curtail dog

noun2

1. •
   (no longer used) A dog with a docked tail; formerly, the dog of a person not qualified to course, which, by the forest laws, must have its tail cut short, partly as a mark, and partly from a notion that the tail is necessary to a dog in running.

   • Oh that I were but King of France for fourscore or a hundred years! By G--, I should whip like curtail-dogs these runaways of Pavia. — 1653
2. •
   (no longer used) A dog not fit for sporting.

   • Hope is a curtail dog in some affairs. — 1597