon be turned out of the ring. That is the 

 vital point of the question of trimming. 



