80 The Shepherd or Police Dog 
herd. This not only ruins many a good coat but 
often places the dog’s health in jeopardy. The shep¬ 
herd has a very dense undercoat and is most difficult 
to get dry and to suddenly expose a dog to a sudden 
change of temperature in this condition may result 
in very grave consequences. The nature of this 
coat and the habit of shedding it every year, de¬ 
mands some attention, but a good comb and a stiff 
brush vigorously applied will keep the dog as clean 
as a multitude of baths and best of all, the dog 
enjoys it, too! 
While taking the dog out near a water course, 
one need have no compunction about the voluntary 
entering of the dog into the water even on rather 
cold days. This is quite different than the enforced 
bath of the dog indoors, the temperature is the same 
and the dog uses violent exercise to dry and warm 
himself. Shepherds that are kept out of doors dur¬ 
ing the winter must be started in this way in the 
summer time so that they are acclimated to the cold, 
if they are then taken into the house they must re¬ 
main there, for one cannot alternately keep them 
housed and again exposed to the cold. Those that 
are kept outside must be provided with a warm 
wind tight box for their sleeping quarters. The 
other great requisite for the health of a dog is ex¬ 
ercise, no dog can thrive without it, and this is espe¬ 
cially so in the shepherd, whose qualifications as a 
working dog call for an abundance of exercise and 
we might add incidentally that while taking the dog 
out for this purpose, the master reaps a like benefit. 
If your dog becomes sick, the best advice to offer 
