. The new book of the dog; a comprehensive natural history of British dogs and their foreign relatives, with chapters on law, breeding, kennel management, and veterinary treatment. Dogs. THE WEST HIGHLAND WHITE TERRIER. 393 the bright, intelligent eye, the look of interest shown in the faces, is quite remarkable. There is another point of very great importance which not even tlie photograph can show—this is the under coat. Only the outer coat can be shown by such illustrations; this should be very soft on the forehead and get gradually harder towards the haunches, but the harsh coat beloved of
. The new book of the dog; a comprehensive natural history of British dogs and their foreign relatives, with chapters on law, breeding, kennel management, and veterinary treatment. Dogs. THE WEST HIGHLAND WHITE TERRIER. 393 the bright, intelligent eye, the look of interest shown in the faces, is quite remarkable. There is another point of very great importance which not even tlie photograph can show—this is the under coat. Only the outer coat can be shown by such illustrations; this should be very soft on the forehead and get gradually harder towards the haunches, but the harsh coat beloved of the show bench is all nonsense, and is the easiest thing in the world to " fake," as anyone can try who will dip his own hair into the now fashionable " ant- uric " baths. The outer coat should be distinctly long, but not long in the " fancy " or show sense. Still, it should be long enough to hang as a thatch over the soft, woolly real coat of the animal, and keep it dry so that a good shake or two will throw off most of the water ; while the under coat should be so thick and naturally oily that the dog can swim through a fair - sized river and not get wet, or be able to sit out through a drenching rain guarding something of his master's and be none the worse. This under coat I, at least, have never seen a judge look for, but for the working terrier it is most important. The size of the dog is perhaps best in- dicated by weight. The dog should not weigh more than i8 lb., nor the bitch more than 16 lb. There is among judges, I find—with all respect I say it—an undue regard for weight and what is called strength, also for groom- ing, which means brushing or plucking out all the long hair to gratify the judge. One might as well judge of Sandow's strength, not by his performances, but by the kind of wax he puts on his moustache ! The West Highland Terrier of the old sort—I do not, of course, speak of bench dogs—earn their living following fo
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