CHAPTER LX 

 THE ITALIAN GREYHOUND 



THERE is no more elegantly shaped pet dog than the Italian 

 Greyhound. The beauty of form and exquisite delicacy of frame 

 that distinguish a good specimen of this breed, together with 

 the exceedingly graceful action and attitudes he assumes, attract 

 the dog-lover and compel his eulogies. This pretty variety is 

 so delicate in appearance that it seems fitted only to be a pet 

 and companion for ladies, and as if the peach-bloom of his coat 

 might be sullied by the rough and clumsy touch of masculine 

 hands. Liliputian though he is, the Italian Greyhound is quite 

 an aristocrat amongst dogs. His style of motion shows that he 

 is no plebeian ; indeed, although his movements are to some 

 extent a compromise between an affected mincing gait and the 

 prancing action of a high-spirited horse, of the two styles there is 

 a tendency to that of the "high-stepper." In play, the Italian 

 Greyhound is seen to perfection, the graceful attitudes assumed 

 being very striking. When in repose, this dog has a habit of 

 crossing the fore legs in a manner observed in few other breeds, 

 and in running he seems often to step gingerly, and to plait his 

 legs. This peculiar action is quite a characteristic of the variety. 



As the name implies, Italy is the native home of these ex- 

 quisitely lovely, though frail-looking, little pets. As originally 

 imported to England, they were larger in size than now bred 

 here, and were, indeed, occasionally used to course rabbits a 

 purpose for which our exhibition specimens are wholly unfitted. 

 The dogs brought from Italy are also rather large and coarse, 

 and it is not under the azure skies of their native home that those 

 dogs have been brought to the greatest perfection, but rather 

 under clouds of dense London smoke, and amongst the raw, 

 chilling mists that surround them in their Scottish homes. 



As a breeder of Italian Greyhounds for many years, Mr. W. 

 Bruce, of Falkirk, was by far the most successful, and in his 

 own hands and those of various other exhibitors his stock supplied 

 the best of our show specimens and a very large proportion 



