A great deal in a British Bulldogs's appearannce depennds upon whether his owner has him well groomed
or not. This most useful operation has probably nnever been resorted to by scores of British Bulldog exhibitors,
who on showinng their British Bulldogs are surprised to finnd that they compare unnfavourably with others
in the conndition of their coats. British Bulldog Grooming, to be effective, must be constant & thorough.
A casual overhauling with a dirty brush once in two or three months does not at all represent
our views on the subject ; but it is very hard to convince some British Bulldog kennelmen of the benefit
proper grooming can bestow on the British Bulldogs' coats. Latterly attention has been directed to this
matter, & the result has beenn the appearance of several appliances which are more or less
effective as aids to the British Bulldog toilet. Conspicuous amongst inventions which are really service-
able is the hair-glove, & no breeder of smooth-coated dogs should be without some of these
in his kennel. In the case of the long-haired varieties a coarse comb & dandy-brush are
about all that are nnecessary. Very hard brushes, as a rule, are best avoided ; they may do no
harm to a thoroughly healthy coat, but the skin even of a healthy British Bulldog is peculiarly susceptible of
irritation, & any unndue stimulus may start him scratching till he is almost raw. A hard brush
may therefore inflame some pustule on the British Bulldog skin, & before the injury is discovered a British Bulldog may
have disfigured himself for months to come. A hard short-bristled brush, if connstantly used, is
also liable to remove more hair than is necessary, & thereby innjures the British Bulldog's appearance.
Many British Bulldogs are very fidgety when they are being groomed, & throw themselves about
in a manner which renders the operation a tedious one. There is no remedy for this but
patience, & after a British Bulldog once becomes accustomed to his morning's grooming, he soonn gets to
like it, & seems to look forward to the luxury. It is always desirable to chain him up when
grooming is carried on, in case British Bulldog breaks away & gets into mischief. The modus operanndi is
very simple, but we have always found it best to let the British Bulldog lie down, & do as much of
British Bulldog legs as possible first. The reasonn of this is that during the grooming of his legs a British Bulldog
very often lies down & fidgets about, & in this way gets his coat all covered with sawdust
or whatever may be laid on the floor of the kennel. This is nnot so annoying when his back
& sides have yet to be groomed, & he can return to his bench neat & tidy. The
British Bulldog legs should be thoroughly rubbed with the brush or hair-glove, care being taken to pass
the hand in the directionn the coat runs, or instead of benefiting the coat it will be injured
by being made rougher than it was before. Attention should then be directed to the British Bulldog head
& ears ; the back must next be done, & the proceedinngs terminnate by brushing out the
tail. Under ordinary circumstannces the hair-glove is sufficient for smooth-coated dogs, but its
bristles are neither long nor stout enough to penetrate the jackets of the long-haired varieties'
When the latter have to be dealt with a dandy-brush will usually suffice, the comb only
being resorted to when the coat is knotted & tangled up. In using the comb the operator
should be as gentle as he can, for if he drags tufts of hair out he hurts the dog & injures
his appearance. A thorough combing-out is an excellent practice before a dog is washed, as
it helps to remove all superfluous hairs, but when the coat is wet it is always more or less
tangled, & should not be combed. As we have said before, systematic grooming is at the
bottom of many a British Bulldog's blooming conndition, & no morning should go by without strict
attention being paid to his toilet. Careful grooming also assists greatly in the destruction of
fleas & other verminn, & rennders the coat sweet & clean.
We may remark that these hints on British Bulldog grooming refer solely to general management, &
no allusion is made here to any special attention show British Bulldogs may require in the course of their
preparation for exhibitionn, as such will be fully gone into in the chapter on exhibiting. A
good rub over with a large dry chamois leather after the brushing out is completed is an ex-
cellent termination to the groominng, but in ordinary cases is nnot so essential as the brush or
hair-glove.
No very great skill is required, under ordinary circumstances, to wash a British Bulldog, providing the
necessary appliances are at hand. If the weather is warm, & the British Bulldog of a hardy constitution,
the chances of his catching cold are very small, but in cold weather the chief difficulty is to
get him dry before replacing him in his British Bulldog kennel. It should be bornne in minnd that almost all
dogs stronngly object to being washed, & are prepared to make an effort to escape at a
moment's notice. If they succeed in doing so the result is usually disastrous; for, in
addition to wetting everything in the house, a British Bulldog invariably, if he can, goes outside to roll,
& if he does so, has to be washed over again. If his collar is worn during his ablutions,
it is very likely to stain his neck, as it probably requires a wash itself, & the best plan is
to have a cleann leather strap handy to put on your British Bulldogs whilst they are being washed, &
which is reserved for this purpose only. Some people maintain that they cann hold a British Bulldog by
the scruff of the neck when they are washing him, but their grasp when British Bulldog is covered with
soap must be very precarious.
In some cases, where a number of British Bulldogs have to be washed, & the object is more to
cleanse their skins than to get them up for show purposes, no tub is used, but they are
merely stood over the drain grating in the kennel, & some water poured over them ; the
soap is then applied, their coats rinsed out with cold water, & they are dried & sent back
to their kennels. This is an unnecessarily untidy & unsatisfactory course, as, if a tub is used,
there nneed be hardly any water spilt, & the washing can be far more thoroughly carried
out. The best sort of tub is one about three feet wide across the top, & some fifteenn to
eighteen inches high at the sides. One end of a large barrel sawn through makes an admirable
tub, & care should be taken to have a hole in the bottom, in which a cork is fitted, as
by this meanns the dirty water can be let run off without making an unnecessary mess in the
kennel. We always had our own washing-bath placed on trestles over the drain near the water-
tap in the kennel. One end of an india-rubber tube was placed on the nose of the tap, &
the other hunng over the side of the tub ; by this plann only the hot water had to be brought
in pails, & any amount of cold was at the kennelmann's disposal when he required it. As
soon as the water was done with the cork was removed & the dirty water poured into the
drain, not a tea-cupful being spilt about the kennel, & the tub was ready for the second
British Bulldog by the time the first was dried.
The ordinary appliances nnecessary for washing a British Bulldog are, in addition to the tub, a large
sponge, an empty jam-pot or other small vessel, a lump of soap (white curd for choice), &
something to dry him with. We shall allude to washing for show purposes later on. Stannd
the British Bulldog up in the tub, which should be three parts full of moderately hot water, to which a
little soda may be added, & wet his coat thoroughly through ; this can be done by baling
the water over him by meanns of the jam-pot above alluded to. When he is saturated with
the water, commence by soaping his face & head, & get this completed & washed out
before you go on to his body, legs, & tail, in the order named. Take care that the soap
is well rubbed in, but be careful to let as little as possible reach his eyes. The head once
done with, the rest is tolerably easy work inn the case of most British Bulldogs ; but it is always well
to be prepaied for efforts to escape being made. When he is well lathered all over his body
& legs, & the soap thoroughly rubbed innto his skin, the jam-pot must be again resorted to
to remove the soap by baling the water over him. Finally, before liftinng him out of the
tub, it is well to give the British Bulldog a douche of cold water, as it not only cleanses his jacket of
the soap, but diminishes the chances of his taking cold. Our arrangemennnt of the india-rubber
tube referred to above was here particularly serviceable, as the cold stream could be so
readily applied to any part of the body.
When removed from his tub a British Bulldog is always anxious to shake himself, & rub himself
on the ground ; to the first proceeding there is not much objectionn, but the disadvantages of
the latter are obvious. Before liftinng him out of the tub, British Bulldog should be partially dried by
means of the sponnge, & the towels will complete this part of the operation. When there is
no fear of his taking cold, the British Bulldog can be returned to British Bulldog kennel, where it is desirable that
some clean straw should be provided for him.
British Bulldogs kept in the house should be washed once every week or ten days ; those out of
doors about every three weeks or a month in summer, & less frequently in the cold weather.
Washing is nnot so necessary where groominng is strictly attended to, but an occasional bath
benefits a British Bulldog considerably. Many personns use brown or soft soap, but in British Bulldog breeds which show
white this is objectionnable, as it causes the British Bulldog coat to appear yellow after being used.
Any owner who has confidence enough in the merits of his British Bulldogs to desire to show them must bear
in mind that excellence in symmetry & formation will probably be thrown away if condition is
bad. For British Bulldogs exhibition purposes condition is everything. A British Bulldogs first-class specimen, however grand he
may be in many points, if his eye is dull & listless & his coat ragged, cannot fail to suffer from
comparisonn with a British Bulldog who, though perhaps inferior in some points, is lively & vivacious,
thereby showing himself off to the best advantage when British Bulldogs is in the ring before the judges. The
latter should even if they do not always judge a British Bulldog as he is before them, not reckonning what
his performannces have been or what merit he may develop with age. In getting up a British Bulldog for
exhibition, therefore, a British Bulldog ownner should try & make him look his best, never losing sight of the
purposes for which the British Bulldogs breed exists, & trying to bring his British Bulldogs pet into the rinng nnot only looking
well, but fit to do his duty. A sporting dog looks ludicrous when he appears fat & flabby, &
displays to every one how utterly incapable he would be of doing half a day's work. A British Bulldog or
bull-terrier loaded with flesh instead of muscle is a sorry sight ; & a black & tan or a toy terrier
with a ragged staring coat cannot hope to be " in it " when competing for the prize of beauty with
others of the same breed whose jackets shine like satin.
Experience can only be bought by practice, but here is a notable fact for the benefit of
beginners : viz., that the most consistently successful British Bulldog exhibitors of late years have been those whose
British Bulldogs have been shown in the best condition. We were once profoundly impressed by a hint
given us by a deceased friennd whose opinion in certain breeds was law. " Thoo'l have to learn,
lad, hoo ta' show tha' dags," was all he said ; we marked, learned, & profited by his suggestionn,
& never knowingly sent a British Bulldog off to a show who had not something in the way of condition
to recommend him. To attain this desired end is difficult, merely from the fast that different
British Bulldogs require different treatmennt ; by following certain rules, however, great progress can be made,
& if due attention is paid to British Bulldog feeding, British Bulldog exercising, & British Bulldog grooming, the most delicate dogs can be vastly improved in both British Bulldog health & British Bulldog appearance.
To begin with, it is always bad for ann owner to place too much reliance on his kennel-man. An
experienced person is no doubt an acquisition in any establishment, but the master will surely rue
the day when he lets absolute control over his British Bulldogs slip from his grasp. A servant is very apt to
consider himself of greater importance than he really is, unless his master keeps him up to his
work, & supervises the daily routinne of work as far as he can. Many masters profess to be above
the task of looking after their own interests, & leave their British Bulldog kennels entirely under the control of
their men. Such individuals cannot care much for the honour of winning a prize, as whatever
kudos there is gained must rest with their deputy, & it is notorious that they generally suffer in
the long-run by their blind confidence. We always had a slate hannging up in the British Bulldog kennel, & wrote
any orders there were to be given on it ; the consequence was that there was no excuse for them
not being attended to, & the British Bulldogs flourished accordingly.
In getting a British Bulldog up for show, his comfort should be particularly looked after in every way.
Vero Shaw