Page 51 - Dog

THE GREAT DOG OF IRELAND
The ancient breed of hounds used in
Ireland since medieval times for
hunting wolves probably died
out completely in the
19th century – more than 100
years after the last wolf was
THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES killed in Ireland. A British
Shown above is a still from one of army officer recreated the
three film versions of British writer Sir breed in the late 1800s, and
Arthur Conan Doyle’s (1859–1930) since then the Irish wolfhound
famous Sherlock Holmes story. has become a giant. It is the tallest
dog in the world, with a shoulder
Tail is height of up to 3 ft (94 cm).
carried erect, However, the old Irish wolfhound
not curled looked more like a rough-haired
forward greyhound.

HUNTING HARE
The beagle was
originally bred for
tracking hares in
Britain and France,
but it is now very popular in the
U.S. and Canada, where it is used
for hunting cottontail rabbits.
Because they are small, have a
uniform weight, and tolerate
living together in large
numbers, the beagle has
become the breed most
frequently used for
laboratory research.

A DEVONSHIRE HUNTING TAPESTRY
This detail, from one of four Flemish
tapestries woven in the early 1400s, Straight, strong
shows a medieval hunting scene forelegs and long,
with richly dressed ladies and muscular hindlegs
noblemen, their hounds, and enabled the Irish
prey of boar. These tapestries wolfhound to cover
were once owned by the Duke great distances in
of Devonshire in England. chasing its prey

DON’T BADGER ME!
Dachshund means “badger dog”
in German. This breed was
originally an “earth dog” – a
terrier used to dig out badgers
from their dens. Because
“hund” was translated into
English as “hound,” these
dogs became classed in
that group. The miniature The dachshund can have
dachshund is a popular three varieties of coat –
house dog, weighing up to short-haired, long-haired,
12 lb (5.5 kg ). or, as here, wire-haired

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