The Dog

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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.

The following poetical record of the fidelity, prowess, and ill-fate of
Gelert, the favourite greyhound of Llewellyn Prince of Wales, and
son-in-law to King John, will he read with interest:

The spearman heard the bugle sound
And cheerly smiled the morn,
And many a brach and many a hound
Obeyed Llewellyn's horn.

And still as blew a lowder blast,
And gave a louder cheer,
"Come, Gelert! why art thou the last
Llewellyn's horn to hear?"

"Oh, where does faithful Gelert roam?
The flower of all his race!
So true, so brave; a lamb at home,
A lion in the chase?"

'Twas only at Lewellyn's board
The faithful Gelert fed,
He watched, he served, he cheered his lord,
And sentinel'd his bed.

In sooth he was a peerless hound,
The gift of royal John;
But now no Gelert could be found,
And all the chase rode on.

And now as over rocks and dells
The gallant chidings rise,
All Snowdon's craggy chaos yells
With many mingled cries.

That day llewellyn little loved
The chase of hart or hare;
And scan and small the booty proved,
For Gelert was not there.

Unpleased Llewellyn homeward hied,
When near the portal seat
His truant Gelert he espied,
Bounding his lord to greet.

But when he gained the castle-door,
Aghast the chieftan stood;
The hound was smeared with gouts of gore--
His lips and fangs ran blood.

Llewellyn gazed with wild surprise:
Unused such looks to meet,
His favourite check'd his joyful guise
And crouched and licked his feet.

Onward in haste Llewellyn pass'd,
And on went Gelert too;
And still where'er his eyes he cast,
Fresh blood-gouts shocked his view.

O'erturned his infant's bed he found,
The blood-stained covert rent;
And all around the walls and ground,
With recent blood besprent.

He called his child--no voice replied--
He searched with terror wild:
Blood! blood! he found on every side,
But nowhere found the child.

'Hellhound! by thee my child's devoured!'
The frantic father cried;
And to the hilt his vengeful sword
He plunged in Gelert's side.

His suppliant, as to earth he fell,
No pity could impart;
But still his Gelert's dying yell
Passed heavy o'er his heart.

Aroused by Gelert's dying yell,
Some slumberer wakened nigh:
What words the parent's joy can tell
To hear his infant cry!

Concealed beneath a mangled heap
His hurried search had missed,
All glowing from his rosy sleep,
His cherub boy he kissed.

Nor scratch had he, nor harm, nor dread,
But the same couch beneath,
Lay a great wolf, all torn and dead,
Tremendous still in death.

Ah, what was then Llewellyn's pain!
For now the truth was clear:
The gallant hound the wolf had slain,
To save Llewellyn's heir.

Vain, vain was all Llewellyn's wo:
"Best of thy kind, adieu!
The frantic deed which laid thee low,
This heart shall ever rue."

And now a gallant tomb they raise,
With costly sculpture decked;
And marbles, storied with his praise,
Poor Gelert's bones protect.

Here never could the spearman pass,
Or forester, unmoved;
Here oft the tear-besprinkled grass
Llewellyn's sorrow proved.

And here he hung his horn and spear;
And oft, as evening fell,
In fancy's piercing sounds would hear
Poor Gelert's dying yell!

It will be evident, however, from the story of the noble hound whose
history is just related, that the greyhounds of the time were very
different from those which are used at the present day. There are no
Gelerts now to combat successfully with the wolf, if these ferocious
animals were yet to be met with in our forests. The greyhound of this
early period must have resembled the Irish wolf-dog of the present day,
a larger, stronger, fiercer dog than we are accustomed to see.

The owner of Gelert lived in the time of John, in the early part of the
thirteenth century; but, at the latter part of the fifteenth century,
the following singular description is given of the greyhound of that
period. It is extracted from a very curious work entitled "The Treatise
perteynynge to Hawkynge, Huntynge, &c., emprynted at Westmestre, by
Wynkyn de Werde, 1496."

A greyhounde should be headed lyke a snake,
And neckyd lyke a drake,
Fotyd lyke a cat
Tayled lyke a ratte,
Syded like a teme
And chyned like a bream.
The fyrste yere he must lerne to fede,
The seconde yere to feld him lede.
The thyrde yere he is felow lyke.
The fourth yere there is non syke.
The fifth yere he is good ynough.
The syxth yere he shall hold the plough,
The seventh yere he will avaylle
Grete bytches for assayle.
But when he is come to the ninth yere
Have him then to the tannere;
For the best hounde that ever bytch had
At the ninth yere is full bad.

As to the destiny of the poor animal in his ninth year, we differ from
the author; but it cannot be denied that few dogs retain their speed
beyond the eighth or ninth year.

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.

A favourite bitch of this breed was Czarina, bred by Lord Orford, and
purchased at his decease by Colonel Thornton: she won every match for
which she started, and they were no fewer than forty-seven. Lord Orford
had matched her for a stake of considerable magnitude; but, before the
appointed day arrived, he became seriously ill and was confined to his
chamber. On the morning of the course he eluded the watchfulness of his
attendant, saddled his favourite piebald pony, and, at the moment of
starting, appeared on the course. No one had power to restrain him, and
all entreaties were in vain. He peremptorily insisted on the dogs being
started, and he would ride after them. His favourite bitch displayed her
superiority at every stroke; she won the stakes: but at the moment of
highest exultation he fell from his pony, and, pitching on his head,
almost immediately expired. With all his eccentricities, he was a kind,
benevolent, and honourable man.

In the thirteenth year of her age, and in defiance of the strange verses
just now quoted, Czarina began to breed, and two of her progeny, Claret
and young Czarina, challenged the whole kingdom and won their matches.
Major, and Snowball, without a white spot about him, inherited all the
excellence of their dam. The former was rather the fleeter of the two,
but the stanchness of Snowball nothing could exceed. A Scotch greyhound,
who had beaten every opponent in his own country, was at this time
brought to England, and challenged every dog in the kingdom. The
challenge was accepted by Snowball, who beat him in a two-mile course.
Snowball won the Mailton cup on four successive years, was never beaten,
and some of his blood is now to be traced in almost every good dog in
every part of the kingdom, at least in all those that are accustomed to
hunt in an open country. The last match run by Snowball was against Mr.
Plumber's celebrated greyhound Speed; and, so severely contested was it,
that Speed died soon afterwards. A son of the old dog, called Young
Snowball, who almost equalled his father, was sold for one hundred
guineas.

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." [13]

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. [14]

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 Horme, 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
oestrum; 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-practised
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.