The Vinita daily chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1902-1913, 1903-12-22
FIXING FOR THE DOG SHOW.
Great Fusaing and Infinite Pains
Taken in Preparing Animals
for Exhibition.

seem d pretty enough pastime for child
dren, but hardly what the average adult
could call work. Nevertheless, in pre-
pairing dogs for such a show as the ex-
hibition of the Ladies' Kennel Associ-
alton Of America men are employed In
giving dogs even more elaborate toilets
than these. More time Is doubtless
spent in, combing and brushing the hair
Of some dogs than In arranging the
pompadours Of their mattresses, says the
New York Tribune
When dogs come from all parts or the
country for a show various breeds stand
the Journey In various ways. Terriers,
because Of their highly nervous tenn
peraments. are likely to lose consider
able flesh, and need to be fed well just
before the exhibition. Bulldogs, st.
Bernards and other large, long-haired
dogs are good travellers, and sometimes
gain so much weight by change that
thew have to be exercised sharply to
reduce their weight When exercise
does not bring off the flesh, still quick
er means Of shrinking them" is mas
sage. The keeper rubs and rubs and
rubs his dog until his extra flesh, like
the smoke Of Sir Walter Raleigh's pipe,
cannot be weighed
The longer hair dog has, the more
work to Condition him" for an exhl-
oition. For example, after a Yorkshire
terrier RECEIVERS from his journey, ne is
bathed and his hair brushed This kind
Of a dog should be put up for exhibit as
"near out Of the tub" as possible The
man who brushes his hair must have an
arm Of iron. for he must keep brushing
for hours. often two men alternate at
the task, and after one has thoroughly
exhausted both arms his relay takes up
the task. A special kind of brush Is em-
ployed, which resembles a brush Tor the
human hair, but the bristles are about
twice as long, After the hair has been
brushed until 1t waves like the tabled
fleece which Jason sought, it is tied up In
curl papers. Should the dog care 70
take a nap. socks are put on his feet, lest
In scratching his ear he should dishevel
his toilet. and his ear placed just so that
the weight of his head will not crumple
1t.
In the preparation of French poodle
a man must be a carpenter as well as
a landscape gardener The wooolly hair
of this breed of poodle Is not only
cropped skintight about his loins and
legs, but tufts are left here and there to
represent bracelets, rosettes and ear
rings. Some dog artists use merely an
ordinary pair of highly sharpened scis-
sors for the task, and they spend hours
cutting the hair of one leg so that the
bracelet of hair which sticks out around
the ankle will be perfectly symmet-
rical. To insure results that will be
geometrically correct, the most scientific
artists use calipers, JUS as does q car
penter in turning Q block of wood.
The bracelet of one leg must, Of
course, correspond exactly with the
bracelets of all the other legs, and often
hours of patient toll are wasted by a
slip of the scissors and the gouging OF an
Immediately rounded circle.
Though the average spectator at a
dog show may not know it, there is a
great deal of taking" in preparing
dogs for the bench, which his untutored
eye cannot discern. in an Irish, Welsh
or Airedale terrier which are the breeds
now paramount in swell dog society,
a great deal of attention is given to the
shape OF the head. The ideally shaped
head for these breeds of dog is that Of
a rat, which is straight all the way from
the forehead to the tip of the nose. The
everyday dog, which gets lost and ends
up in the pound, has what is called a
"stop" about level with his eyes. The
"stop" consists of depression, which
makes the forehead bulge. These ter
riers, however, should not have stop"
If they want to claim distinguished ped
igrees. If such dog does have stop"
naturally, its owner crops its hair close
on his forehead and leaves it long be-
tween his eyes, and so his head is ION
the level" It is also by the clever manip-
ulation of shears that a dog can be made
to look broad chested when, in fact, his
chest is narrow. or his legs fashioned
straight when the bones are crooked.