The Greyhound. 19 



important that the dog should be formed to do this, picking up and 

 bearing the hare in his stride, and not stopping to worry her as a terrier 

 would a rat ; and here many points come in which should be narrowly 

 scanned and compared in the show ring, but tpo seldom are not, and 

 these I will allude to in going over the several points. 



In addition, there are other requirements for which the dog must 

 possess qualities, to make him successful in the field and give him a 

 right to a prize in the show ring, and which will be noticed in detail. A 

 good idea of a course, with the gallant efforts of pursuer and pursued, is 

 given in the following lines from Ovid, translated by Golding : 



As when the impatient greyhound, slipped from far, 



Bounds o'er the glade to course the fearful hare, 



She in her speed does all her safety lie, 



And he with double speed pursues his 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. 



In forming an opinion of a dog, whether in selecting him for some 

 special purpose of work or merely choosing the best out of a lot in the 

 prize ring, first impressions are occasionally deceptive, get confirmed into 

 prejudices, and mislead the judgment. But, in the great majority of 

 cases, to the man who knows what he is looking at, what he is looking 

 /or, and what he has a reasonable right to expect, the first impression 

 conveyed to the mind by the general outline or contour, and the way it is 

 filled in, will be confirmed on a close critical and analytical examination 

 of the animal point by point ; and it is only by such close and minute 

 examination that a judge can become thoroughly master of his subject, 

 and arrive at a position where he can give strong, clear, and intelligible 

 reasons for the opinions he has formed and the decision he has given. 

 Moreover, there is that to be weighed and taken into account in the final 

 judgment on the dog's merits which is referable to no part alone, which 

 can only be appreciated on taking him as a whole, that is, Ufe that 

 indefinable something which evades the dissector's knife, yet permeates 

 the whole body, the centre power which is the source of movement in 

 every quivering muscle, and is variously seen in every action of the dog 

 and in every changing emotion of which he is capable. This, I conceive 

 to be the only difficulty in the way of judging by points, and it is not 



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