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Dogs and All about Them
·
Robert Leighton
110
The
result
of
Captain
Graham's
investigations
when
seeking
for
animals
bearing
some
relationship
to
the
original
Irish
"Wolfe
Dogge"
was
that
three
strains
were
to
be
found
in
Ireland,
but
none
of
the
representatives
at
that
time
was
anything
like
so
large
as
those
mentioned
in
early
writings,
and
they
all
appeared
to
have
deteriorated
in
bone
and
substance.
Sir
J.
Power,
of
Kilfane,
was
responsible
for
one
line,
Mr.
Baker,
of
Ballytobin,
for
another,
and
Mr.
Mahoney,
of
Dromore,
for
the
remaining
strain.
From
bitches
obtained
from
two
of
these
kennels,
Captain
Graham,
by
crossing
them
with
the
Great
Dane
and
Scottish
Deerhound,
achieved
the
first
step
towards
producing
the
animal
that
he
desired.
Later
on
the
Russian
Wolfhound,
better
known
as
the
Borzoi,
an
exceedingly
large
hound,
was
introduced,
as
also
were
one
or
two
other
large
breeds
of
dogs.
The
intermixture
of
these
canine
giants,
however,
was
not
at
first
very
satisfactory,
as
although
plenty
of
bone
was
obtained,
many
were
most
ungainly
in
appearance
and
ill-shaped
animals
that
had
very
little
about
them
to
attract
attention.
Captain
Graham,
however,
stuck
to
his
work,
and
very
soon
the
specimens
that
he
brought
forward
began
to
show
a
fixity
of
type
both
in
head
and
in
general
outline.
Brian
was
one
of
his
best
dogs,
but
he
was
not
very
large,
as
he
only
stood
just
over
thirty
inches
at
the
shoulder.
Banshee
and
Fintragh
were
others,
but
probably
the
best
of
Captain
Graham's
kennel
was
the
bitch
Sheelah.
It
was
not,
however,
until
towards
the
end
of
the
last
century
that
the
most
perfect
dogs
were
bred.
These
included
O'Leary,
the
property
of
Mr.
Crisp,
of
Playford
Hall.
O'Leary
is
responsible
for
many
of
the
best
dogs
of
the
present
day,
and
was
the
sire
of
Mrs.
Percy
Shewell's
Ch.
Cotswold,
who
is
undoubtedly
the
grandest
Irish
Wolfhound
ever
bred.
In
height
Cotswold
stands
34-1/2
inches
and
is
therefore
perhaps
the
largest
dog
of
any
breed
now
alive.
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