Greyhound
Breed
We find no mention of this dog in the early Grecian records. The pugnaces
and the sagaces are mentioned; but the celeres — the swift-footed — are
not spoken of as a peculiar breed. The Celtic nations, the inhabitants of
the northern continent of Europe and the Western Islands, were then
scarcely known, and the swift-footed dogs were peculiar to those tribes.
They were not, however, introduced into the more southern parts of Europe
until after the dissolution of the Roman commonwealth.
The dog is, however, mentioned by Ovid; and his description of coursing
the hare is so accurate that we cannot refrain from inserting it. We
select a translation of it from Golding.
"I gat me to the knap
Of this same hill, and there behelde of this strange course the hap,
In which the beaste seemes one while caught, and ere a man would thinke
Doth quickly give the grewn the slip, and from his biting shrinke;
And, like a wilie fox, he runs not forth directly out,
Nor makes a winlas over all the champion fields about,
But, doubling and indenting, still avoydes his enemie's lips,
An turning short, as swift about as spinning-wheele he wips,
To disappoint the snatch. The grewnd, pursuing at an inch,
Doth cote him, never loosing. Continually he snatches
In vaine, but nothing in his mouth, save only hair, he catches."
There is another sketch by the same poet:
"As when th' impatient greyhound, slipped from far,
Bounds o'er the glade to course the fearful hare,
She in her speed does all her safety lay,
And he with double speed pursues the prey;
O'erruns her at the sitting turn, but licks
His chaps in vain, yet blows upon the flix;
She seeks the shelter, which the neighbouring covert gives,
And, gaining it, she doubts if yet she lives."
The English, Scotch, and Irish greyhounds were all of Celtic
derivation, And their cultivation and character correspond with the
civilization of the different Celtic tribes. The dogs that were exported
from Britain to Rome were probably of this kind. Mr. Blaine gives an
account of the progress of these dogs, which seems to be evidently founded
on truth.
"Scotland, a northern locality, has long been celebrated for its
greyhounds, which are known to be large and wiry-coated. They are
probably types of the early Celtic greyhounds, which, yielding to the
influences of a colder climate than that they came from, became coated
with a thick and wiry hair. In Ireland, as being milder in its climate,
the frame expanded in bulk, and the coat, although not altogether, was
yet less crisped and wiry. In both localities, there being at that time
boars, wolves, and even bears, powerful dogs were required. In England
these wild beasts were more early exterminated, and consequently the
same kind of dog was not retained, but, on the contrary, was by culture
made finer in coat, and of greater beauty in form."
The canis leporarius, or greyhound of the present day, is quite an
inferior animal in point of size, when compared with his forefathers, who
alone were occupied in the chase of the boar, wolf, bear, deer, and other
animals both powerful and savage.
As these wild animals gradually disappeared under the hand of
civilization, these hardy dogs were less wanted; and thus, by slow
degrees, have degenerated into the less powerful, but more beautiful and
symmetrical proportions that we now see. This change, however, has better
adapted him for speed, and the coursing of such quadrupeds as depend upon
nimbleness and activity of motion, to secure their escape.
Owing, in some measure, to the climate, but more particularly to the
inactive life that they lead in this country, so much at variance with
that of England, we can lay claim to but few dogs that would be considered
above mediocrity among British sportsmen. We have seen several of these
dogs which, living in a state of idle luxury, have degenerated
considerably even in the third generation; and we cannot now recall but
one dog, in the possession of a young lady in Philadelphia, that would at
all come up to the English standard of perfection; and this one is a
descendant from a fine imported stock in the second generation. The
ancient Greeks were much devoted to coursing, but previous to the time of
Arrian, their hounds were not a sufficient match, in point of speed, for
the hare, and it was seldom that their sports were attended with success
in the actual capture of this fleet animal by the dogs alone. If taken at
all, it was generally by running them down in a long chase, or driving
them into nets, toils, and other similar contrivances, as forcibly
described in the following lines of the ancient poet, when extolling the
pleasures of a country life.
"Aut trudit acres hinc et hinc multâ cane
Apros in obstante plagas,
Aut amite levi rara leiidit retia,
Turdis edacibus dolos;
Pavidumve leporem, et advenam laqueo gruem,
Jucunda captat præmia."
(Horace, Epode ii., v. 31.)
Even after the introduction of the Celtic hound, who, as before stated,
was far inferior as regards speed to the present race, it was no easy
matter to take the hare, it being necessary to carry several couples of
dogs into the field, and let them slip at certain intervals in the chase,
so that the fresh dogs might, in this way, overtake the little animal,
already frightened and fatigued by previous exertion.
In reference to this mode of coursing, the younger Xenophon particularly
enjoins that to prevent confusion in the field, naturally arising from the
hunters letting their dogs loose at improper intervals, from eagerness to
see them run,
"that a steward should be appointed over the sport, should match the
dogs, and give orders to the field: — if the hare start on this side,
you and you are to slip, and nobody else; but if on that side, you and
you: and let strict attention be paid to the orders given." (Arrian,
chap. xx.)
Alciphron, in his familiar epistles descriptive of the domestic manners
of the Greeks, gives a lively description of a course not very different
from those of the present day, as will be seen in the following extract:
"In trying whether the young dogs were fit for the chase, I started a
hare from a little bush; my sons loosed the dogs from the slips. They
frightened her confoundedly, and were very near taking the game. The
hare, in her flight, climbed a steep place, and found a retreat in some
burrow. One of the more spirited of the dogs, pressing close upon her,
gasping, and expecting to take her in his gripe, went down with her into
the hole. In endeavouring to pull out the hare, he broke one of his
fore-legs. I lifted up my good dog, with his lame leg, and found the
hare half devoured: thus, when I hoped to get something, I encountered a
serious loss." (Letter ix.)
We will close our remarks upon this subject by introducing a few
descriptive lines, selected from one of the very rare English authors who
have attempted a versification of this exciting sport.
"Yet if for silvan sport thy bosom glow,
Let thy fleet greyhound urge his flying foe.
With what delight the rapid course I view!
How does my eye the circling race pursue!
He snaps deceitful air with empty jaws;
The suttle hare darts swift beneath his paws;
She flys, he stretches, now with nimble bound
Eager he presses on, but overshoots his ground:
Then tears with goary mouth the screaming prey."
(Gay's Poems, vol i. — Rural Sports, v. 290), — L.
Mr. Richardson, in his History of the Greyhound, gives a different
derivation of the name of this dog. He says that the greyhound was of
Grecian origin — cannis Græcus, — that Græcus was not unfrequently written
Græius, and thence was derived the term greyhound. This derivation,
however, is somewhat too far-fetched.
Mention occurs of the greyhound in a very early period of the British
history. He was an inmate of the Anglo-Saxon kennels in the time of Elfric,
king of Mercia. There are paintings of him that can be satisfactorily
traced to the ninth century. In the time of Canute he was reckoned first
in degree of rank among the canine species, and no one under the degree of
a gentleman, liberalis, or more properly, perhaps a freeholder, was
allowed by the forest laws to keep them. Even he could not keep them
within two miles of a royal forest, unless two of the toes were cut off
and for every mile that an uncut dog was found within this distance a fine
of a shilling was levied on the owner. The nobleman was rarely seen abroad
without his hawk upon his fist, and his greyhound at his side.
Henry II was passionately fond of them. John spared no expense to procure
good horses and swift hounds, and appears frequently to have received
greyhounds in lieu of money on the issue or removal of grants. For the
renewal of a grant in the year 1203 he received five hundred marks, ten
horses, and ten leashes of greyhounds, and for another, in 1210, one swift
running horse and six greyhounds.
The Isle of Dogs, now devoted to purposes of commerce, received its name
from its having been, at this period, the receptacle of the greyhounds and
spaniels of this monarch. It was selected on account of its contiguity to
Waltham and the other royal forests where coursing was a frequent
amusement. For the same purpose he often took up his abode at Greenwich.
Blount's Ancient Tenures abound with instances of the high repute in which
this dog has ever been held in Great Britain. The holders of land in the
manor of Setene in Kent were compelled, as the condition of their tenure
to Edward I and II, to lend their greyhounds, when this king went into
Gascony, "so long as a pair of shoes of 4d price would last." Edward III
was partial to greyhounds; for when he was engaged in war with France he
took with him sixty couples of them, besides other large hunting dogs.
Charles I was as fond of the greyhound as his son Charles II was of the
spaniel. Sir Philip Warwick thus writes of that unfortunate monarch;
"Methinks, because it shows his dislike of a common court vice, it is
not unworthy the relating of him, that one evening, his dog scratching
at his door, he commanded me to let in Gipsy; whereupon I took, the
boldness to say, Sir, I perceive you love a greyhound better than you do
a spaniel. Yes, says he, for they equally love their masters, and yet do
not flatter them so much."
On most of the old tombs in the sculpture of which the dog is
introduced, the greyhound is represented lying at the feet of his master;
and an old Welsh proverb says that a gentleman may be known by his hawk,
his horse, and his greyhound.
There can scarcely be a better description of the greyhound of the
present day; but it would not do for the antagonist of the wolf. The
breed had probably begun to degenerate, and that process would seem to
have slowly progressed. Towards the close of the last century, Lord
Orford, a nobleman enthusiastically devoted to coursing, imagined, and
rightly, that the greyhound of his day was deficient in courage and
perseverance. He bethought himself how this could best be rectified, and
he adopted a plan which brought upon him much ridicule at the time, but
ultimately redounded to his credit. He selected a bull-dog, one of the
smooth rat-tailed species, and he crossed one of his greyhound bitches
with him. He kept the female whelps and crossed them with some of his
fleetest dogs, and the consequence was, that, after the sixth or seventh
generation, there was not a vestige left of the form of the bulldog; but
his courage and his indomitable perseverance remained, and, having once
started after his game, he did not relinquish chase until he fell
exhausted or perhaps died. This cross is now almost universally adopted.
It is one of the secrets in the breeding of the greyhound.
Of the stanchness of the well-bred greyhound, the following is a
satisfactory example. A hare was started before a brace of greyhounds,
and ran by them for several miles. When they were found, both the dogs
and the hare lay dead within a few yards of each other. A labouring man
had seen them turn her several times; but it did not appear that either
of them had caught her, for there was no wound upon her.
The speed of the greyhound has been said to be equal to that of the
fleetest horse. A singular circumstance, which occurred at Doncaster,
proved that it was not much inferior. A mare cantering over the
Doncaster course, her competitor having been withdrawn, was joined by a
greyhound bitch when she had proceeded about a mile. She seemed
determined to race with the mare, which the jockey humoured, and
gradually increased his pace, until at the distance they put themselves
at their full speed. The mare beat her antagonist only by a head. The
race-horse is, perhaps, generally superior to the greyhound on level
ground, but the greyhound would have the advantage in a hilly country.
Lord Rivers succeeded to Major Topham and Colonel Thornton, the owners
of Major and Snowball, as the leading man on the course. His kennels at
Strathfieldsaye were the pride of the neighbouring country. At first he
bore away almost every prize, but breeding too much in and in, and for
speed more than for stoutness, the reputation of his kennel considerably
declined before his death.
In 1797 a brace of greyhounds coursed a hare over the edge of a
chalk-pit at Offham, in Sussex. The hare and both the dogs were found
dead at the bottom of the pit.
On another occasion a hare was chased by a brace of greyhounds: she was
killed at the distance of seven miles from the place at which they
started. Both of the dogs were so exhausted, that every possible
assistance being given, they were with difficulty recovered.
The English greyhound hunts by sight alone; not because he is altogether
devoid of scent, but because he has been taught to depend upon his
speed, and that degree of speed which is utterly incompatible with the
searching out of the scent. It is like a pack of hounds, running breast
high, with the game in view. They are then running by sight, and not by
scent, almost doubling their usual pace, and sometimes, from an
unexpected turning of the fox or hare, thrown out for a little while.
The hound soon recovers the track by his exquisite sense of smell. The
English greyhound is never taught to scent his game, but, on the
contrary, is called off the moment he has lost sight of the hare, the
re-starting of which is left to the spaniel.
The English greyhound is distinguished by its peculiarly long and
attenuated head and face, terminating in a singular sharpness of the
nose, and length of the muzzle or month. There are two results from
this: the length of the mouth gives a longer grasp and secures the prey,
but, as the nasal cavities and the cavity of the skull are
proportionately diminished, there is not so much room for the expansion
of the membrane of the nose, there is less power of scent, and less
space for the development of the brain.
There is little want of extraordinary acute hearing, and the ears of the
greyhound are small compared with his bulk. Markham recommends the ears
to be close, sharp, and drooping, neither protruding by their bulk, nor
tiring by their weight.
The power of the eye is but of little consequence, for the game is
rarely distant from the dog, and therefore, easily seen.
The neck is an important portion of the frame. It should be long, in
order to correspond with the length of the legs, and thus enable the dog
to seize and lift the game, as he rapidly pursues his course, without
throwing any undue or dangerous weight on the fore extremities. In the
act of seizing the hare the short-necked dog may lose the centre of
gravity and fall.
The chest is a very important part of the greyhound, as well as of every
other animal of speed. It must be capacious: this capacity must be
obtained by depth rather than by width, in order that the shoulders may
not be thrown so far apart as to impede progression.
The form and situation of the shoulders are of material consequence; for
on them depends the extent of the action which the animal is capable of
exerting. The shoulders should be broad and deep, and obliquely placed.
They are so in the horse, and the action of the dog depends entirely on
this conformation.
The fore legs should be set on square at the shoulder: bulging out at
the elbow not only gives a clumsy appearance, but makes the dog slow.
The legs should have plenty of bone, and be straight, and well set on
the feet, and the toes neither turned out nor in. The fore arm, or that
portion of the leg which is between the elbow and the knee, should be
long, straight and muscular. These are circumstances that cannot be
dispensed with. The length of the fore arm, and the low placing of the
pastern, are of essential importance.
With regard to the form of the back and sides of the greyhound, Mr.
Thacker says, with much truth, that
"It is the strength of the back which is brought into requisition, in
particular, in running over hilly ground. Here may be said to rest the
distinction between long and short backs, supposing both to be good and
strong. The more lengthy the back, and proportionately strong, the more
the greyhound is calculated to beat the shorter-backed dog on the flat;
but on hilly ground one with a shorter back will have the advantage."
The ribs should also be well arched. We would perhaps avoid him with
sides too decidedly outswelling, but still more would we avoid the direct
flat-sided dog.
Without really good haunches and muscular thighs, it has been well
remarked that the odds are against any dog, be his other points whatever
they may. It is by the propulsatory efforts of the muscles of the loins
and thighs that the race is won. The thighs should be large, and
muscularly indented; the hocks broad, and, like the knee, low placed.
These are very important points; for, as Mr. Blaine has properly remarked,
"on the extent of the angles formed between these several portions of
the hinder limbs, depends the extent of the space passed over at each
bound."
The colour of the greyhound varies exceedingly. Some are perfectly
black and glossy. In strength and endurance, the brindled dog, or the
brown or fawn-coloured one, is the best. The white greyhound, although a
beautiful animal and swift, is not, perhaps, quite so much to be depended
on.
The greyhound is said to be deficient in attachment to his master and in
general intelligence. There is some truth in the imputation; but, in fact,
the greyhound has, far less than even the hound, the opportunity of
forming individual attachments, and no other exercise of the mind is
required of him than to follow the game which starts up before him, and to
catch it if he can. If, however, he is closely watched he will be found to
have all the intellect that his situation requires.
As to the individual attachment which the greyhound may form, he has not
always or often the opportunity to acquire or to exhibit it. The keeper
exercises over him a tyrannical power, and the owner seldom notices him in
the manner which excites affection, or scarcely recognition; but, as a
plea for the seeming want of fondness, which, compared with other breeds,
he exhibits, it will be sufficient to quote the testimony of the younger
Xenophon, who had made the greyhound his companion and his friend.
"I have myself bred up," says he, "a swift, hard-working, courageous,
sound-footed dog. He is most gentle and kindly affectioned, and never
before had I any such a dog for myself, or my friend, or my
fellow-sportsman. When he is not actually engaged in coursing, he is never
away from me. On his return he runs before me, often looking back to see
whether I had turned out of the road, and as soon as he again catches
sight of me, showing symptoms of joy, and once more trotting away before
me. If a short time only has passed since he has seen me or my friend, he
jumps up repeatedly by way of salutation, and barks with joy as a greeting
to us. He has also many different tones of speech, and such as I never
heard from any other dog. Now really I do not think that I ought to be
ashamed to chronicle the name of this dog, or to let posterity know that
Xenophon the Athenian had a greyhound, called Hormé, possessed of the
greatest speed, and intelligence, and fidelity, and excellent in every
point."
The Greek sportsmen held their dogs in peculiar estimation; they were not
only their attendants in the field, but their constant companions in their
houses, were fed from their tables, and even shared their beds. It is with
some degree of pleasure that the patrons of this noble animal will
witness, in the following remarks, the tender solicitude with which this
people watched over their dogs.
"There is nothing like a soft and warm bed for greyhounds, but it is
best for them to sleep with men, as they become thereby affectionately
attached, pleased with the contact of the human body, and as fond of their
bed-fellow as of their feeder. If any ailing affect the dog the man will
perceive it, and will relieve him in the night, when thirsty, or urged by
any call of nature. He will also know how the dog has rested. For if he
has passed a sleepless night, or groaned frequently in his sleep, or
thrown up any of his food, it will not be safe to take him out coursing.
All these things the dog's bed-fellow will be acquainted with." (Arrian,
chap. ix. Trans.)
It was also not an unusual circumstance for the most polished Greeks,
when sending notes of invitation to their friends, requesting their
presence in celebration of some festive occasion, to extend the same
civilities to their favourite dogs, by desiring them to be brought along,
as will be seen by the following paragraph selected from a letter of this
kind addressed by one friend to another.
"I am about to celebrate the birth-day of my son, and I invite you,
my Pithacion, to the feast. But come not alone; bring with you your
wife, children, and your brother. If you will bring also your bitch, who
is a good guard, and by the loudness of her voice drives away the
enemies of your flocks, she will not, I warrant, disdain to be partaker
of our feast, &c."
(Letter xviii., Alciphron's Epistles.) — L.
The greyhound has within the last fifty years assumed a somewhat
different character from that which he once possessed. He is distinguished
by a beautiful symmetry of form, of which he once could not boast, and he
has even superior speed to that which he formerly exhibited. He is no
longer used to struggle with the deer, but he contends with his fellow
over a shorter and speedier course.
The rules for breeding and breaking-in of greyhounds are very simple. The
utmost attention should be paid to the qualities of the parents; for it is
as certain in these dogs as in the horse that all depends upon the
breeding. The bitch should be healthy and of good size; the dog muscular,
stanch, and speedy, and somewhat larger than the bitch. Both should have
arrived at their full vigour, and with none of their powers beginning to
fail. Those as much as possible should be selected whose peculiar
appearance bids fair to increase the good qualities and diminish the bad
ones on either side. The best blood and the best form should be diligently
sought. Breeding from young dogs on either side should, generally
speaking, be avoided. With regard to older dogs, whether male or female,
there may be less care. Many greyhounds, both male and female, eight,
nine, and ten years of age, have been the progenitors of dogs possessing
every stanch and good quality.
On no consideration, however, should the bitch be put to the dog before
she is two years old. Little can be done to regulate the period of œstrum;
but the most valuable breed will be almost invariably that which is
produced during the spring, because at that time there will often be
opportunity for that systematic exercise on which the growth and powers of
the dog so materially depend. A litter of puppies in the beginning or even
the middle of winter will often be scarcely worth the trouble or expense
of rearing.
The age of the greyhound is now taken from the first day in the year; but
the conditions of entry are fixed at different periods. It seems, however,
to be agreed that no dog or bitch can qualify for a puppy cup after two
years of ago.
One principle to be ever kept in mind is a warm and comfortable situation,
and a plentiful supply of nourishment for the mother and for the puppies
from the moment of their birth. The dog that is stinted in his early
growth will never do its owner credit. The bitch should be abundantly
supplied with milk, and the young ones with milk and bread, and oatmeal,
and small portions of flesh as soon as they are disposed to eat it; great
care, however, being taken that they are not over-gorged. Regular and
proper feeding, with occasional exercise, will constitute the best
preparation for the actual training. If a foster-mother be required for
the puppies, it should, if possible, be a greyhound; for it is not at all
impossible that the bad qualities of the nurse may to a greater or less
degree be communicated to the whelps. Bringing up by hand is far
preferable to the introduction of any foster-mother. A glass or
Indian-rubber bottle may be used for a little while, if not until the
weaning. Milk at first, and afterwards milk and sop alternately, may be
used.
There is a difference of opinion whether the whelp should be kept in the
kennel and subjected to its regular discipline, or placed at walk in some
farm-house. In consequence of the liberty he will enjoy at the latter, his
growth will probably be more rapid; but, running with the farmers' dogs,
and probably coursing many hares, he will acquire, to a certain degree, a
habit of wildness. It is useless to deny this; but, on the other hand,
nothing will contribute so much to the development of every power as a
state of almost unlimited freedom when the dogs are young. The wildness
that will be exhibited can soon be afterwards restrained so far as is
necessary, and the dog who has been permitted to exert his powers when
young will manifest his superiority in more advanced age, and in nothing
more than his dexterity at the turn.
When the training actually commences, it should be preceded by a couple of
doses of physic, with an interval of five or six days, and, probably, a
moderate bleeding between them; for, if the dog begins to work overloaded
with flesh and fat, he will suffer so severely from it that possibly he
will never afterwards prove a game dog. In the course of his training he
should be allowed every advantage and experience every encouragement. His
courses should be twice or thrice a-week, according to their severity, and
as often as it can be effected be should be rewarded with some mark of
kindness.
In the Sportsman for April, 1840, is an interesting account of the chase
of the hare. It is said that, in general, a good greyhound will reach a
hare if she runs straight. He pursues her eagerly, and the moment he is
about to strike at her she turns short, and the dog, unable to stop
himself, is thrown from ten to twenty yards from her. These jerking turns
soon begin to tell upon a dog, and an old well-practiced hare will seldom
fail to make her escape. When, however, pursued by a couple of dogs, the
hare has a more difficult game to play, as it frequently happens that when
she is turned by the leading dog she has great difficulty in avoiding the
stroke of the second.
It is highly interesting to witness the game of an old hare. She has
generally some brake or thicket in view, under the cover of which she
means to escape from her pursuers. On moving from her seat she makes
directly for the hiding-place, but, unable to reach it, has recourse to
turning, and, wrenched by one or the other of her pursuers, she seems
every moment almost in the jaws of one of them, and yet in a most
dexterous manner she accomplishes her object. A greyhound, when he
perceives a hare about to enter a thicket, is sure to strike at her if
within any reasonable distance. The hare shortens her stride as she
approaches the thicket, and at the critical moment she makes so sudden,
dexterous, and effectual a spring, that the dogs are flung to a
considerable distance, and she has reached the cover and escaped.
The isle of Cyprus has for many years been celebrated for its breed of the
greyhound. On grand days, or when the governor is present, the sport is
conducted in a curious manner. When the hare is ready to become the prey
of its enemies, the governor rushes forwards, and, throwing before the
greyhounds a stick which he carries, they all instantaneously stop. The
hare now runs a little distance; but one of the swiftest greyhounds is
then let loose. He pursues the hare, and, having come up with it, carries
it back, and, springing on the neck of the governor's horse, places it
before him. The governor delivers it to one of his officers, who sends it
to the park, where he maintains many prisoners of the same kind; for he
will not destroy the animal that has contributed to his amusement.
The following, according to Mr. Blaine, an ardent courser in his youth, is
the best mode of feeding greyhounds at regular work:
"The dogs had a full flesh meal every afternoon or evening, as more
nutriment is derived from night-feeding than by day, and when sleeping
than when waking. In the morning they were let out, and either followed
the keeper about the paddock, or the groom in his horse exercise, and
then had a trifling meat of mixed food, as a quieting portion, until the
evening full meal. Such was our practice on the days when no coursing
was contemplated, and, with the exception of lowering the quantity and
quality of the evening meal, the same plan was pursued throughout the
year. On the day previous to coursing, if we intended anything like an
exhibition of our dogs before company engaged to meet us on the marshes,
we gave a plentiful meal early the previous day, some exercise also in
the afternoon, and a light supper at night, of meal with either broth or
milk, with a man on horseback going a gentle trot of six or seven miles
an hour."
Mr. Thacker orders the greyhounds out on the fore part of every day;
but, instead of being loose and at liberty, they would be much better two
and two; then, when he meets with a proper field to loose them in, to give
them a good gallop. This will be a greater novelty than if they had been
loose on the road, and they will gallop with more eagerness. Four days in
a week will be enough for this exercise. On one day there should he a
gallop of one or two miles, or even a course for each brace of dogs.
The young dog has usually an older and more experienced one to start with
him. That which is of most importance is, that his leader should be a
thoroughly stout and high-mettled dog. If he shrinks or shies at any
impediment, however formidable, the young one will be sure to imitate him,
and to become an uncertain dog, if not a rank coward. Early in November is
the time when these initiatory trials are to be made. It is of consequence
that the young one should witness a death as soon as possible. Some
imagine that two old dogs should accompany the young one at its first
commencement. After the death of the leveret, the young dog must be coaxed
and fondled, but never suffered to taste the blood.
In kennels in which the training is regularly conducted, the dog should be
brushed all over twice every day. Few things contribute so much to health
as general cleanliness, and friction applied to the skin. Warmth is as
necessary for greyhounds as for horses, and should not be forgotten in
cold weather. Body-clothing is a custom of considerable antiquity, and
should not be abandoned. The breeder of greyhounds for the purpose of
coursing must reckon upon incurring considerable expense; but, if he loves
the sport, ho will be amply remunerated by the speed and stoutness of his
dogs.
A question has arisen whether, on the morning of the coursing, any
stimulant should be given to the dog. The author of this work would
unhesitatingly approve of this practice. He has had abundant experience of
the good effect of it; but the stimulus must be that which, while it
produces the desired effect, leaves no exhaustion behind.
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