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Scottish Deerhound
AKC: Hound Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI); Windhounds (Group 10)
- The FCI registers dogs in Puerto Rico, South America, Morocco, and Europe.
- Breed 164
Kennel Club, United Kingdom (KC[GB]): Hound Canadian Kennel Club (CKC): Hound
- AKC National Breed Club: Scottish Deerhound Club of America, Inc.
- Corresponding Secretary,
- Mr. Tom Gentner, 3477 Flanders Dr., Yorktown Heights, NY 10598
- e-mail tgentner@aol.com
- Breeder Contact,
- Bette Stencil, 1328 South Riverside Ave., St. Clair, MI 48079-5133
- (810)329-3841
Breed Description:
- Original purpose and special abilities:
- A large windhound used for coursing red deer and roe deer in Scotland and England.
- Introduction:
- Region of Origin: Scotland, this breed is descended from the old Celtic windhounds.
- First Scottish Deerhound registered with the AKC: 1886
- AKC Registration Statistics: In 1996 this breed was the 128th in popularity among AKC breeds.
Numbers of Scottish Deerhounds AKC 1968-1996 1996 Regs 1994 Regs 1987 Regs 1982 Regs 1968 Regs 148 171 190 171 55 - Size:
- Weight (AKC breed standard) 85 to 110 (pounds) (dogs) : 75 to 95 (bitches)
- Height AKC 30 to 32 (inches) (dogs): 28 inches upwards (bitches)
- Eye color: Dark-generally dark brown, brown or hazel
- Lips: This is a tight lipped breed, lips should be dark.
- Ear type:
- Deerhounds have the rose shaped ear also seen in Greyhounds, Whippets and Borzoi. When excited the dog should be able to raise them above the head or even erect. However permanently erect prick ears are a fault. A more serious fault is the heavy, hanging hound type ear. The rose ear is not especially prone to ear infections.
- Disqualifications:
- Breed disqualifications can lead to a dog be offered as a pet animal. One should never pay more for a dog with breed disqualifications because it is rare or unusual !
- White blaze on the head, or a white collar.
- Absence of two apparently normal, fully descended testicles in the scrotum in males is a general disqualification in most registries.
- Cosmetic Surgeries (to establish BREED LOOK) None
- Color:
- Generally deerhounds are dark grey to black. In some individuals brindling can be seen. Deerhounds are generally darker as puppies than they will be as adults. When the wire adult coat comes in a silver overlay appears in black dogs while the brindle dogs may loose definition in the brindle. In the past red fawn and sandy yellow dogs with black ears were known but the color seems lost today. White dogs are not desirable.
- Coat Type:
- These dogs have a wire coat. The best coats are harsh and 3 to 4 inches long on the body, neck and quarters. A bit longer to form a very slight fringe on the backs of the forelegs and hindlegs. The coat is shorter on the head and the ears are plucked to leave a smooth ear. These dogs are bearded, that is the harsh long coat rims the mouth. This sometimes leads to the retention of saliva and food after eating.
- The coat should be hard and crisp in texture, not woolly or silky. Wooly coats are inherited, silky coats can be produced by feeding certain coat supplements such as Mira-coat.
- Temperament:
- Generally these are easy going dogs. They have what I call the English windhound personality and are fairly people orientated and a bit more likely to want to please than the oriental windhounds. However males who are not well socialized on other dogs can become dog aggressive. These are typical windhounds with the windhound desire to run and chase. They need supervision and are not trustworthy off lead near automobile traffic.
- Special Requirements:
- Deerhounds are large dogs and require a safely fenced in area for exercise. They are hunting dogs and will chase small furry creatures if allowed to learn to hunt.
- Typical Competitive Activities for this Breed:
- Obedience, lure coursing, amateur racing (straight and oval), open field coursing.
- Genetic problems commonly encountered in this breed:
- Bloat and torsion are a common problem in this breed. The extent to which it is inherited is under debate.
- Bone cancer.
- Non-genetic health problems commonly encountered in this breed:
- Escaping and being hit by a car.
- Breed Pluses:
- For a large sighthound these are calm affectionate dogs. In my personal experience Deerhound breeders are more co-operative and supportive of each other than is seen in some other breeds of pure bred dogs. For a person who wishes to become involved in the sport of dog shows this is a plus. Most deerhounds are shown by their owners and owner handled champions are common. The coat is relatively easy to care for.
- Breed Minuses:
- Bloat. They are intelligent dogs and become bored with lure coursing after a while. The beards can retain food and water, leading to messy faces wiped clean on a handy person.
- Who should own this breed?
- People who want a large windhound that is more weatherproof than a greyhound, longer lived than an Irish Wolfhound and with a lot less coat care than a Borzoi.
- Who should not own this breed?
- People who are unable to contain a windhound. Remember windhounds are not innnately obedient dogs and they love to run. Young deerhounds need lots of exercise in a safely enclosed area. Older dogs still need periodic exercise to stay in good health.
- Esthetic Defiencies: Often these are also the breed disqualifications and are legitimate reasons for a dog to be sold at a pet price on a NEUTER CONTRACT. These should not detract from the health of the dog or its suitability as a pet.
- Color Excessive amount of white: a white blaze on the face, a white collar on the neck, high white socks on the legs.
- Tail High carried like a spitz, short.
- Coat A silky coat like a Borzoi, a heavy woolly coat, fringes and furnishings like a collie.
- Eyes Light
- Ears Prick or hanging.
- Dentition Undershot or overshot, missing teeth.
- Do not buy a puppy that is "sold as a pet because it is/has":
- It is excessively fearful or excessively aggressive.
- It has a really exaggerated posture - front feet flat on the ground to the stop pad, hind feet flat on the ground.
- Chronic lameness in a 2 to 5 month old puppy.
- The unhealthy scrawny pup in the litter. This pup may have any one of a number of life treatening congenital illnesses such as a major heart anomaly, pancreatitis, severe food sensitivities.
- An extremely large puppy for its age with very large, tender or hot to the touch "growth knobs" at the wrists and ankles. Very rapidly growing puppies are much more likely to have joint problems later in life. This is in part a management problem. These dogs can be fed too rich a diet as pups and pushed to grow too rapidly. Too rapid growth is generally an error made by novice owners and breeders.
- A pup from an excessively inbred litter.
- Author (i.e., person to flame if you take exception to this breed description) - Bonnie Dalzell
References:
- NetPets® articles of related interest: About Windhounds
