Grooming is an important detail in a breed whose picturesqueness depends so largely on the profuseness of their shaggy coats, but there is a general tendency to overdo it.  A good stiff pair of dandy brushes give the best results, but the coats must not be allowed to mat or tangle, which they have a tendency to do if not properly attended to.  Mats and tangles, if taken in time, can generally be teased out with the fingers, and it is the greatest mistake to try and drag them out with combs.  These last should be used as little as possible, and only with the greatest care when necessary at all.  An over-groomed bob-tail loses half his natural charm.  Far preferable is a muddy, matted, rough-and-tumble-looking customer, with his coat as Nature left it.

CHAPTER X

THE CHOW CHOW

The Chow Chow is a dog of great versatility.  He is a born sportsman and loves an open-air life—­a warrior, always ready to accept battle, but seldom provoking it.  He has a way of his own with tramps, and seldom fails to induce them to continue their travels.  Yet withal he is tender-hearted, a friend of children, an ideal companion, and often has a clever gift for parlour tricks.  In China, his fatherland, he is esteemed for another quality—­his excellence as a substitute for roast mutton.

Though in his own country he is regarded as plebeian, just a common cur, he is by no means a mongrel.  That he is of ancient lineage is proved by the fact that he always breeds true to type.  He yields to the Pekinese Spaniel the claim to be the Royal dog of China, yet his blood must be of the bluest.  If you doubt it, look at his tongue.

Outwardly, the Chow worthily embodies the kind, faithful heart and the brave spirit within.  His compact body (weighing 40 lbs. or more), with the beautiful fur coat and ruff, the plume tail turned over on his back and almost meeting his neck-ruff, the strong, straight legs and neat, catlike feet, gives an impression of symmetry, power, and alertness.  His handsome face wears a “scowl.”  This is the technical term for the “no nonsense” look which deters strangers from undue familiarity, though to friends his expression is kindness itself.

Though the Chow has many perfections, the perfect Chow has not yet arrived.  He nearly came with Ch.  Chow VIII.—­long since dead, alas!—­and with Ch.  Fu Chow, the best Chow now living, his light coloured eyes being his only defect.  With many judges, however, this dog’s black coat handicaps him sadly in competition with his red brethren.  Chow VIII. is considered the best and most typical dog ever benched, notwithstanding his somewhat round eyes.  Almond eyes are of course correct in Chinamen.  Ch.  Red Craze owns the head which is perfect with the correct ear-carriage and broad muzzle, and the scowl and characteristic expression of a good Chow.