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Scottish Deerhound History
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The Scottish Deerhound is thought to descend from ancient Greyhounds or Irish Wolfhounds, though its identification as a distinct breed came much later that that of these two breeds. The Scottish Deerhound is known to have existed and been put to use in deer coursing by the 1500s; like the Greyhound, the Scottish Deerhound could only be owned by noblemen of the rank of Earl or higher during this time. Excessive hunting led to the stag’s virtual extinction in England and parts of Scotland by the 18th century, but the animal still prospered in the Scottish Highlands, and so too did the Scottish Deerhound – for a while.
Geographic concentration and the development of better guns in the late 18th century had brought the number of Scottish Deerhounds to a perilously small number. In 1825 Duncan and Archibald McNeill began to resurrect the Deerhound through careful breeding, and by the 1860s the dog had been sufficiently restored to begin appearing in show rings in England. The Scottish Deerhound was recognized by the American Kennel Club in 1886. World War I caused another severe dip in the Deerhound population, and even today the breed remains sparse both in its native Scotland and abroad.
