Page 48 - Dog

Dogs in sports

Over the ages, people have used dogs as
entertainment in a great variety of sports, many
of which have unfortunately involved much
cruelty. In Roman times, dogfighting and
GOING TO THE DOGS “baiting” became fashionable sports and
Greyhounds and
whippets are the continued until the late 1800s. Baiting was a “THE DOG FIGHT”
number-one choice sport in which people released a pack of dogs The spectators in this painting, by English artist
around the world as Thomas Rowlandson (1756–1827), are urging
racing dogs. Here, in a ring with another animal, such as a bear or their dogs to fight and are betting on which dog
though, the greyhound is bull (pp. 54–55), and watched as the animal will win. Today this cruel sport is illegal in the
used for advertising U.S. and many other countries.
Camembert cheese. was torn to death by the dogs. Although these
inhumane activities are now illegal, they are still practiced in some Keen sight of the borzoi
places. Dogs like to compete with each other, however, and there (pp. 14–15) will help
are many sports that are not as cruel. The large number of it to win a race – or,
as in former times,
different breeds of sight hounds (pp. 14–15) have all been to hunt well
developed for coursing, or chasing after, fast-running prey such
as hares. They were often used – together
with birds of prey – in the sport of falconry.
In northern Africa and Asia, both the
Saluki and the Afghan hound
(pp. 48–49) were bred for chasing
gazelles. Today, in greyhound
racing, dogs are bred for speed, and
run after a mechanical “hare.”

MUZZLED
Dogs get very excited when
they are racing, so usually
they wear muzzles to keep
them from biting other
dogs during a race.

Long, muscular
Deep chest and freely lower legs
swinging shoulders enable
Borzoi the dog to take long strides

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