THE FOXHOUND'S FEET 



CHAPTER XII 



NO matter what other good qualities a hound 

 may possess, if his feet cannot stand wear 

 and tear he soon becomes a skirter, and his 

 usefulness in life is therefore at an end. Constant 

 foot trouble amongst hounds is a serious menace 

 to the economical upkeep of a pack, and at the 

 same time greatly increases the labour in the 

 kennel. To counteract it, a large reserve of 

 hounds must be kept to draw upon, or else hounds 

 must be bred with a type of foot to successfully 

 withstand the exigences of the going. Wherever 

 you find hounds suffering from foot trouble, you 

 can rest assured that it is owing to faulty anato- 

 mical construction, or lack of condition. In the 

 latter case plenty of exercise, particularly road 

 work, will soon show improvement, but no amount 

 of exercise will fit an ill-made foot to properly 

 withstand wear and tear. 



If we examine the forefeet and legs — from the 

 knee downwards — of the standard type foxhound, 

 we are forced to admit that breeders of this type 

 have deviated a long way from the pattern pro- 

 vided by nature. The reader may say, " Yes, 

 but years of high civilization have resulted in 

 great improvement in certain domestic animals 

 when compared with their original form," and to 

 this we agree, particularly as regards general 

 symmetry and balance. In all animals which 

 have been so improved however, we find that the 



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