Scottish Deerhound

AKC Group: Hound

Club: Scottish Deerhound Club of America, Inc.

Secretary : Jana Brinlee
Address: 2226 Roberts Pl, Walla Walla, WA , 99362-9851
Website: www.deerhound.org
Email: jaraluv@charter.net
Club Type: Specialty

Coat:

The hair on the body, neck and quarters should be harsh and wiry about 3 or 4 inches long; that on the head, breast and belly much softer. There should be a slight fringe on the inside of the forelegs and hind legs but nothing approaching the "feather" of a Collie. A woolly coat is bad. Some good strains have a mixture of silky coat with the hard which is preferable to a woolly coat. The climate of the United States tends to produce the mixed coat. The ideal coat is a thick, close-lying ragged coat, harsh or crisp to the touch.

Color:

Is a matter of fancy, but the dark blue-gray is most preferred. Next come the darker and lighter grays or brindles, the darkest being generally preferred. Yellow and sandy red or red fawn, especially with black ears and muzzles, are equally high in estimation. This was the color of the oldest known strains--the McNeil and Chesthill Menzies. White is condemned by all authorities, but a white chest and white toes, occurring as they do in many of the darkest-colored dogs, are not objected to, although the less the better, for the Deerhound is a self-colored dog. A white blaze on the head, or a white collar, should entirely disqualify. The less white the better but a slight white tip to the stern occurs in some of the best strains.

History:

The origin of the breed is of such antiquity, and the earliest descriptive names so mixed that it is unclear as to whether the Deerhound was at one time identical with the ancient Irish Wolfdog. Very early descriptive names were used to identify the purpose of the dog rather than to identify a species. We find such names as Irish Wolf Dog, Scotch Greyhound, Rough Greyhound and Highland Deerhound.

We can definitely identify the breed as Deerhounds as early as the 16th and 17th centuries. From there on the term Deerhound has been applied to the breed, which of all dogs has been found best suited for the pursuit and killing of deer.

At all times great value has been set on the Deerhound. The history of the breed teems with romance increasing in splendor right down through the Age of Chivalry when no one of rank lower than an earl might possess these dogs.

So highly esteemed was the Deerhound that the desire for exclusive ownership has at times endangered the continuance of the breed. As the larger beast of the chase became extinct or rare in England and southern Scotland, the more delicate, smooth Greyhound took the place of the larger Deerhound. The Highlands of Scotland, the last territory wherein the stag remained numerous in a wild state, became the last stronghold of this breed. In 1769 the breed physically and numerically ran very low.

It was not until about 1825, when the restoration of the breed was very successfully undertaken by Archibald and Duncan McNeill, that the Deerhound regained his place of preeminence and former perfection. It is a well-established fact that the Scottish Deerhound of today closely conforms to authentic records of the 18th and 19th centuries in type, size and character. In character he is quiet, dignified, keen and alert, although not aggressive, has great persistence and indomitable courage.