bitch,
six--pups. If the litter is larger, it is better to destroy the
remainder, or use a foster mother.

[Illustration: MRS. AITCHESON'S BORZOI CH. STRAWBERRY KING]

Whatever they may be in their native land--and the first imported
specimens were perhaps rather uncertain in temper--the Borzoi, as
we know him in this country, is affectionate, devoted to his owner,
friendly with his kennel companions and makes a capital house dog.
As a lady's companion he is hard to beat; indeed, a glance at any
show catalogue will prove that the majority of Borzois are owned by
the gentle sex. No one need be deterred from keeping a Borzoi by a
remark the writer has heard hundreds of times at shows: "Those dogs
are _so_ delicate." This is not the case. Once over distemper
troubles--and the breed certainly does suffer badly if it contracts
the disease--the Borzoi is as hardy as most breeds, if not hardier.
Given a good dry kennel and plenty of straw, no weather is too cold
for them. Damp, of course, must be avoided, but this applies equally
to other breeds.

The adult hound, like the puppy, should never be kept on chain; a
kennel with a railed-in run should be provided, or a loose box makes
a capital place for those kept out of doors, otherwise no different
treatment is required from that of other large breeds.

CHAPTER XVIII

THE GREYHOUND

The Greyhound is the oldest and most conservative of all dogs, and
his type has altered singularly little during the seven thousand years
in which he is known to have been cherished for his speed, and kept
by men for running down the gazelle or coursing the hare. The earliest
references to him are far back in the primitive ages, long before
he was beautifully depicted by Assyrian artists, straining at the
leash or racing after his prey across the desert sands. The Egyptians
loved him and appreciated him centuries before the pyramids were
built. In those days he wore a feathered tail, and his ears were heavy
with a silken fringe of hair. His type was that of the modern Arabian
Slughi, who is the direct and unaltered descendant of the ancient
hound. The glorious King Solomon referred to him (Proverbs xxx. 31)
as being one of the four things which "go well and are comely in
going--a lion, which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away
from any; a Greyhound; an he goat also; and a king against whom there
is no rising up."

That the Greyhound is "comely in going," as well as in re