The Whippet or Race Dog: Its Breeding, Rearing, and Training for Races and for Exhibition. (With Illustrations of Typical Dogs and Diagrams of Tracks)

By Freeman Lloyd

Originally published in 1904 this extremely scarce early work on the Whippet is both expensive and hard to find in this edition. VINTAGE DOG BOOKS have republished it, using the original text and illustrations as part of their CLASSIC BREED BOOKS series. Freeman Lloyd was an expert on dogs and wrote several books on various breeds. This book on the whippet was his best, and is much sought after by true "whippeters." As a respected member of the National Whippet-Racing Club, he wrote from his wealth of experience of this wonderful little racing/hunting dog. The book consists of over a hundred pages divided into sixteen detailed chapters and is illustrated with vintage photos of typical dogs and diagrams of tracks, including an additional gallery of photos at the rear. Contents Include: Make, Shape and Characteristics. Breeding. The Whippet as a Snap-Dog. As a Race-Dog. As a Sporting Dog. As a Show Dog. As a Companion. Training. Tracks and Racecourses. Racing Rules. Management of Meetings. Tables of Times, Distances and Weights. The Rules of Handicapping. Kennels. Food and Clothing. Diseases. This is a fascinating read for any whippet enthusiast or historian of the breed, but also contains much information that is still useful and practical today. Many of the earliest dog breed books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. VINTAGE DOG BOOKS are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Read Books Ltd.
• Release date: Mar 29, 2011
• ISBN: 9781446548837

Book preview

CHAPTER I.

MAKE, SHAPE, AND CHARACTERISTICS.

NEVER have I sat down to a more encouraging subject for a book on dogs than that of Whippets, and all about them as domestic animals and gambling machines. I use the word gambling purposely, for I am not here to write that the place for a Whippet is on the hearthrug or the counterpane of the spare bedroom. No; his calling is on the track. As it is a shame to put a racehorse between the shafts of a coal-cart, so to me it seems a pity to see a Whippet led about as a lady’s pet or a dude’s fad. The Whippet is essentially a racing dog, and I propose chiefly to write about him as such, and will do my best to point out the difference between a good and a bad one, and the most likely animal to become profitable to the owner.

Now when a man designs a yacht, a house, a vehicle, or anything else, he first asks himself a question, and that is What’s it meant for? And when you are thinking about looking over or laying yourself out to breed a Whippet, you must query to yourself in the same way, What’s a Whippet, and what’s he for? If you know anything you will say again, Why, he’s a little race-dog; a dog that is calculated to gallop 200yds. at a terrific speed. And there you are! Lay yourself open to have a Whippet on first-class lines, for, depend upon it, make and shape will tell, and if an ordinary-looking dog does sometimes win a race, it is not because of his ill-appearance, but is due to his superior training or lenient handicapping. Make and shape will always tell in the human, equine, and canine races, and given equal chances, the animal built on the most approved lines will be sure to come out on top.

I am bound to write that I have little sympathy with those who jeer at the lines of the show Whippet. They cannot know anything about the anatomy of an animal if they deride the proportions approved by experienced judges. A Whippet that is out at elbows and weak in pasterns has no chance against the dog sound in those properties, if both have been equally trained: the same in men, in horses, and every animal in which speed and stamina are required. I do not deny that there are exceptions, but these of course only go to prove the rule, that make and shape are the first points a man has to look out for, if he desires to form a stud of Whippets. Of course blood is a great factor, but just at the present time I am somewhat susceptible on this point, and should not be eager over the acceptance of pedigrees that may be offered. I will not say anything more on this subject now; suffice it to write that pedigrees may look well on paper, but I should sometimes like to see them proved. Probably there has been a rush after these dogs. My advice is to pay little attention to paper lineage at present, but to look out for the requisite lines.

Now, the first thing a Whippet is asked to do is to gallop, and therefore we must try to pick out the requisite points in his make and shape which will enable him to put his best foot foremost, as the saying goes. A cart-horse cannot gallop in competition with the thoroughbred; and there are other similes I could point out in the different breeds of dogs—for instance, the Foxhound and the Greyhound. One is comparatively a slow hound, but the other is a sprinter; the former hunts with his nose, the latter with his eye, although I am open to admit that a longtail with an educated nose will hunt with any Spaniel. But that has no place in this book. What I merely want to point out is that a Whippet is a racing dog, and that you must look out for the lines of a racer, and not those of a cob. He must be there, all outline, but not of the Italian Greyhound order, with that peculiar fore action that reminds you of a park hack—all show and no speed. It is not the horse with the extravagant action that gets over the ground, but the gee that will knock sixpence off it. And the same with Whippets: I do not like the over-stilty dog, but rather a lengthy one, so long as his back is sound and his loins do not appear weak. But perhaps I am getting rather forward with my subject, and it would be better to commence at his nose and finish at his tail.

As I write I am trying to convey the impression of a perfect or likely Whippet that I have in my mind’s eye. It is somewhat difficult perhaps entirely to express one’s idea, but in describing the outside of the dog I will take for granted that my readers are aware that the Whippet is, to write broadly, a miniature Greyhound, and those who know the points of the latter breed will find themselves good judges of the Whippet. But I do not think you will as a rule find the head of a Whippet so long and fine—of course I am speaking comparatively—as that of the Greyhound; and the bulging of the skull, especially that part over the eyes, goes a lot to prove, I think, that there is a deal of terrier in the breed: this may account for the wonderful tenacity with which they hold on to the object of their quest—a towel or some other material up to which they have run with such dash. The Whippet that has been through the mill, that is to say, been trained, is always on the qui vive for something on which to hang, and I know of one that, when she cannot get a playmate in the shape of a little boy to give her a handkerchief either to tear up or to hang on, will act the part of the house-cat and amuse herself watching and catching mice. Whippets are full of fire, and once they have been trained, they hardly know what to do with themselves, so active and persistent are they in their habits.

Coming to the neck, this should be fairly long and free: a nicely-topped dog is always preferable to one with a short neck set squat into the shoulders. Look at the necks of the Bulldog and the Greyhound. One is built for strength, and the other for speed, and that comparison I think will at once demonstrate what I mean as regards the neck of the Whippet. Then the shoulders are a great consideration. These must be set on in a way that will allow them freedom to move—that is to say, they should lie back sloping, not upright. You will observe that you cannot get galloping action out of an upright or straight shoulder; always therefore be on the look-out for animals which possess those of the requisite placement.

And now I will come to the body, which should be wide and strong over the back and loins, and with fairly-sprung ribs and plenty of depth in the girth and elsewhere. You do not want any of the tucked-up creatures, for I am convinced that they cannot have the necessary stamina for the great strain and exertion that are required in a race-dog. His hindquarters should be always powerful, with muscle well distributed, and when in training he should be hard as nails in his thighs. You can generally tell if a dog has been doing good work by handling him there. If you do so—well, play gently, for you will please neither the dog nor his trainer if you subject the animal to a severe test in these regions. And here I would remind you always to ask permission to put your hand on a dog. A good Whippet is valuable property, perhaps running for a fortune, and you have no right to pull him about simply because he happens to belong to a mill operative.

CHAPTER II.

BREEDING.

THE Whippet is now recognised as a pure-bred dog, and is given a place in the Kennel Club Stud Book.