IN THE SHOW RING.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 787, 9 April 1910, Page 7

IN THE SHOW RING.

HOW DOCS ARE PREPARED. ! The'visitpr to one of our'great dog ihows (says an. English-paper) has no conception of the hours that have been devoted for. months ahead to the animals he caresses as he walks along the tenches. : ;'. In the various rougher-coated breeds, '■such as collies, setters, Pomeranian's, and the wiTe-ooated varieties of terriers, this is markedly so...To' present, thenvin full -bloom of .coat is .the :wbrk of months. The steps, toward this gradual ■development of coat and condition are 'as intricate as getting, a horse ready for ;ia particular race.,: .To begin with,'the dog is stripped by patient combing and: brushing off the matted top, coat, until nothing-but tha 6oft down of, the under coat remains. Then a.hair tonic is rubbed in twice or thrice a week, the dog is massaged and brushed daily, and according to his con,is he ■ dieted. .Some are given tonics or cod liver oil, to tone them' up; others arsenic, in some form, to keep the : ' blood from getting overheated,, while, the more robust are left to thrive.on their meals. : :

A month before the show the dog is 'watched more closely at feeding: time, and also as to the amount of daily exercise he requires. Dogs inclined to get cross on full meals are'put on short 'rations, and fed on underdone.or raw (meat, while they are taken for gallops (of ten and fifteen miles a day. Others [more delicately constituted, and which ■in everyday ;lifo would remain lean and hungry-looking, are. given anything and everything they will eat and restricted to a jaunt of a mile or two. These are the ones that get the tonics and the cod liver oil or the ansenic. The latter puts a gloss on the coat.-and in its way tones up the system. It's a. ticklish remedy 'to resort to, however, and if used for any length of time has a bad effect on the constitution of the progeny; . -Besides-the brushing and combing 'which collies and such undergo, the preparation of a wire-coated terrier requires an artistic faculty which does not ifaUto the lot of everyone. According 'to the formation of the dog's skull, the ;set of his eye, strength and length of •his muzzle, poise of his : neck, pitch of 'his shoulders and elbows, conformation of his bone, depth of his .ribs, set of his tail,;, and mould of his loin and hindquarters,' so does the true artist.take' cut "a bit of coat here, a bit there, a few hairsjin' another place and. a few in an-, other,'-at the 'same .time blending the whole so that .there is no suspicion of patchiness .or as if the coat has been nibbled.by rats'... ...... back .'to the 'terrier, expert, '4 s ; ; ai^ .doe. s not. cease-at the preparation, of his dogs.,fjHe. has puppies to consider, and has to bo a past master m the .wiles of training them on "de- , pertinent"—that ,is, ■; instilling them with all the assurance of a Louis XIV. court dandy, and at the same time win.nirig their confidence and affection to a degree which spells : "tractability." The first stage is to get the youngster to. regard _ a ;collar and lead as presaging a. frolic and:'a.romp.,. When he re r . -."girds', these .as'being;. connected, with "jam tarts!', and candy,~as it were, and ~ not;-as fetters, the,,- first.. lesson—the ; easiest—in : "deportment" has been . learned.. The second stage is to take the embryo champion into the world, to let-him- see' the, whirl and.hustle and bustle -of things', .so -that, however strange the'■. sights pr- : nerve racking he. doesn'frcringe'W .lose-his : ieai-.in. a wild plunge.toL rush : to" the furthest end-of the breaking:.! colt.'.to"saddle-;and,'-b'ridleV and,then.getting him ,uscdto: W barrier and a s ficld,of horses carryinglthe various: ; :::: ~.;;.^;,-,,;. The' secret of. the:.successful handling ■of a puppy:in these' stages is'self-con-, trol, patience,: and kindliness,", : as it is ■ with those who undertake trie education of young thoroughbreds. ■ Anyone' of an 'impatient, nervous temperament should leave such things to a mors placid taskmaster, or the puppy's, like the colt's, : disposition will ;bo ruined for life.

;Td inculcate all this means a keen perception into the mental trend as. well tis the humour and temperament of a blossoming canine■: champion.... Some, there..are ..who 'take' to. these things wfthYthe- same -natural.,seriousness that a well-bred man slips into evening. diress arid carries himself- in ■' a ballroom. Others, there are, the_mulish, the headrtrong,!the high-strung, and the craven, who to ah.extent comport themselves so that/they pass,, muster, but a few there are whom all the patience, all the kindliness, all the coaxing can never imbue with .the/spirit of the' thing.'