The general rules are as follows :

Never wash a dog within two or three hours after eating heartily. The best time is about an hour before a feeding, for then if he is depressed by the bath his food will do much to bring on reaction and restore him.

Use lukewarm water always, for with cold water it is scarcely possible to effect cleanliness.

Let the washing be done as speedily as possible, and in a temperature of not less than 70° Fahr. And the operation with very delicate toys will be less hazardous if the degree of heat is higher than this.

Lest the dog take cold after a bath dry him always, put him beyond draughts in summer if he is to be confined, and keep him several hours in a warm room or exercise him briskly if the weather is cold.

In case he shivers or seems languid give him a generous quantity of warm milk.

The soap used should be invariably of good quality, notwithstanding the popular notion that any kind is good enough for a dog. Consequently the common yellow bar of the kitchen and cheap soaps intended for toilet purposes are forbidden, as they contain an excess of alkali, which not only has a tendency to irritate the skin but render the hair dry and brittle. And all low-cost and highly scented soaps should be regarded with suspicion, because without exception they are composed of the cheapest of ingredients, and usually of rancid fats, which the perfume is expected to disguise.

Old Castile soap is very good, yet much that bears its name is spurious. The glycerine soaps are also generally reliable, and the same can be said of about all transparent soaps, for they are not easily manufactured of base ingredients. But a formula for making a far better soap for kennel use than any of these will be found in the part devoted to "Exhibiting Dogs."

When washing for cleanliness the use of soap will generally be demanded, although where there is only one dog and he is a small one raw eggs could be employed instead, and these would soften the skin and leave the hair soft, smooth and glossy. But manifestly to wash a kennel of fairly large dogs with them would be an expensive matter, and, really, excepting in rare cases they have no superiority over the soap just alluded to.

However, he who cares to try eggs should break up and lightly beat four in a pint of warm water, and shampoo with the mixture. But he must be sure to rinse long and well afterward, for eggs on drying harden down like mucilage.

While soap can be applied to the coats of most dogs there are at least two exceptions, namely, the Maltese and Yorkshire terriers, and for the former raw eggs are the best, while to the latter soapsuds merely - not the soap itself - should be applied according to the directions which will also appear in "Exhibiting Dogs."

A tub is not absolutely necessary when bathing out of doors, but it greatly favors convenience, and for large dogs a half hogshead with a hole in the bottom, stopped by a plug, does nicely, while a kitchen washing-tub or foot-pan answers every purpose with small breeds.

When washing for cleanliness merely, commencing back of the ears - not with the head, as many advise, for that should be left until the last - the entire coat can be thoroughly soaped before any rinsing is done, but where carbolic or other soaps containing poisonous ingredients are to be used, the dog is of a large size and but one person is to be engaged in the operation, it is much safer to treat only one half the body at a time and rinse well before going further.

An old tin dipper handy to the tub will frequently be of service in drenching the coat while soaping and in the first rinsing. The latter over, the water should be drawn off or thrown out, and the final rinsing can be done quite as conveniently with a garden sprinkling-pot as by any other means.

During all these operations the soap and water must not be allowed to get into the ears, for were it to do so it would cause discomfort and not impossibly troublesome inflammation. But a reasonable amount of care exhibited with large dogs this accident is not likely to occur, yet with small dogs it is so easy it is always best to stop the ears with cotton.

Except in very warm weather the temperature of the water for the last rinsing should as a rule be only a little lower than that used in washing, yet much depends upon individual peculiarities and customs, and although occasionally is encountered a very hardy and robust dog that takes kindly to cold water, to most of his race, and especially the members of it that have the freedom of their masters' homes or are quartered in comfortable kennels, it is too much of a hardship. Furthermore, when not well borne it is singularly liable to cause intestinal and other functional disturbances; and in all instances it is really prejudicial to fine hair.

Thorough rinsing having been administered, a large sponge should be freely used and followed by a long and vigorous rubbing with clean towels. Then if the weather is very mild the dog can be returned to his kennel - which manifestly should first be supplied with clean fresh bedding - or, better still, be taken out on chain and walked a mile or more.

But in warm weather only would it be safe to return dogs to their kennels at once after bathing; and during cold weather unless they can be permitted to remain in comfortably heated rooms for several hours they must be rubbed perfectly dry, no matter how long a time is required in the operation. And although various measures for drying have been advised, as the use of "shorts" and fine sawdust, - the same being rubbed through the hair and then brushed out, - in no way can it be more completely and speedily effected than by the means of towels, provided enough of them are used.

After being thoroughly dried the dogs should be taken out and encouraged to exercise vigorously for at least half an hour to quicken circulation and thereby prevent a chill.