A POCKET GUIDE TO JUDGING THE SCOTTISH DEERHOUND

The Scottish Deerhound is a large sighthound that was developed to catch and bring down the 300- to 400-lb. red deer of Scotland. The dogs were worked on the hilly and rugged terrain of the Scottish Highlands. Therefore, the Deerhound is both fast and powerful. The overall dog is well balanced, slightly longer than tall, and with good bone and muscle. He is a rough-coated dog, natural in appearance, and has an air of quiet dignity. The laid-back, quiet demeanor, which is an inherent trait in the breed, normally does not make for an animated performance in the show ring. 1 The head is essentially a wedge when seen from above or in The length of this text block is about 3 /2˝—the approximate profile, with a powerful underjaw and level lips. The head is length of an adult Deerhound coat described in the standard. long and the skull flat. Correct furnishings can often distort There should be no signs of trimming, stripping, scissoring or the appearance of an otherwise correct head. clipping.

Ears should be very small, set high, be black or dark colored, and tightly The expression is soft in repose but keen rosed. Deerhounds will often not use their ears when baited. when aroused. This soft look is enhanced by a medium to dark brown or hazel eye The neck must be powerfully muscled, strong and arched, wide at the and correct facial furnishings (eyebrows, base, and clean at the throat. The hair on the side of the neck covers the mustache and beard), which are softer and entire length of the neck and forms a ruff. lighter than the coat color. The shoulder blade is well laid back and approximately the same length as the upper arm. When viewed from the front, the legs are straight and parallel; when viewed from the side, the elbow is directly below the highest point of the shoul- The standard calls for “level teeth and lips.” Both der and at the deepest point of the body (brisket). scissors and level bites are acceptable.

The shoulder and upper arm are equally long in order to align the elbow with the bottom of the deep brisket.

There should be good fill of forechest as seen from the front, demonstrating proper lay-back of shoulder blade in combination with a well-set-back upper arm. The depth of the ribs When the upper arm is of correct and ample length, the should extend well elbow will be well under the top of the shoulder blade back and not cut up too and at the deepest part of the chest when the dog stands A well-developed leg of substantial bone abruptly. naturally. and ample muscling is very important.

The pastern should slope slightly.

The foot should be well knuckled, compact and strong. Pads on toes are thick.

Size should never be more important than overall quality. The Deerhound gait is light, balanced, true, Lack of balance or proportion, coarseness, or weediness are and should appear to be effortless. undesirable and would hinder the Deerhound in its work. When viewed from above, one sees a dog of substance. The Deerhounds of today range in color from dark Deerhound muscling extends from the neck and shoulders blue-grey to light silver. Brindles can be found in all to the well-sprung ribs, broad powerful loin, wide hips and shades of grey. Any color within this range is accept- heavily muscled hindquarters. able. Ears are described as “black or dark-colored.”

The Deerhound’s body should be longer than the dog is tall. The topline should flow from the well-muscled neck into laid-back shoulders to the back, where it rises slightly and smoothly over the loin, then curves down to the set-on of the tail.

The rise over the loin should approximate the height at the withers.

The croup is a long, smooth continuation of the curve of the loin and should not be short, steep or abrupt.

The hindquarters are sloping and as broad and powerful as possible. Hips are set wide apart, as a narrow rear denotes lack of power. The stifles should be well The chest is both deep and well sprung and neither bent, with great length from hip to hock. barrel-chested or slab-sided. Old books describe a The tuck-up allows Deerhound’s chest circumference as 2-4” greater than for flexion during the the dog’s height. double-suspension gal- lop and should never be The tail should fall somewhere absent. between the point of the hock and the ground. To measure tail length, bring the tail to the inside The tail should be thick and of the hock to see if it falls below strong, as it is used as a counter- the joint. Ring and curled tails are balance. It is set on and carried undesirable. low. It will be curved when the The overall appearance of the Deerhound should flow. The dog is in motion but is never car- Deerhound is a series of flowing curves, never overly angular, ried above the topline. flat or straight in any aspect of his outline. Gender should be immediately apparent at first glance: dogs should have a definite masculine presence and bitches a distinct air of femininity. Standard and Points of Importance

Head Tail 1 Should be broadest at the ears, narrowing slightly to the eyes, with the Should be tolerably long, tapering and reaching to within 1 /2 inches of 1 muzzle tapering more decidedly to the nose. The muzzle should be the ground and about 1 /2 inches below the hocks. Dropped perfectly pointed, but the teeth and lips level. The head should be long, the skull down or curved when the Deerhound is still, when in motion or excit- flat rather than round with a very slight rise over the eyes but nothing ed, curved, but in no instance lifted out of line of the back. It should be approaching a stop. The hair on the skull should be moderately long well covered with hair, on the inside, thick and wiry, underside longer and softer than the rest of the coat. The nose should be black (in some and towards the end a slight fringe is not objectionable. A curl or ring blue fawns – blue) and slightly aquiline. In lighter colored dogs the tail is undesirable. black muzzle is preferable. There should be a good mustache of rather silky hair and a fair beard. Eyes Should be dark – generally dark brown, brown or hazel. A very light Ears eye is not liked. The eye should be moderately full, with a soft look in Should be set on high; in repose, folded back like a Greyhound’s, repose, but a keen, far away look when the Deerhound is roused. Rims though raised above the head in excitement without losing the fold, of eyelids should be black. and even in some cases semierect. A prick ear is bad. Big thick ears hanging flat to the head or heavily coated with long hair are bad faults. Body The ears should be soft, glossy, like a mouse’s coat to the touch and General formation is that of a Greyhound of larger size and bone. Chest the smaller the better. There should be no long coat or long fringe, but deep rather than broad but not too narrow or slab-sided. Good girth of there is sometimes a silky, silvery coat on the body of the ear and the chest is indicative of great lung power. The loin well arched and droop- tip. On all Deerhounds, irrespective of color of coat, the ears should be ing to the tail. A straight back is not desirable, this formation being black or dark colored. unsuited for uphill work, and very unsightly.

Neck and Shoulders Legs and Feet The neck should be long – of a length befitting the Greyhound charac- Legs should be broad and flat, and good broad forearms and elbows ter of the dog. Extreme length is neither necessary nor desirable. Deer- are desirable. Forelegs must, of course, be as straight as possible. Feet hounds do not stoop to their work like the Greyhounds. The mane, close and compact, with well-arranged toes. The hindquarters droop- which every good specimen should have, sometimes detracts from the ing, and as broad and powerful as possible, the hips being set wide apparent length of the neck. The neck, however, must be strong as is apart. A narrow rear denotes lack of power. The stifles should be well necessary to hold a stag. The nape of the neck should be very promi- bent. with great length from hip to hock, which should be broad and nent where the head is set on, and the throat clean cut at the angle flat. Cowhocks, weak pasterns, straight stifles and splay feet are very and prominent. Shoulders should be well sloped; blades well back and bad faults. not too much width between them. Loaded and straight shoulders are very bad faults. Coat The hair on the body, neck and quarters should be harsh and wiry about 3 or 4 inches long; that on the head, breast and belly much softer. There should be a slight fringe on the inside of the forelegs and hind legs but nothing approaching the “feather” of Points of the Deerhound a Collie. A woolly coat is bad. Some good strains have a mixture of silky coat with the hard which is preferable to a woolly coat. The climate of the United States tends to In Order of Importance produce the mixed coat. The ideal coat is a thick, close-lying ragged coat, harsh or crisp 1. Typical-A Deerhound should resemble a rough-coated Greyhound of to the touch. larger size and bone. 2. Movements-Easy, active and true. Color 3. As tall as possible consistent with quality. is a matter of fancy, but the dark blue-gray is most preferred. Next 4. Head-Long, level, well balanced, carried high. come the darker and lighter grays or brindles, the darkest being gener- 5. Body-Long, very deep in brisket, well-sprung ribs and great breadth ally preferred. Yellow and sandy red or red fawn, especially with black across hips. ears and muzzles, are equally high in estimation. This was the color of 6. Forelegs-Strong and quite straight, with elbows neither in nor out. the oldest known strains – the McNeil and Chesthill Menzies. White is 7. Thighs-Long and muscular, second thighs well muscled, stifles well condemned by all authorities, but a white chest and white toes, occur- bent. ring as they do in many of the darkest-colored dogs, are not objected 8. Loins-Well arched, and belly well drawn up. to, although the less the better, for the Deerhound is a self-colored 9. Coat-Rough and hard, with softer beard and brows. dog. A white blaze on the head, or a white collar, should entirely dis- 10. Feet-Close, compact, with well-knuckled toes. qualify. The less white the better but a slight white tip to the stern oc- 11. Ears-Small (dark) with Greyhoundlike carriage. curs in some of the best strains. 12. Eyes-Dark, moderately full. Height 13. Neck-Long, well arched, very strong with prominent nape. Height of Dogs-From 30 to 32 inches, or even more if there be sym- 14. Shoulders-Clean, set sloping. metry without coarseness, which is rare. Height of Bitches-From 28 15. Chest-Very deep but not too narrow. inches upwards. There is no objection to a bitch being large, unless too 16. Tail-Long and curved slightly, carried low. coarse, as even at her greatest height she does not approach that of 17. Teeth-Strong and level. the dog, and therefore could not be too big for work as overbig dogs 18. Nails-Strong and curved. are.

Weight From 85 to 110 pounds in dogs, and from 75 to 95 pounds in bitches. Produced by the Judge’s Education Committee of the Scottish Deerhound Club of America www.deerhound.org

Copyright © 2003 Scottish Deerhound Club of America