Scottish Deerhound

Temperament:
The Scottish Deerhound is a gentle and gentlemanly dog with elegant ways and polite affection. 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. They need a firm, consistent, confident pack leader who knows how to display calm, but stern authority over the dog or they will 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.

Grooming:
The harsh, wiry coat needs extensive grooming. Some trimming and stripping is required, but little skill is needed. This breed is an average shedder.

Exercise:
This active breeds needs a great deal of exercise, but should not be left off of its lead except in a secure area because they are incredibly fast and like to chase. They need to be taken on a daily, long walk or jog; they make an excellent jogging companion.

Living Condition:
Scottish Deerhounds are not recommended for apartment life, although mature Deerhounds can do well in an apartment if they are sufficiently exercised. They are relatively inactive indoors and should have at least a large yard, but do best with acreage so it will have room to run around.

Origin:
The Greyhound is a centuries-old inhabitant of the British Isles. The Scottish breed's development closely jockeys its English counterpart's. In Scotland, the Greyhound developed into quite a distinctive dog and became known as the Scottish Deerhound. Bred as a deer hunting dog of the Scottish chieftains in the Middle Ages, the dog gained size and strength. Due to the harsh climate it also gained a rough protective coat. The Deerhound was once so popular with Scottish high nobility that the breed became known as the royal dog of Scotland. No one ranking below Earl was permitted to own one. The advent of gun hunting, development of fenced agriculture (which cut up the wide open spaces needed for such deer hunts), and the fall of the Scottish clan system, resulted in the decline of the Scottish Deerhound. In fact, the breed almost became extinct. However, interest revived in the 1800's and the breed was saved, largely due to the efforts of two brothers: Archibald and Duncan McNeill. Queen Victoria became a Deerhound fancier, and Sir Walter Scott also owned one. During World War II in Britain it was very difficult to feed these large dogs, and many people destroyed their dogs for lack of food. Some dedicated Deerhound owners held out and saved their dogs. Today, this agile sighthound is primarily a companion dog. Though classified as a sighthound, the Scottish Deerhound also has a very fine sense of smell. Some of the Deerhounds talents include: hunting, sighting, tracking, racing, agility and lure coursing.