Sidebilder
PDF
ePub
[graphic]

This remarkable dog weighed 64lb., and the measurements were taken after he had won the chief prize in the Kennel Club Show held in Jubilee year, 1887.

When Lyris was mated by Mr. Chance to his bitch Begum, a foundation was laid of a strain which has produced the bulk of the prize winners of late years. The most famous of the initial litter was Mr. Grave's Achilles, perhaps a larger and all round a better dog than his sire, the excellence of the latter notwithstanding. Achilles stands 23 inches high at the shoulders, his head is 11 inches in length, many of his cords measuring 30 inches, and falling quite six inches below his feet. It need scarcely be said that Achilles has won pretty much all before him in the show ring.

There are but few exhibitors of poodles at our shows at the present time, and undoubtedly the best kennel of all is that of Mr. R. V. O. Graves, who has an unusually strong team, as a rule almost invincible, including, as it does, specimens both black and white. His Achilles, Witch, Lyribel, The Druidess, and The Ghost, are particularly good of their variety. Mr. H. Sanguinetti, Mr. C. Kemp, Mr. J. Brewer, Mr. J. T. Beaumont, Mr. A. Levey, and Mr. A. Dagois, have had, and still have, good specimens of the breed, and are understood to be

N

leading so called fanciers of the poodle. Still, I believe the trouble to keep the coats in good order will always stand in the way of this intelligent variety of the dog being as popular as it might be under different circumstances.

I have already alluded to the fashion that obtains of clipping and shaving the poodle according to the ideas prevailing at the time, indeed, a well regulated and fashionably dressed poodle requires about as much attention to be kept in order as do the jackets of some of our choice little Yorkshire terriers. It is said that the custom of trimming the poodle arose through an anxiety to look after the comfort of the dog, because the long ringlets or cords interfered with the general health of the poor beast that nature caused to wear them. In winter they became matted with snow. and dirt; in summer they were uncomfortable and harboured vermin; so it came about that the poodle had to be clipped, and trimmed, and dressed.

All this is done in various fashions, and there "professors of the art," high in their line, who will dress your poodle for you, and tie him up with ribbons blue or yellow or white, for any charge varying from half-a-guinea to a couple of pounds.

A poodle ought to have his coat attended to even before he leaves his puppyhood. When four

or five months old it is well for his comfort and appearance, say his admirers, or rather I should say for their fancy, to trim or clip the coat on the face and feet and on the hind-quarters from below the tail and about his buttocks. When he is eleven or twelve months old he should be properly clipped, but, as a matter of fact, it is best to have him clipped three or four times before he is actually what may be called finished, i.e., shaved. This ought not to be forgotten, as were the dog shaved before the skin had become in a degree hardened by exposure to the air, pain would be caused the dog, and perhaps some inflammation might arise, as the contact of the razor is by no means pleasant to the patient. When once matured, and having undergone the preliminary process, a poodle ought, if the desire be to have him neat and in nice condition, to be trimmed some six times in the year-about every two months.

So.

Poodles are, notwithstanding their " clipping," apt to get dirty, the white specimens especially Still it does not do to wash them too often, as the water and soap are not likely to improve the coat, and there is considerable difficulty in drying the jacket. Once a month is frequent enough, even not so often as this, unless in the judgment of the owner the dog actually requires it. As a

matter of fact, the well-known Lyris, alluded to earlier on, was repeatedly exhibited with success, and he looked well, too, without being washed immediately prior to the exhibition. He might be washed, say, and benched in January, and at another show held six weeks afterwards, he would again appear and look equally well without having had an additional tub in the meantime.

Whilst the coats, especially of the corded varieties require so much attention as to clipping, it is only natural that equal care is required to keep that part in order which does not come under the operation of the shears and razor. There is the " 'bedding" to be considered, for it will never do for one of these extraordinarily long-coated dogs to be on a bench covered with straw or shavings. The best bed is to fill a sack with clean straw or dry pitch-pine shavings, and sew up the ends; then this ought to be properly beaten, shaken, and aired daily, so that no dust remains. thereon. The straw or shavings strewn loosely upon the bench in the ordinary fashion are too heating, and, besides, little pieces get into the coat and cause endless trouble to remove. Moreover, dirt of any kind quickly makes the coat matted, the ringlets sticking together near the skin, ultimately causing long tags, which drop off and leave bare

« ForrigeFortsett »