Description of a Deerhound.

The Scottish Deerhound is believed by some to have existed back to a time before recorded history. In appearance it is similar to the Greyhound and may have been closely related to the \"Highland Greyhound\". The environment in which it worked, the Scottish Highland moor, is likely to have contributed to the larger, rough-coated appearance of the breed. The Deerhound was developed to hunt red deer by “coursing”, and by “deer-stalking”. The Scottish Deerhound is closely related to the Irish Wolfhound and was the main contributor to the recovery of that breed at the end of the 19th century. The antecedents of the modern Scottish Deerhound may have been common among the Picts and Scots,and would have been used to provide part of the dietary requirements, namely hoofed game. With the eventual demise of the clan systems in Scotland, these hunting dogs became sporting animals for landowners and the nobility but when possible continued to be bred and hunted by common folk. These, fast, silent hunters made quick work of any game from a hare up and were highly regarded by the nobility and poachers alike. In coursing deer, a single Deerhound or more likely a pair of Deerhounds, would be brought as close as possible to red deer, then slipped to run one of them down by speed, which if successful would happen within a few minutes - rarely were there sustained chases.