| The Irish Greyhound
This dog differs from the Scotch
Greyhound, in having shorter and finer hair, of a
pale fawn colour, and pendent ears. It is, compared with the Scotch dog,
gentle and harmless, perhaps indolent, until roused. It is a larger dog
than the Scottish dog, some of them being full four feet in length, and
proportionately muscular. On this account, and also on account of their
determined spirit when roused, they were carefully preserved by some
Irish gentlemen. They were formerly used in hunting the wolf when that
animal infested the forests of Ireland. Mr. Bell says that the last
person who kept the pure breed was Lord Altamont, who in 1780 "had eight
of them." Back to: Greyhound Dog
Back to: Dog Types
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