Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-08-07
wHIPPErs AS RACERS.
A Growing misunderstanding and Breed
ing Dogs to Race.

A Growing Misunderstanding and Breed
ing Dogs to Race.
Among sports of a recent introduc.
ton in this country which have be.
come popular j. dog racing. Running
dogs were first brought from England
in 1881, and since that time they have
been bred in large numbers. James
Dawson, one Of the most expert train
ers in America, who has spent some
years among the dog trainers and
fanciers of the old country, gave the
benefit of his experience to a reporter
whom he net a few days ago while
visiting this city. zone can scarcely
imagine" be says. "the tremendous
aspect of the traffic in running dogs in
some portions of England. In Lanca-
shire and Yorkshire alone there are
over three thousand. Nearly every
young mah there has a running dog,
and races are everyday occurrence.
In 1881 Ibrought over several dogs
just for Al experiment. They attracted
.attentionfin sporting circles, especially
among Englishmen. 1t was then de-
,cided % breed the animals on an extern
sive sale. An ordinary dog won't do
for Mnning. Running dogs are bred
to b; small by crossing a bulldog with
"a greyhound. In sporting nomen-
%iclaure, the dogs are called whippets.
%:Iley have 1.-THE, agile forms and long,
islnder legs. Their hair is as fine as
six, and the sinews protrude like whip
,ords. A whippet combines the game
less and tenacity of purpose Of a bull
dog and the fleetness Of a greyhound"
!. cit is difficult to train them, is it
notp"
"No; at least not so difficult as n
would naturally suppose. When the
animal is one month old he is trained
to run after a rag or any other article
may be selected. He is run and
Jumped until he becomes thoroughly
determined to capture the object.
When he is about three months old he
is put on his mettle on a track two
hundred yards long. The man who
starts the dog is called a slipper He
holds the dog by the nape Of the neck
and the stub of the tail. A man with
an object starts from the other end of
the track and runs toward the dog.
calling him and urging him on. The
animal leaps with Impotence, but he is
restrained by the slipper The man
with the object approaches within one
hundred and seventy-tive yards of the
dog and then runs back. When he
Peaches the two hundred yard stretch
"a pistol is fired and the dog is released.
Away he goes. He leaps rod after
rod, and it sometimes seems as if he
touches the ground with his body, His
legs are spread out at full length, and
he leaps on until he reaches the object.
The fastest time on record was made
by a dog weighing thirty-four pounds.
1t made two hundred yards in eleven
and a half seconds. Taylor's Maggie
of Philadelphia, weighing fifteen and q
half pounds, ran two hundred yards in
twelve and a half seconds"
Chow are dogs handicapped"
ga dog comedies a male opponent
two yards and a half to the pound. A
male dog comedies female dog three
yards to the pound, and a female con-
cedes n of her own sex two yards to
the pound. The animals can be handi-
capped so that they will finish by a
neck every time.'
''The training is the most tedious part
Of the whole business. Before a race a
cog is treated just like a pugilist before
i fight. If the weather be warm the
log is walked from four to six o'clock
IN the morning and worked by brisk
trotting. At six o'clock he is returned
to the kennel and fed. His breakfast
consists of toasted bread soaked in tea
and broiled chops. The meat is cut
up into small pieces to aid digestion.
The animal is neither fed nor worked
until evening. After the sun goes
down he is worked as in the morning,
and fed on the same diet with the ex-
ception of beefsteak for mutton chops
occasionally, by way Of variety. Dur
ing the last week the springing is done.
He is worked by trotting, and fed on
,calf's foot jelly"
''Why can not all dogs be used for
racing?"
Common dogs will notrun straight
that is, they will not run so fast at
the finish as they do at the start. A
Whippet will keep up the same speed
from the start to the finish. I only
knew one common dog that would
run straight He vas a cross be-
tween a Newfoundland and q shep-
herd"
"What do whippets cost?"
GAIL the way from seventy-ive to five
hundred dollars, according to speed
and pedigree. There will be a fortune
in breeding whippets in a few years, as
soon as the sport becomes universally
popular. -Sporting World.