Stonehenge: A Lesson in Breeding

“But in speed it is not so necessary that she should in her own person shine”

The line is taken from that most famous of all books about the breed, The Greyhound written by Stonehenge.

The line is taken from the second edition printed in 1869.

This section relates to choosing a brood bitch and comes, let us not forget, only ten years after Darwin’s Origin of Species was published and nearly 60 years before racing was invented.

The point being made here is that when selecting a brood, it is not necessary that she be a good performer in her own right, “but she should certainly be of a good family.”

The writer actually recommends using a small brood on the basis that he size may have been the reason that she lacked ability.

He reasoned that if she produced progeny of the size of her siblings, they may have as much ability as their ‘aunts’ and ‘uncles’.

Likewise, if a well made bitch from a good litter lacks ability, it may be a sign that there are other basic faults in her make up.

But even allowing for the brood to be smaller than average, it is interesting to note that he sets his ambition on a “small muscular bitch of from 45lbs to 50lbs.”

It perhaps demonstates how the breed has developed with very few modern breeders looking for a bitch of 20-22 kilos.

But while she may lack ability, the author would still insist on “stoutness and honesty” in his brood.

Another interesting subject, that I confess to having known nothing about was the concept of five regional types of greyhound that ultimately merged to create the modern racing greyhound.

These comprised: Newmarket, Wiltshire, Lancashire, Scotch and Yorkshire.

Czar (above) was considered a good example of a Newmarket bred hound, having “great size, immense speed and a tolerable degree of stoutness” – though they were deficient in being narrow backed and “flat sided” and not so good at “close work”.

Their head is “long and narrow showing little intelligence.”

The Lancashire dog eg Beacon was bred for the plains of Altcar and Lytham where they were very hard to match.

They too were fast, and originally lacking stamina.

The Wiltshire dog was small tough and resilient, “almost like a terrier”.

The Scotch dog is hardy, with more width across his ears and a “little more intellect than is desirable”

Particualrly good as pups they were prone to “take liberties” as adults.

The Yorkshire breed had distinctive long Roman noses and plenty of speed but no stamina.