The first thing to be thought of where exhibiting is contemplated is getting the dog, or dogs, up to their very best form. A toy which is properly looked after at home ought to be always, more or less, in show condition, that is, as far as Nature's arrangements for the shedding of coat, etc., permit; but a little extra care for a few weeks before a show is desirable. Short-coated dogs, which, _par parenthèse_, should never be washed at all if it can be helped, must certainly not be washed for at least a fortnight beforehand, but the least possible trace of vaseline or cocoa-nut oil may be applied to their jackets and polished off with a clean handkerchief; while brushing and hand-rubbing the right way of the hair get up a beautiful gloss and sheen upon their coat, and a little milk to drink daily helps this effect. Eyes should be washed, and if noses are, as some, unfortunately, are too prone to be, dry, a little vaseline well rubbed in with the finger twice a day will remedy the defect.
Long-coated dogs, of course, need much more attention. They must have extra combing and brushing, and, if dirty or flat in coat, but not otherwise, should receive a tub about forty-eight hours before appearing in the ring. For this, use _soft_, warm water, with, in the case of Poms, whose jackets ought to stand out well, a teaspoonful of powdered borax and a quarter of an ounce of dissolved gelatine to each two quarts of water. The soap used should be carefully chosen, and of the best--Vinolia or E. Cook & Son's Toilet Soap for choice; common soaps are most unsuitable. Many people also use and much like this firm's Improved Dog Soap. These stiff, stand-out coats are encouraged by habitually brushing the wrong way of the hair, and this is advisable, too, for the manes of Schipperkes. Flat-coated dogs, like Yorkshires and toy spaniels, often spend their lives, the former especially, in the intervals of shows, like summer fire-irons, "in grease"--that is, their coats saturated with oil. To such an extent as this, the preparation may be left to the professional exhibitor (with whom, it is as well to remark, few inexperienced amateurs have much chance, as far as the Yorkshire terrier is concerned); but a little cocoa-nut oil, with the merest trace of cantharides, well rubbed into the roots of the hair for some weeks beforehand, encourages the coat to look its best. Great care is needful in washing white dogs, and only the best of soap should be used; also soft water, with a little borax in it, and a squeeze of a blue-bag in the rinsing-water, to prevent the hair from showing a yellow tinge. Yorkshire terriers must not be rubbed up and about anyhow in their bath; neither must Maltese nor toy spaniels; the hair so carefully kept parted down the middle of the back in the two former breeds must be sponged downwards from the parting, while hot towels and warmed, soft brushes should be used for drying, in such a way as to preserve the habit of growth, which is such a point in these dogs. Rubbing "all over" also encourages curliness--a fatal fault in the breeds mentioned--and this is an additional reason for care. In washing dogs great pains should be taken to dry the insides of the ears thoroughly, and the bath, which most dogs so detest, will be robbed of half its terrors if the head is not soaped or soused; it can be effectually washed with a sponge, thus avoiding the miseries of soap in nose and eyes. Washing, however, as an habitual thing, is most injurious to coat and skin, ruins the colour of black dogs, and should never be made a practice. Daily grooming with brush and comb will keep any properly-fed dog perfectly sweet and clean.