They were the Rodney Dangerfield of hunting dogs. While their carefully bred elite level cousins were used only in field competition, these dogs put food on the table (and possibly in the stomachs of their high brow cousins). For their trouble, they were called, “meat dogs,” a derogatory term used to refer to run-of-the-mill hunting dogs. To this day, the term is still used, often to describe not the stylish, graceful, speedy, and good looking field trial dogs, but the “nose to the ground, hard charging, no-nonsense workhorse” of a dog that cuts a few corners on retrieves, but puts food on the table. Happily, plenty of people appreciate a dog that can drop a duck at their feet, perhaps with less stylish delivery – but do we want to eat or not?

“Meat Dog.” It’s a term you should know (if only to keep from automatically melting down if you see it like we would).

Print from the Almanac Of Sports For 1897 by the British Library is available here.