Little dogs start the hare, but great ones catch it.

The saying contrasts initiating an undertaking with bringing it to a successful conclusion. Those with modest means or influence may set events in motion, while stronger or better-equipped people secure the result.

It can also criticize a pattern in which early effort receives less recognition or reward than the final, decisive intervention. It does not deny the value of those who begin the work, but its hierarchy of “little” and “great” can belittle them if treated as an endorsement of unequal worth.

Use it when a small actor opens an opportunity, dispute, or project and a more powerful actor later finishes it or takes the benefit. Its animal comparison and hierarchy can sound dismissive, so use it cautiously when discussing unequal contributions.