_Greyhounds._--These are characterized by slight build, small ears falling at the tips, elongated limbs and tails and long narrow muzzles. They hunt entirely by sight, the sense of smell being defective. The English greyhound is the most conspicuous and best-known member of the group, and has been supposed to be the parent of most of the others. The animal is thoroughly adapted for extreme speed, the long, rat-like tail being used in balancing the body in quick turns. The favourite colour is a uniform sandy, or pale grey tone, but characters directly related to capacity for speed have received most attention. The Italian greyhound is a miniature greyhound, still capable of considerable speed but so delicate that it is almost unable to pull down even a rabbit, and is kept simply as a pet. The eyes are large and soft, and a golden fawn is the colour most prized. The Scotch deerhound is a larger and heavier variety of the English greyhound, with rough and shaggy hair. It has been used both for deer stalking and for coursing, and several varieties exist. The Irish wolfhound is now extinct, but appears to have been a powerful race heavier than the deerhound but similar to it in general characters. Greyhounds have been bred from time immemorial in Eastern Europe and Western Asia, while unmistakable representatives are figured on the monuments of ancient Egypt. The existing Oriental varieties are in most cases characterized by silky hair. The hairless dogs of Central Africa are greyhounds employed chiefly in hunting antelopes, and there are somewhat similar varieties in China, Central and South America.
The whippet is a local English dog, used chiefly in rabbit coursing and racing, and is almost certainly a cross between greyhounds and terriers.
The lurcher is a dog with the general shape of a greyhound, but with a heavier body, larger ears and rougher coat. Lurchers are cross-bred dogs, greyhounds and sheepdogs, or deerhounds and collies, being the parents.
_Spaniels_ are heavily built dogs with short and very wide skulls rising suddenly at the eyes. The brain is relatively large and the intelligence high. The muzzle is short, the ears large and pendent, the limbs relatively short and heavy, and the coat thick and frequently long. It is supposed, from their name, that they are of Spanish origin. They may be divided into field spaniels, water spaniels and the smaller breeds kept as pets. Field spaniels are excellent shooting dogs, and are readily trained to give notice of the proximity of game. The Clumber, Sussex, Norfolk and Cocker breeds are the best established. The Clumber is long, low and heavy. It is silent when hunting, and has long ears shaped like vine leaves. The ground colour of the coat is white with yellow spots. The Sussex is a lighter, more noisy animal, with a wavy, golden coat. The Cockers are smaller spaniels, brown, or brown-and-white in the Welsh variety, black in the more common modern English form. The head is short, and the coat silky and wavy. Of the water spaniels the Irish breeds are best known. They are relatively large dogs, with broad splay feet, and silky oily coats.