Deerhound

General Information - Deerhound

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History

The Scottish Deerhound, also known simply as the Deerhound, was developed in the 800's in Scotland to hunt deer. It is believed that its ancestors which go back to the Greyhound lines brought to the British Isles by Phoenician traders around 1000 BC. Its main use was as a hunting dog for the nobility; it actually could find, track, catch and capture its prey. Its usefulness and popularity declined when sporting guns became available. It is valued today as a noble companion dog. It is similar to the Irish Wolfhound, but lighter and sleeker, due to the Greyhound blood in its past.

Temperament

The Scottish Deerhound is a loyal, affectionate and easily trained gentle giant who requires outdoor activity. Deerhounds are quiet, loving, friendly and excellent with children. Very courageous and dignified, devoted and loyal, but they are not watch or guard dogs, for they just love everyone. The Scottish Deerhound can be willful at times and slow to obey commands. Although friendly with other dogs, they should not be trusted with non-canine pets. The Scottish Deerhound has an unusual cry.

Upkeep

The Deerhound needs a good amount of daily exercise, either a long walk or a romp in a safe area. Although physically suited to outdoor living in temperate or cool climates, it prefers to live inside with its family and needs human companionship. Regardless, it needs soft bedding to avoid calluses. The crisp coat needs combing one or two times weekly. Some scissoring is optional to neaten up straggling hair, plus minimal stripping around the face and ears

Deerhound

A breed standard is the guideline which describes the ideal characteristics, temperament, and appearance of a breed and ensures that the breed is fit for function with soundness essential. Breeders and judges should at all times be careful to avoid obvious conditions and exaggerations, as well as being mindful of features which could be detrimental in any way to the health, welfare or soundness of this breed.

Breed Standard - Deerhound

Head and Skull: The head should be broadest at the ears, tapering slightly to the eyes, with the muzzle tapering more decidedly to the nose. The muzzle should be pointed but the lips level. The head should be long, the skull rather flat than round, with a very slight rise over the eyes, but with nothing approaching a stop. The skull should be coated with moderately long hair, which is softer than the rest of the coat. The nose should be black (though in some blue:fawns the colour is blue) and slightly aquiline. In the lighter coloured dogs a black muzzle is preferred. There should be a good moustache of rather silky hair, and a fair beard.

Eyes: The eyes should be dark; generally they are dark:brown or hazel. A very light eye is not liked. The eye is moderately full, with a soft look in repose, but a keen, far:away look when the dog is roused. The rims of the eyelids should be black.

Ears: The ears should be set on high, and, in repose, folded back like the Greyhound’s, though raised above the head in excitement without losing the fold, and even in some cases semi-erect. A prick ear is bad. A big thick ear hanging flat to the head, or heavily coated with long hair, is the worst of faults. The ear should be soft, glossy and like a mouse’s coat to the touch, and the smaller it is the better. It should have no long coat or long fringe, but there is often a silky, silvery coat on the body of the ear and the tip. Whatever the general colour, the ears should be black or dark-coloured.

Mouth: Teeth level.

Neck: The neck should be long; that is, of the length that befits the Greyhound character of the dog. An over:long neck is not necessary or desirable, for the dog is not required to stoop to his work like a Greyhound, and it must be remembered that the mane, which every good specimen should have, detracts from the apparent length of neck. Moreover, a Deerhound requires a very strong neck to hold a stag. The nape of the neck should be very prominent where the head is set on, and the throat should be clean cut at the angle and prominent.

Forequarters: The shoulders should be well sloped, the blades well back and not too much width between them. Loaded and straight shoulders are very bad faults. The forelegs should be straight, broad and flat, a good broad forearm and elbow being desirable.

Body: The body and general formation is that of a Greyhound of larger size and bone. Chest deep rather than broad, but not too narrow and flat-sided. The loin well arched and dropping to the tail. A straight back is not desirable, this formation being unsuitable for going uphill and very unsightly.

Hindquarters: Drooping, and as broad and powerful as possible, the hips being set wide apart. The hind legs should be well bent at the stifle, with great length from the hip to the hock, which should be broad and flat.

Feet: Should be close and compact, with well arranged toes. Nails strong.

Tail: Should be long, thick at the root, tapering, and reaching to within about 4 cm (1.5 in) of the ground. When the dog is still, dropped perfectly straight down or curved. When in motion, it should be curved when excited, in no case to be lifted out of the line of the back. It should be well:covered with hair; on the inside, thick and wiry; on the underside longer, and towards the end a slight fringe is not objectionable. A curl or ring tail is very undesirable.

Coat: The hair on the body, neck and quarters should be harsh and wiry, and about 7.5 to 10 cm (3 to 4 in) long; that on the head, breast and belly is much softer. There should be a slight hairy fringe on the inside of the fore and hind legs, but nothing approaching the “feather” of a Collie. The Deerhound should be a shaggy dog, but not over-coated. A woolly coat is bad. Some good strains have a mixture of silky coat with the hard, which is preferable to a woolly coat; but the proper coat is a thick, close-lying, ragged coat, harsh or crisp to the touch.

Colour: Colour is much a matter of fancy. But there is no manner of doubt that the dark blue-grey is the most preferred because quality tends to follow this colour. Next comes the darker and lighter greys or brindles, the darkest being generally preferred. Yellow and sandy-red or red-fawn, especially with black points, i.e. ears and muzzles, are also in equal estimation, this being the colour of the oldest-known strains, the McNeil and Cheethill Menzies. White is condemned by all the old authorities, but a white chest and white toes, occurring as they do in a great many of the darkest-coloured dogs, are not so greatly objected to, but the less the better as the Deerhound is a self-coloured dog. A white blaze on the head, or a white collar should be heavily penalised. In other cases, though passible, yet an attempt should be made to get rid of white markings. The less white the better, but a slight white tip to the stern occurs in the best strains.

Faults: Thick ear hanging flat to the head, or heavily coated with long hair. Curl or ring tail. Light eye. Straight back. Cow hocks, weak pasterns, straight stifles, splay feet, woolly coat, loaded and straight shoulders, white markings.

Note: Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.
Copyright Dogs New Zealand
01 Jan 2002

Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog and on the dog’s ability to perform its traditional work.