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.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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