PROFILE: Deerhound

Description: Being fairly remindful a rough appearing greyhound, the Scottish deerhound is a tall dog, with powerful upper legs. The coat is much lengthier than that of greyhounds, being some 3-4 inches in length and can be a variety of colours including black, grey, blue black etc. and can sometimes have white on its tail, feet, or chest. Standing between 28-32 inches in height they are a very tall dog for their weight, which is between 75 and 110 pounds. They've a long tail which they carry low and almost touches the ground.

History. It is as you would guess by its appearance a fairly close relative greyhound; it was specifically bred for its long coat, to protect it from the adverse weather. And the long powerful legs to give it a good turn of speed when hunting the deer, for which it was bred. It is also believed that these dogs were used during the middle Ages by some of the Scottish tribes, making it a very old breed indeed. They acquired popularity with the pecking order and became acknowledged as the Royal dogs, when legislation was authorised making it so that nobody below and Earl could own one. Queen Victoria herself had a Scottish deerhound as did Sir Walter Scott. However, the breed became endangered as a result of the ruling. Because there were not so many people actually allowed to own this breed, the breeders were hardly endeared to the continued breeding of a dog which nobody could buy. However, after this ruling was repealed breeding commenced again and the deerhound was saved.

Temperament. Scottish deerhounds are generally well mannered and gentle dogs. They are a friendly, polite, with an exceptionally loving nature, and can prove to be extremely good with children. They are loyal and devoted to their owners,but they are unsuitable as guard dogs or watchdogs, as they tend to just like everybody. As they are a form of hunting dog training tends to be easier, but you must assert yourself in a strong but friendly fashion or the dog may believe themselves to be in charge and problems will occur. They can get on well with other dogs, but are unsuitable if you have any pets other than dogs. They can become destructive if bored, so adequate exercise is essential.

Health issues. The serious health risks with this breed include cardiomyopathy, osteosarcoma, and gastric torsion with a predisposition to bloat, it is a good idea to feed your dog less food at a time and more often, feed, small meals, two to three times, a day rather than one big meal. And they generally live around 10 years.

Grooming. Quite extensive and regular grooming is required for this breed, they also require stripping and some trimming of the hair, but, unless you are showing your dog, you can probably achieve this yourself. You'll need a good firm brush and comb and obviously a pair of scissors for trimming. If you are planning to show the dog then it would be requirement that the trimming to be done at a salon, unless you are sufficiently experienced.

Living circumstances. They do best living in a house with a large yard, preferably fenced. However, if adequately exercised, they will be fairly inactive inside and, can adjust to dwelling in an apartment. They are excellent with families and love to play with children, obviously when playing with small children supervision is essential, as they are such a large dog, there is always the risk of accidental injury.