Scottish Deerhound

Quiet and polite indoors, with a strong urge to chase.
A Scottish Deerhound
Photo: Svenska Mässan from Sweden
Adult male
39–50 kg
85–110 lb
Adult female
34–43 kg
75–95 lb
Lifespan
10.5 yrs
Handler demand
Suits a first-time owner
Class · Companion
also Field

What it's like

In character the deerhound is gentle, dignified and polite. It is quiet and unhurried indoors and friendly towards strangers, which makes it a poor guard dog. Outdoors its instinct to chase anything that runs is strong, and it is sensitive to harsh handling.

Day to day
Activity
Happy with modest walks
Intelligence
Easy-going, simple routines
Handler demand
Suits a first-time owner
With people
Affection
A lap or leaning dog
Loyalty
Friendly with everyone
Independence
Cooperative, with its own ideas
Around the home
Sensitivity
Average
Voice
Quiet
Prey drive
Likely to chase small pets
Breed explains only about 9% of how individual dogs differ in behaviour1. Meet the dog. A good breeder breeds for temperament as well as health, and matches each puppy's personality to the right home2,3.
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Living with one

It has a wire or harsh coat. Loose hair stays caught in the coat until it is brushed, stripped or clipped out. Plan on a brush once a week, plus hand-stripping two or three times a year. It needs a moderate amount of exercise compared with other breeds.

Size and growth

A Scottish Deerhound is a large dog, about the weight of a grown Rottweiler. Males end up clearly heavier than females. It is one of the heaviest large breeds.

In outline it resembles a larger, rougher Greyhound, with long legs, a deep chest, a gently arched loin and a long, tapering tail. The coat is harsh and wiry on the body and softer on the head, chest and belly, with a slight beard and moustache. Dark blue-grey is the favoured colour, and grey, brindle, sandy red and fawn are also seen. The small ears are folded back, soft and dark.

Puppy growth

Reference curve · community data appears as owners log
Scottish Deerhounds reach half their adult weight at about 5 months. They grow fastest between 4 and 5 months old. They keep growing past their first birthday, longer than a Beagle does. Most males grow into the size large-breed puppy foods are made for.
Fully grown
13 mo
Both sexes, at 99% of adult weight6
Male
Female
Shaded: expected range
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Age
Male
Female
2 months
6.7–8.7 kg 14.8–19.2 lb
7.8–9.9 kg 17.2–21.8 lb
3 months
10.8–14.0 kg 23.8–30.9 lb
11.3–14.3 kg 24.9–31.5 lb
4 months
16.0–20.7 kg 35.3–45.6 lb
16.4–20.8 kg 36.2–45.9 lb
5 months
21.7–28.1 kg 47.8–61.9 lb
20.8–26.4 kg 45.9–58.2 lb
6 months
26.9–34.8 kg 59.3–76.7 lb
24.5–31.1 kg 54.0–68.6 lb
7 months
31.0–40.1 kg 68.3–88.4 lb
27.2–34.4 kg 60.0–75.8 lb
8 months
33.9–43.8 kg 74.7–96.6 lb
29.0–36.8 kg 63.9–81.1 lb
9 months
35.7–46.2 kg 78.7–101.9 lb
30.4–38.6 kg 67.0–85.1 lb
10 months
36.9–47.7 kg 81.4–105.2 lb
31.4–39.8 kg 69.2–87.7 lb
11 months
37.6–48.6 kg 82.9–107.1 lb
32.1–40.6 kg 70.8–89.5 lb
12 months
38.0–49.2 kg 83.8–108.5 lb
32.6–41.3 kg 71.9–91.1 lb
15 months
38.5–49.7 kg 84.9–109.6 lb
33.5–42.5 kg 73.9–93.7 lb

Health and lifespan

In UK vet records, bone cancer turns up more often in Scottish Deerhounds than in crossbreeds: it is far more likely. It can shorten a life. These are figures for the breed as a whole, not a prediction for your dog.
Listed by likelihood level, highest first, then by how serious it is, then by name.
  • Bone cancer
    Far more likely
    Impact: life-limiting

Lifespan

In UK vet records, the typical Scottish Deerhound lived to about 10 and a half years, shorter than the typical large breed.

Where it comes from

The FCI standard says the Scottish Deerhound has hunted red deer for a thousand years, and that there are grounds for thinking Phoenician traders brought it to Scotland. Highland chieftains kept it to themselves, and by 1769 it had grown very scarce, a decline the club's history, reprinted from the AKC, largely blames on the collapse of the clans after Culloden. Archibald and Duncan McNeill began restoring it around 18254,11.

The Scottish Deerhound's revival in the nineteenth century owed much to Highland sporting estates and Victorian taste. Sir Walter Scott admired deerhounds and wrote of them warmly, and Edwin Landseer painted the breed again and again. A breed club was formed in the eighteen-eighties to protect the type, and Captain George Graham, from the eighteen-sixties, used deerhound blood to rebuild the Irish Wolfhound. The breed was developed to course red deer across open hill country. It hunted by sight and ran alone or in pairs rather than in a pack.

Breed standard

The Scottish Deerhound is judged against standard no. 164, in group 10, Sighthounds4.

Questions people ask

General guidance for dogs rather than a measured Scottish Deerhound figure: most females have a first season somewhere between six and fifteen months, and cycles then settle to roughly every 180 days. Smaller breeds tend to start earlier and larger ones later, so a large breed is most likely at the later end.

Compare with related

Irish Wolfhound
Sighthounds · Giant
Borzoi
Sighthounds · Large
Greyhound
Sighthounds · Large
Saluki
Sighthounds · Medium
Or compare the Scottish Deerhound with any breed you choose
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Sources

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Parts of this page were written by AI ·