New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1903-11-01
FIXING DOGS FOR SHOW.
Taking off Weight-Brushing Hair
Clipping POodleS.


To put sleeping socks on a dog and do I'D his
hair In curling papers would seem a pretty
enough pastime for children. but hardly what
The average adult would call work Neverthe-
less. in preparing dogs for such a show as
the exhibition Of the Ladies Kennel Association
of America, which Will be held at Madison
Square Garden this week, men 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 ar
ranging the pompadours of their mistresses
When dogs come from all parts Of the coun-
Try for show various breeds stand the journey
IN various ways Terriers, because OF their
highly nervous tempe-aments, are likely to lose
considerable flesh, and need to be fed well just
before the exhibition Bulldogs, St Demands
and other large, long haired dogs are good tray
eners. and sometimes gain so much weight by
change that they have TO be exercised sharply
TO reduce their weight When exercise does not
bring OF the flesh. a still quicker means of
shrinking them" is massage The keeper rubs
and rubs and rubs his dog. until his extra fesh
like the smoke Of Sir Walter Raleighs pipe
cannot be weighed
The longer hair a dog has, the more work TO
condition him" for an exhibition For exam
pie after a Yorkshire terrier RECEIVERS from his
Journey, he is bathed and his hair brushed
This kind Of dog should be put up for ex-
hibit as near out Of the tub" as possible
The man who brushes his hair must have an
GRIN OF iron, for he must keep brushing for
hours Often two alternate at the task.
snd after one has thoroughly exhausted both
arms his relay takes up the task a special
kind Of brush is employed, which resembles
6 brush for the human hair. but the bristles
ere about twice as long. After the hair has
been brushed until il waves like the tabled
fleece which Jason sought, it is tied up in curl
papers Should the dog care to take a nap
socks are put his feet, lest IN cratching his
ear he should dishevel his toilet and his ear
placed just so that the weight Of his head viii
not crumple it
In the preparation of a French poodle a man
must be a carpenter as well as a landscape
gardener The woody 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 merely ordinary
pair Of highly sharpened scissors 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 viii be perfectly SYM
netricaL To insure results that viii be geo.
tnetrically correct the most scientific artists use
calipers, Just as does carpenter in turning
block OF wood
The bracelet CT ore leg must, OF course cor
respond exactly with the bracelets of all the
other legs. and often hours Of patient toll are
wasted by slip Of the scissors and the goug-
ing OF an immediately rounded circle
Though the average spectator at d; dog show
may not know it, there is a great deal Of fax
Ing in preparing dogs for the bench, which his
pntutored 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 the shape Of the
head The ideally shaped head for these breeds
OF dog is that Of rat, which is straight all the
way from the forehead to the tip Of the nose
The everyday dog which gets lost and ends
pp in the pound. has what is called stop"
about level with his eyes The stop" consists
Of q depression. which makes the forehead
bulge These terriers, however, should not
have stop" II they want TO claim distin-
gUished pedigrees. If such a dog does have a
-stop" naturally, its owner crops his hair close
OF his forehead and leaves it long between his
eyes. and SO his head is on the level" IL Is
also by the clever manipulation OF shears that
8 dog be made to look broad chested when.
81 fact. his chest is narrow, his legs fash
iOned straight when the bones are crooked