210 Hounds 



too fat the coat should be a thick one, as the 

 wearing of this, with the addition of vigorous exer- 

 cise, will help to sweat the dog, reducing any super- 

 fluous flesh. In summer a thin flannel coat is the 

 best, as it helps to keep the coat down and 

 improve the lustre of it. A fat dog is no use for 

 running, neither is one that does not receive a regular 

 amount of exercise. It is advisable to feed night 

 and morning on such foods as raw beef, dog 

 biscuits, or hound meal. To train a Whippet 

 to follow a rider on horseback or behind a gig con- 

 stitutes an invaluable means of keeping the animal 

 in good hard condition. The use of stimulants before 

 or after racing is to be deprecated, and it is a practice 

 that assuredly produces premature decline of con- 

 stitutional vigour, as all forms of alcohol have a most 

 pernicious effect upon the strength of the heart and 

 lungs; this stimulant exerting nothing beyond a 

 temporary excitation of the vital forces. 



