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