Illustration: YORKSHIRE TERRIER. _"Trixie," owned by Miss O'Donnell._
Yorkshire terriers, if small and well coated, always find a sale, and will never be without friends. I like them much as single pet dogs, but a kennel of Yorkshires is a life's work, and only the enthusiast can give them all the care they need. A Yorkie _must_ be brushed (lengthily) every day: it _must_ be rubbed with oils and washes, especially when its hair is breaking, the process which turns the short-coated black-and-tan puppy into the full-blown blue-and-tan beauty of mature age. If the coat is to be done justice to, the puppy must, when necessary, be most carefully washed (though washed as little as possible), restrained from scratching by having little wash-leather socks kept upon its hind feet, and dieted with every attention directed towards the prevention of any skin disorder. No dog can carry a heavy coat unless well nourished, and the old idea that farinaceous foods sufficed for this is exploded. To avoid anæmia, keep the blood pure and rich, and give strength, a Yorkie must have the nourishment of meat. Withal, it is a merry little soul, and if its coat can be to some extent sacrificed, a good companion, fond of outdoor life, very barky and lively, and tolerably affectionate; but a really lovely show Yorkie is not a being for every day. The breed does not suffer much from "distemper," and, strange to say, in spite of generations of coddling and fussing, and breeding for smallness and coat, is a decidedly healthy one. The white Yorkshires, a new variety some folk have tried to push, is, I think, in no way especially desirable--the Maltese can do all that is necessary in that line; while the attempt to make "silver" Yorkshires popular, too, simply means that bad-coloured dogs without any tan (paleness of tan is the stumbling-block in many a Yorkshire's career), are classed by themselves and offered prizes.
Toy pugs are, I think, invariably fascinating to those who have a liking for pug kind; they are big pugs in little, and everyone knows the points of a pug. My own toy fawn pugs loved their comforts too much to be perfect dogs for companioning a person of active outdoor habits, but they were sweet-tempered, gentle things, and, as such, to be commended. Pugs as a race seem strangely apt to skin trouble, and the toys are no exception. I have not seen many really good and very small fawn toys, but there are some, and where a pug is to be bought, a toy is really most desirable. They make good house dogs, and are seldom or never noisy, while those of a comparatively active strain, bred to plenty of outdoor fun, and not indulged in the greediness which, alas! is generally a feature in their character, need by no means acquire the stout, snoring wheeziness which some folk think an elderly pug cannot escape. All the same, I can but say that I prefer the black variety on the whole, for they unite the sweet temper, faithfulness, and gentleness of the fawns with an untiring energy, to my mind one of the best qualities a dog can possess. They are also hardier, less subject to "distemper" and kindred ills, and very alert and intelligent. One merit, if such it be, they do not share with the fawns--the latter are not expensive dogs, for they are almost always good mothers and prolific breeders. Not that the blacks fail in these respects, but as yet they are comparatively dear--that is, the really good ones. Head properties make much of their value just now, for a good-headed black pug, with a broad skull, large eyes, and plenty of skin and wrinkle, is not in every litter, and narrow skulls are much disliked, though Nature, with characteristic contrariety, seems to rejoice in producing them.