Scottish Deerhound breed guide

Scottish Deerhounds are sensitive and respond best to positive training methods. AKC says they will not do well in a kennel or left crated while their people are away and that a young one grows into a excellent adult only with lots of gentle human companionship, exercise and proper nutrition.

Dignified, gentle and polite, they are the sort of animal you need a little distance from to appreciate fully.

Scottish Deerhounds live 8 to 11 years. AKC says that although a giant breed, a significant share of Scottish Deerhounds reach old age and many problems may be avoided, prevented or treated successfully if the owner is proactive.

A responsible breeder who does the breed's recommended health tests and stays a resource for the dog's whole life matters most.

The harsh, somewhat wiry coat is very easy to care for, needing only an all-over brushing and combing every week or so and the nails need a trim every few weeks if not worn down. A slicker brush and a fine-toothed metal comb are the tools to have on hand.

Young Scottish Deerhounds are hard to raise to their potential without a companion playmate and a large, securely fenced play area and both young dogs and adults need room to exercise.

The breed is so old that its true origin cannot be separated from myth and legend. Evidence suggests large deerstalking hounds were in Scotland before the Scots themselves arrived in the ninth century.

As far back as anyone knows, clan chieftains used packs of huge, shaggy hounds to pursue and bring down the wild red deer, swift 400-pounders with punishing antlers and Deerhound courage became proverbial across Britain.