Deerhound
Alternative names
Scottish Deerhound
Country of origin
Scotland
Classification
FCI: Group 10 Section 2 #164 AKC: Hound ANKC: Group 4 (Hounds) CKC: Group 2 - Hounds KC(UK): Hound NZKC: Hounds UKC: Sighthounds and Pariah Dogs
Breed standards (external links)
FCI, AKC, ANKC KC(UK), NZKC, UKC

The Deerhound, also sometimes called a Scottish Deerhound, is a breed of dog, specifically a member of the sighthound family. public domain image from Dogs and All About Them by Robert Leighton, 1910 This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... public domain image from Dogs and All About Them by Robert Leighton, 1910 This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... ... The Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI; in English, World Canine Organisation, although it is still referred to as FCI) is an international organisation based in Belgium. ... The American Kennel Club (or AKC) is the largest registry of purebred dog pedigrees in the United States. ... The Australian National Kennel Council (ANKC) is the peak body in Australia responsible for promoting excellence in breeding, showing, trialling, obedience, and other canine-related activities and the ownership of temperamentally and physically sound purebred dogs by responsible individuals across Australia. ... The Canadian Kennel Club (or C.K.C.) is the primary registry body for purebred dog pedigrees in Canada. ... The Kennel Club in the United Kingdom is a club aiming to improve the relationships between dogs and their owners. ... The New Zealand Kennel Club is an organisation responsible for dog pedigree registration services in New Zealand. ... The United Kennel Club (or UKC) is the second oldest all-breed registry of purebred dog pedigrees in the United States and the second largest in the world. ... Categories: Dog stubs | Dog breeds ... Trinomial name Canis lupus familiaris (Linnaeus, 1758) The dog is a canine mammal of the Order Carnivora that has been domesticated for at least 24,800 years and perhaps for as long as 150,000 years based on recent evidence. ... The Whippet shows the characteristic long legs, deep chest, and narrow waist of a sight hound. ...

Temperament

The Deerhound is a large dog that needs quite a bit of exercise to keep it healthy. That does not mean it needs a large house to live in. Many live in smaller houses and apartments quite happily. The average adult Deerhound (over, say, two years old) spends much of the day stretched out on the floor or a couch, sleeping. They are gentle and docile indoors and are good around company and children.

Outdoors, with room to run, they are anything but docile. It is a joy to watch Deerhounds loose running around for the sheer joy of it. They have a long floating gait and are amazingly fast over a piece of ground. Some care has to be taken to give them freedom to run in places where they are not likely to be tempted or able to give chase as they are tireless runners and fierce hunters.

History

Deerhounds were bred in parallel with the English Greyhound for very similar purposes. They were developed to hunt deer by running them to ground (exhaustion) in packs. As such, they are very closely related to the Irish Wolfhound, Russian Wolfhound, and the other large sighthounds. Generally, these big hunting dogs were sporting animals for nobility but many very similar animals were bred and hunted by common folk. These big, fast, almost silent hunters made quick work of any game from a rabbit up and were very well regarded by noble huntsmen and poachers alike. Wikimedia Commons has media related to: England Inter. ... Country of origin uncertain; possibly England or Egypt Classification and breed standards The Greyhound is a breed of dog used for hunting and racing. ... The Irish Wolfhound is a breed of hound (a sighthound), bred to hunt. ... Country of origin Russia Classification and breed standards The Borzoi is a breed of dog also called the Russian Wolfhound. ...

Miscellaneous

Deerhounds compete in conformation and coursing. Many are trained to succeed in obedience competition but few excel in it and fewer excel in dog agility or flyball. A Conformation point in dog breeding and showing is any one out of a long list of dog attributes known as the breed standard. ... Coursing is the pursuit of game by dogs—chiefly Greyhounds—running by sight, not by scent. ... Obedience is the willingness to follow the will of others. ... Dog agility is a sport in which a dog moves through an obstacle course with the guidance of his or her handler. ... Dogs from two teams race against each other over parallel lines of jumps. ...