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Fig. 2 In the Land Rover
All this is relatively unimportant when we can definitely identify the breed we now know as Deerhounds as early as the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. From then on, the term Deerhound has been applied to the breed, which of all dogs has been found best suited for the pursuit and killing of the deer. At all times great value has been set on the Deerhound. The history of the breed teems with romance increasing in splendour through the Age of Chivalry when no one of rank lower than an earl might possess these dogs. A leash of Deerhounds was the fine whereby a noble lord condemned to death might purchase his reprieve. Records of the Middle Ages allude repeatedly to the delightful attributes of this charming hound, his tremendous courage in the chase, his gentle dignity in the home. Some of the finest pictures of deerhounds both in repose and in the hunt are by Sir Edwin Landseer (1802 – 1873). Living (as a commoner) with deerhounds
Fig. 3 Ramsay enjoying the deep snow
is not dull. They never cease to surprise. Although large and muscular they think of themselves as lapdogs. They take up less space than one might expect but clearly believe they belong in front of a crackling log fire in a baronial hall. Carole and I started sharing our lives with a deerhound eight years ago having had other breeds all our married life. We now have three. Just getting a deerhound is not as easy as it might sound. Only about a hundred are born in the UK each year and the breeders are invariably particular about to whom they entrust their precious puppies. We had to make three visits to Bridget and Duncan Robertson (Chuilinn Deerhounds) in the Borders before we were deemed suitable. Ramsay (Chuilinn Argent) was the result. Deerhounds are not suitable for every family but will adapt quite happily to life in a fairly small house or apartment. Content to spend large portions of the day lying on their beds, or more characteristically a couch or chair in the
living room, they need at least one blast of exercise or an hour’s walk with their owner each day. Some love children, others are indifferent to them but they are never unkind. All are very fond of their adult companions, fiercely loyal, and very affectionate. You never hear of a deerhound savaging a child and I have never heard of one biting a human at all. As guard dogs they are next to useless but their large stature might just deter a burglar who didn’t know the breed. They are mannerly but not easily trained to be obedient, to do tricks or really anything at all. Our experience of them is that if what they want to do fits in well with what you want them to do they can appear fairly biddable. Sometimes it feels as if there is no dog on Earth more stubborn than a deerhound. On a walk they are easy on the lead, virtually never pull or tug and if left off the lead like nothing better than to trot beside their owner bumping into the thighs from time to time to let them know they are still there. They love
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