412 
coat will become. If you are constantly 
“redding ” it, as they say in Scotland, you 
must inevitably tear some out with every 
repeated operation. All that is necessary 1S 
to keep it from tangle, and this is best done 
with deft fingers rather than with a raking 
MISS A. WHISHAW'S 
DROP-EARED CH. PIPER GREY 
BY WINSOME BOY——BALLOCHMYLE BASHFUL. 
comb. If your dog has a flea, or ticks, or 
any skin eruption, due to heated blood or 
under-feeding, he will do more in a couple 
of minutes to ravel and tangle his coat with 
scratching than would be done with weeks 
of neglect. To groom him once a week 
ought to be enough. 
Needless to say, it is well to see that 
he does not injure his jacket by scrambling 
through gorse bushes or trying to make his 
way through forgotten gaps in wire netting, 
whose points will soon take tribute of 
treasured locks. See that there are no 
projecting nails in the kennel, and that the 
boards have no hidden splinters in which 
hair will catch and be torn. The open 
kennel window ought to be so constructed 
that he cannot poke his muzzle through the 
bars, and so wear away his beard. 
The kennel should, of course, be far 
removed from the hen run, where fleas may 
abound; and it is advisable to leave no 
scraps of food lying near to tempt rats, 
which will surely bring vermin. It is well 
periodically to sprinkle the inside of the 
kennels with paraffin—an excellent in- 
secticide—and if fleas should indeed make 
an invasion, paraffin is also to be recom- 
mended, mixed with neatsfoot oil, as a 
dressing for the dog’s coat. It will kill 
THE NEW BOOK OF THE DOG. 
all insects, and at the same time nourish 
the hair. 
A Skye Terrier should never really re- 
quire conditioning for a show. He ought 
to be kept in such a way that at a couple of 
days’ notice he is prepared to face the music 
of the ring. This is the secret pertaining 
to all long-coated dogs, and the desirable 
condition can only be secured by daily 
observation and scrutiny. This necessary 
scrutiny cannot be relegated to a kennel- 
man, and it has been found by experience 
that a woman makes a far better hairdresser 
of Skyes than a heavier fisted man. 
There are some owners of Skye Terriers 
who hold that these dogs should never be 
washed with soap and water; who argue 
that cleanliness may be maintained merely 
by the use of the long bristled brush, and 
that, however well rinsed out after a washing, 
the hair will always remain clogged with 
soap, spoiling the natural bloom which is 
one of the beauties of a Skye’s jacket. This 
is a matter of opinion, and it may be said 
that all depends upon the amount of soap 
used. A liquid preparation in which a 
limited quantity of soap is included cannot 
MRS. HUGH RIPLEY'S 
DROP-EARED CH. PERFECTION. 
BY MERRY TOM——JOYFUL. 
Photograph by Russell. 
do harm. As a cleansing agent, however, 
nothing is better than Scrubb’s ammonia, 
sufficiently diluted. Subsequently the groom- 
ing may be facilitated by the use of some 
light, volatile oil, applied with the brush. 
The mating and breeding of the Skye 
require careful attention. Already it has 
become difficult to obtain a complete out- 
