Do not ever send Toy dogs to a show unless you yourself or a friend can accompany them. Small dogs cannot stand knocking about on railways alone. Have a warm blanket, and start in plenty of time. You will require decorations for the pen. Take a piece of white or blue washing material, three yards by one yard, run a tape along the top from one end to the other (longways), and have a dozen safety-pin hooks. Also provide yourself with a cushion about fourteen inches square, with a washing cover, or, if you wish something cheaper, take a clean Turkish towel, which can be folded and placed in the pen on the top of some straw, instead of a cushion, and which looks very nice. The curtain you have made will hook round inside the pen at the back and sides, and can be drawn up to the proper size by the tape. Before placing your dog in the pen you should dip a piece of cotton wool in strong Pearson's or Jeyes's Fluid and rub over the bench, as benches are not always satisfactorily disinfected.

While at the show it is advisable to give your dog very little water unless you fetch it yourself from the tap, as you never know what dogs have been drinking out of the show vessels. Never use the pans provided by the show, as one dog after another drinks from them, and some may have infectious diseases. In this way you run as little risk as possible. When taking your dog into the ring, have the number given you by the ring steward pinned in a conspicuous place. Remember that the judge has only the number for identification. It is most annoying and confusing for him not to be able to see each number easily, and it may conceivably cost you a prize. When holding your exhibit in your arms, if a Toy Spaniel, keep his head well facing the judge, and if you know that the dog is excited by the sight of a ball or a biscuit, have one in your hand so as to induce him to show himself off when on the ground. If you take your dog into the ring rather hungry, he will show much better than after a meal. Bring him home with you at night, as he has a far greater chance of avoiding disease than if left all night at the show. You can train a Pomeranian to stand well in the ring by having food in your hand and making him look up at it with his back or side to the judge.

But this will not do with Toy Spaniels, who should pull a little on their leads towards the judge. There is a great deal of nonsense talked about the mysteries of getting a dog up for show. Do not alter your ordinary treatment if you keep your dog as a house pet. If he is in good health, rationally fed, and getting plenty of exercise, and if you wash him often, he will always be more or less in show form; and if you like to give him a little more brushing and combing than usual, before a show, it will do him no harm. Avoid all condition powders and other nostrums, also overfeeding. A very backward coat may need a little hair stimulant to the ears and breechings, but do not allow the hair to get matted and clogged, or you will do more harm than good. "Peter Returns" is an excellent preparation. Cut your dog's hind claws short with a pair of wire nippers, so that he may not catch them in the hair of his ears and pull bits out, as show dogs are rather fond of doing.1 You can put the hind feet into little bags tied on with tape, so as to be on the safe side, I very much object to the over-decoration of pens and the over-weighting of the dogs with immense bows. Over-decoration of the pens shows lack of taste, and enormous bows make dogs ridiculous.

Pens should be draped with white or pale blue washing material, with sky-blue wadded washing silk or cotton quilts, or a washable cushion. Blenheims look best with small blue bows and blue cushion and white curtains; sky blue or royal blue are best. Tricolours and King Charles look best in red or orange bows, with red cushion and white curtains. Rubies may have pale green bows, with green or cream-coloured cushion and curtains. Do not have anything which cannot be washed and disinfected. Always run your basket through strong disinfectant on getting home from a show. White Pomeranians look well on almost any colour, but Reds should not be benched on red.

Be amiable and obliging to your neighbours at the show pens and in the ring, but do not allow anyone to feed or handle your dogs, or to poke them through,the bars of the cage with umbrellas.

When in the ring, be sure the judge does not overlook your dog, and do not allow yourself to be crowded out by the other exhibitors, but, of course, do not push rudely. Hold your lead at arm's length, and if another exhibitor persistently gets in front of you and continues doing so in spite of a request to allow you room, then call the attention of the ring steward or the judge, and firmly but politely insist on having fair play.

1 In doing this be careful not to cut the quick. You can see the distance the quick conies down by holding the claw up against the light The horn is transparent and the quick opaque.

The man who has once tasted the excitement of exhibiting will seldom really give it up again. It is closely allied to the gambling instinct, and, let him lose ever so often, a fatal fascination lures him back to the ring to try his luck once more. When he can no longer afford to keep dogs he will hang about disconsolately, watching other people in the ring with envious eyes. As an old fancier once said to me when I talked of giving up my dogs: "When you once get bitten by the show microbe, the disease generally lasts your life."