This elegant little pet resembles its English sporting congener in shape and colour, differing mainly in its diminutive size, and in the remarkable " prancing " action which it almost invariably exhibits with its forelegs. No other animal, as far as I know, possesses this action to the same extent. It is true that some horses lift their knees till, as the dealers say, " they are in danger of putting their feet through their curb chains;" but this is done in a comparatively heavy and lumbering style, without the true dance-like " prance " of the Italian greyhound. Occasionally, but very rarely, an English greyhound, or even a deerhound, exhibits the action to some extent, but even then it is exceptional; whereas in the Italian it is the rule, and almost an invariable one.

Owing to the extent to which in-breeding has been carried by the lovers of this dog, he is often extremely delicate, is always difficult to rear, and when attacked by distemper the disease is frequently fatal. To obviate this constitutional defect, recourse has been lately had to a cross with the toy terrier, which has to some extent succeeded in this respect; but unfortunately it has introduced a large round skull and short face, sometimes attended with a falling terrier-like ear, also increased in size. With the exception of these defects, many of these cross-breds have been extremely beautiful, and the practice has enabled breeders to obtain a diminished size without loss of symmetry. In 1859 I published a portrait of Gowan's Billy, whose grandsire, great grandsire, gg grandsire, ggg and gggg grandsire were all the same dog, imported from Italy. At that time he was generally admitted to be the most perfect specimen of his kind in England, and he was possessed of the true greyhound head and ears; but his stock were very delicate, and I believe his strain is now extinct, at all events in a pure state.

He was 14 1/2in. high, and nearly 91b. in weight, which would now be considered somewhat over the proper size; but his symmetrically elegant shape has been reproduced on a smaller scale since then in the case of Mr. Bourke's Molly, who was absolutely faultless in all respects but her head, which was a trifle "bullety," as compared with Billy and other dogs of the old strain. In nearly all breeds of dogs elegance of form is shown more in the female than in the male; but this is especially to be noted in the various kinds of greyhounds, and in their ally the deerhound. Just as among bulldogs, mastiffs, St. Bernards, and bloodhounds, in whom the head is the most prominent feature, the male has the advantage in a mixed class, so in the greyhound the reverse holds good; and, on searching the prize lists since the institution of dog shows, it will be seen that nineteen-twentieths of the prizes have been won by bitches in the class for Italian greyhounds, even leaving out of the calculation that wonderfully beautiful animal above mentioned, Mr. Bourke's Molly (afterwards Mr. Macdonald's). With the exception of Billy (alluded to above), I have never yet seen an Italian greyhound dog approaching perfection in shape, and I am therefore compelled to fall back upon the nearest approach to it within my reach, namely, Mr. Pirn's Bismark, a considerable prize-winner at Bristol and in Ireland, although he was afterwards twice unnoticed beyond a high commendation at Birmingham and the Alexandra Park Shows. These defeats were, however, mainly owing to the excellence of the bitches amongst which he was classed; for at Birmingham there were four of that sex only a trifle behind the celebrated Molly in shape and colour, while at the Alexandra Park there were nearly as many.

Bismark is, nevertheless, a very neat dog; and, barring his round head and his colour, which has a shade of blue in the fawn, he is very little behind the first-class bitches of his day. His pedigree is unknown, so that it is not possible to trace these defects to their cause; but I have little doubt that, at some time more or less remote, a terrier cross in his pedigree would creep out. At all events, he is the best dog exhibited of late years, and as such I have selected him for Mr. Baker's pencil. Crucifix, his companion in the engraving, was, like him, passed over at the above shows, obtaining only a second prize at the shows recently held at Birmingham and Alexandra Palace. My own opinion, however, was strongly in her favour at both of these shows; and, in spite of the high authority of Messrs. Hedley and Handley (the respective judges), I have accordingly selected her for portraiture as the most worthy possessor of Molly's mantle. Her beautiful golden-fawn colour is even superior to Molly's dove-colour, and her general shape and symmetry are nearly equal; but no doubt in head Molly has the advantage, and if the two were shown together, both in their prime, the latter would weigh down the scale considerably.

Like Bismark, she has had more honour in her own country than at Birmingham and London, having been awarded the first prize at Manchester in 1875 and 1877, and also at Glasgow in 1875 and 1876. She is by Brace's Prince out of his Beauty; Prince by Old Prince - Speed; Beauty by Chief - Tit.

The Italian greyhound, as now bred to a weight of 51b. or 61b., is wholly useless in any kind of chase; but he was formerly sometimes slipped at rabbits, and I have seen a brace, belonging to a lady who was a well-known follower of the chase in Worcestershire thirty years ago, course and kill rabbits in very good style. But, though imported from Italy, they were about 101b. or 121b. in weight, and in these days would be classed as " whippets." This last named breed is extensively used at Manchester and in the Midland districts for rabbit coursing, and is a cross between the Italian and the English greyhound, or between the latter and the smooth English terrier. All these greyhound breeds are usually considered to be void of intelligence and fidelity; but this is a mistake, and certainly the trick performed by Mr. Walton's whippet, as shown in the engraving of the poodle published with the article on that dog in the Appendix, marks a high order of mental power, and a like degree of obedience, founded on love for his trainer, since no severity would lead to its execution.

These whippets are so quick and clever as to cope with the short turns of the rabbit; but they are not fast enough for the hare, and the sport for which they are bred is confined to the artisan and mining classes of the districts in which it is the fashion.

The points of the Italian greyhound differ only in proportional value from those of its English congener; colour, size, and symmetry being in the former more especially secured than in the latter.

Points Of The Italian Greyhound

Grand Total 100.

1. The Head (Value 5)

1. The head (value 5) if possible, should be as snakelike as that of the English greyhound, but such formation is now never met with. The nearer it approaches to it, however, the better. In all recent exhibits the skull is more or less round, and the face, though still pointed, too short, with a tendency to turn up.

2. The Neck (Value 5)

2. The neck (value 5) is long and elegant, resembling closely its larger congener.

3. The Ears And Eyes (Value 5)

Many modern prize takers are deficient in the proper shape of the ear; but this should not be overlooked, for it still exists in the breed as an exact counterpart of the English greyhound's corresponding organ, though always somewhat enlarged in comparison with the body. The eye is much larger proportionately, soft and languishing; but it ought never to weep. The colour of the iris is usually a dark brown.

4. Legs And Feet (Value 10)

These should be exactly counterparts of the large breed.

5. Fore Quarters (Value 10)

Here again I must refer my readers to "The Greyhound," in " Dogs of the British Islands," Part 11

6. Hind Quarters (Value 10)

As with the two last sections, the only difference lies in comparative value, the English dog's points being estimated from the workman-like point of view, whilst the Italian is regarded from the artistic standpoint.

7. The Tail (Value 5)

7. The tail (value 5) is somewhat shorter than the English dog's; but it must be gently curved in the same tobacco-pipe way, and should be fine in bone except at the root, as well as free from hair.

8. The Coat (Value 5)

8. The coat (value 5) should be short, soft, and silky.

9. The Colour (Value 15)

9. The colour (value 15) of the Italian greyhound is largely to be taken into consideration, and I nave consequently estimated it at a high figure. Fawns are now far in the ascendant, and to no other colour would the full value be accorded. I should place them as follows: 1, whole golden fawn (value 15); 2, whole dove fawn (14); 3, whole blue fawn (13); 4, whole stone fawn (12); 5, whole cream colour, or white with black tips (10); 6, whole red or yellow, with black muzzles (6); 7, whole black or plain red or yellow (5); 8, whole blue (4); 9, parti-coloured (0). A small star on the breast, or a white toe, takes off a point or two, according to the extent of white; but in all cases the toenails should be dark.

10. The Symmetry (Value 15)

10. The symmetry (value 15) of this little dog must be carefully estimated, as a want of elegance in detail, or of combination in due proportion, alike lowers the value of these points separately to a very low ebb.

11. The Size (Value 15)

11. The size (value 15) of the bitch for modern successful exhibition should be little over 51b., nor should the dog exceed 71b. or 7 1/2lb. Beyond these weights a specimen, however good in other respects, has little or no chance of a first prize in anything like a good class.