Barakabook Article
Issue #8

Type, movement, temperament of the deerhound.
Some experienced breeders and judges answer.
Antonino Picchioni

I sent the following questionaire to some famous and experienced breeders and judges of Deerhounds. The answers are published here below. My intention is to open a debate about the breed to compare different opinions, that sometimes are similar and sometimes quite different. Everyone who likes to intervene can send his remarks or his answers to the review.

Mr. KENNETH CASSELS ( SORISDALE )

Can you describe what in your opinion is a typical good movement in a Deerhound?
Is there something that distinguishes the movement of Deerhounds from that of others sighthounds?
If so where is the difference?

The movement of a Deerhound should be springy and long-striding in profile. Going and coming the movement should be straight with good driving power from behind. It should not be a high-stepping hackney action. It must cover ground and look as if it "is going somewhere"; high-stepping actions do not do this. The springi-ness - the "light-on-the feet" look - is particularly typical.

Is there something that distinguishes the movement of Deerhounds from that of others sighthounds?
If so where is the difference?

The "light-on-the-feet" look with good forward extension seems to me peculiar to this breed. The Oriental sighthounds tend to "daisy clear" and wolfhounds to plod. Borzois with their arched loins tend to have a shorter stride.

When you consider a Deerhound what importance do you give to the type, the temperament and the movement?

Because the temperament is universally so good in this breed it is not often a decisive factor in the show ring and so tends to be overlooked, but if a specimen which was either nervous or aggressive were shown under me I would not place it. Type must come next because it can be said that all the Gazehounds are galloping breeds so how they trot in the ring is less important than the conformation that gives them the ability to gallop. It is impossible to estimate how well a dog will gallop without seeing it do so; all you can do is look at the structure of the hindquarters and hind leg, The length of loin and angulation of shoulder and upper arm. This is all part of type. Of course a hound should move well in the ring but it does come third in priority.

Surely both the type and the movement are important; If you have to give a percentage, how many
points would you give to the movement and how many to the type?

For the reasons given in (3) above I would allocate a greater percentage to type than to movement but I believe strongly in judging the whole dog and therefore dislike the selection of specific virtues or faults for special evaluation.

In a Deerhound do you attach more importance to the elegance or to the physical strength;
do you prefer a type more elegant and thin (as the Greyhound) or a more vigorous type (as the Wolfhound).

To do its original work a Deerhound requires three qualities. The first is courage and keen-ness; without this the other qualities are useless, so temperament must come first. The second is speed and agility; without this the hound would catch no quarry. The third is size and strength; but too much of this makes the hound too slow and clumsy to do its work on the rough terrain of the Scottish Highlands. The great charm of the Deerhound lies firstly in its superb temperament and secondly in the balance between speed and agility on the one hand and size and strength on the other. Size and strength can be assessed in the show ring but speed and agility cannot. Judges should therefore be on their guard to avoid overemphasizing size.

In conclusion can you name one dog or bitch that you consider similar to your ideal type and
another that you consider having the best movement.

My ideal type is embodied in the Australian Champion Nelungaloo Fleet, an excellent mover, who was also a good worker. She had a very illustrious career in Australia. The British Champion Laird of Terichline was another very fine mover.

Mr. J. PAPENFUSS ( VON DER OELMUHLE )

Can you describe what in your opinion is a typical good movement in a Deerhound?
is there something that distinguishes the movement of Deerhounds from that of others sighthounds?
If so where is the difference?

High strides with far reaching front action, but avoiding a stepping ineffective motion which would disturb the harmonious flow of the body outlines, combining the steady force of determined long thrusts from the hindquarters without a trace of wobble, gives the graceful beauty of a sound Deerhound's movement seen in profile.Coming and going the legs should show a slightly converging line with feet neither turning in or out, accentuating the floating, featherlike though powerful motion. This is the ideal which I would like to encounter more often in the breed.

Is there something that distinguishes the movement of Deerhounds from that of others sighthounds?
If so where is the difference?

Occasionally resemblance of Deerhound movement can be spotted in Irish Wolfhounds which is of course not acceptable and untypical for this breed. It shows the relationship of the two breeds from the past and the individual shows the characteristical lines of a coarse, heavy Deerhound.The sighthound family differs so much in size and character that makes it difficult to attempt comparison of movement, but they share one quality: sound construction of anatomy, which enables them to move correctly. And this applies to any breed of dogs.

When you consider a Deerhound what importance do you give to the type, the temperament and the movement?

Movement and type is most important to me. Temperament can be influenced by outside factors like insensitive handling, tiring long journeys, slippery floors or by the blunt refusal to serve a life as a Show Dog.

Surely both the type and the movement are important; If you have to give a percentage,
how many points would you give to the movement and how many to the type?

I see the percentage of type and movement as 50 - 50 %.

In a Deerhound do you attach more importance to the elegance or to the physical strength;
do you prefer a type more elegant and thin (as the Greyhound) or a more vigorous type (as the Wolfhound).

I like the elegant, but muscular Deerhound with strong bone, expressing physical strength and beauty showing the right balance of outlines. I abhor the spider type.

In conclusion can you name one dog or bitch that you consider similar to
your ideal type and another that you consider having the best movement.

I think my own Ch. Ardkinglas Zamora came close to my ideal. She was elegant, not big or tall but balanced, swift and agile like a falcon, perfect anatomy with best lay of shoulder and upper arms I've come across. Zamora was a big winner in the showring with wonderful movement mad keen on the track. She was the sweetest of character, willing to please, obedient with slight hesitation and reservation, typical behavior of the Deerhound. Best of all Zamora lived to the ripe old age of 14 years one month of happy companionship, loved by all who knew her.

Dr. SEUMAS CAINE ( KILLOETER )

Regarding movement in Deerhounds, the movement should be absolutely true with no exaggeration coming, going and crossing. Coming and going the front and back legs on either side should be absolutely parallel with a good distance between the back legs indicating strong balanced rear quarters and also good distance between the front legs indicating a favourable width of chest. Crossing a good topline should be maintained on the move with a good length of stride with plenty of reach forward by the front legs and good power and drive from the back legs which should have nice low set hocks and good length from hip to hock.
At its best the Deerhound on the move displays a springiness and hover which distinguishes it from all other sight hounds. I campaigned my Deerhound Ch. Rosslyn Carric to the breed record of 40 Challenge Certificates (CC's) and she exhibited this movement and was caught by a number of professional photographers with her 4 feet off the ground - the suspended trot - an action photograph very difficult to obtain with a S4R camera. She has passed this attribute on to her son my homebred Ch. Killoeter Onich who currently equals the Deerhound dog CC record of 73 CC's.
Type, temperament and movement are all very important in the Deerhound. I would never breed from a Deerhound with a bad temperament. Type is a personal thing, each person having their own likes and dislikes and this varies from person to person. However a nice dark eye with the typical faraway, mistful expression with not too much face furnishings appeals to me. Movement I feel is very important and is usually an indication of how structurally correct and how fit a hound is. Some Deerhound owners exercise their dogs very little and as a result their hounds are poorly muscled and exhibit slack movement with very little power and drive. Well exercised and conformationally correct hounds are usually well muscled and move with great power and drive.
Type is important and should be maintained in the breed by careful breeding. However beauty is in the eye of the beholder and if a hound conforms to my type I would allocate 15% of total points.
Movement is all important in a working hound and although our hounds are no longer used for hunting the deer they should still be capable of this and I would personally allocate 60 % of total points to movement.
With regard to question 5, Deerhounds have to work over very rough terrains when chasing deer and therefore had to have great power and speed to bring down a stag. It is possible to have power and speed in a Deerhound without loosing the aristocratic elegance which is so characteristic of the breed. The Deerhound is a breed in its own right bred for speed and stamina and at its best displays power and strength and maintains an elegance that distinguishes it from other sight hounds and I would be very unhappy if this elegance was lost in the breed.
The dog I consider to be my ideal type having the qualities described above - power, strength and elegance - is my own home breed Ch. Killoeter Onich - a dog which has been regularly coursed on hares at Club Meetings and is renown for his marathon runs. He is the top show dog in Scotland (all breeds) and is the top Show Deerhound in Britain for 1997. His dam Ch. Rosslyn Carric, also coursed regularly. Throughout her career I considered her to have the best movement of any Deerhound I have ever seen and this has been agreed by many International Judges who have judged her. A photograph of her in action was actually used as an example of "The perfect movement" in an article by Nenne Runsten Fodstad - Komppendium for skotsk hjorthund.
The above are the views of my wife and myself.

Mrs. BLANDFORD JEAN ( FLAUNDEN )

I will try to answer but before I attempt I would like to make a few general observations that I think VERY relevant.
The construction of the Deerhound is unique because of the terrain that they were evolved to hunt over. One needs to see and walk over this land to understand but I will do my best to describe! In Scotland we have endless rain and the ground is very wet and spongy. When one tries to walk on the land your legs sink way into the ground. It is also covered with heather, bracken and clumps of grass. Combined with the rocks this makes running a very strenuous business for hounds. I enclose some photos to give you an idea but please remember what I have said about the ground being wet and boggy.

Can you describe what in your opinion is a typical good movement in a Deerhound?
Is there something that distinguishes the movement of Deerhounds from that of others sighthounds?
If so where is the difference?

The hound should have a reasonably long stride with the hind foot going into the spot that the front foot has left (NOT the length of stride that a shepherding breed has). The gait should be smooth and effortless with no bounce.Viewed from behind the legs should be parallel with reasonable width front and back.

Is there something that distinguishes the movement of Deerhounds from that of others sighthounds?
If so where is the difference?

In the show ring we are only looking at the hound trotting and this is similar to other sighthounds. However it must be remembered that the Deerhound is a galloping hound and whilst we cannot test this in the showring we MUST pay particular attention to the drooping powerful hindquarters asked for in the standard. Only if he has these can he leap and power through the terrain. I believe the Deerhound has the longest leap of any dog.

When you consider a Deerhound what importance do you give to the type, the temperament and the movement?

Good temperament has to be the first essential. Then comes construction which you do not mention but to me is only second to good temperament. Without correct construction the hound cannot move correctly. (But a well made hound can have faulty movement due to injury.) For example I would forgive a large ear or a light eye but cannot forgive a straight shoulder or week hindquarter both of which result in incorrect movement .

Surely both the type and the movement are important; If you have to give a percentage,
how many points would you give to the movement and how many to the type?

Impossible question.

In a Deerhound do you attach more importance to the elegance or to the physical strength;
do you prefer a type more elegant and thin (as the Greyhound) or a more vigorous type (as the Wolfhound).

I feel this question should never have been asked. The Deerhound is unique, it is a hound that was evolved explicitly to hunt deer in the glens and mountains of Scotland. The Greyhound was breed to hunt hares on flat countryside in England. You cannot compare them. The Deerhound does not need to be large but needs power and stamina. Strong neck, well arched loin and drooping quarters and must not be narrow and flat sided.