Scottish Deerhound

Sighthounds

Large

Median 10.5 y

FCI group 10 · Sighthounds · Derived from the adult weight midpoint (41.4 kg)

Median survival across 617 UK dogs (VetCompass, McMillan 2024) · half live 8–12 y

The Scottish Deerhound, or simply the Deerhound, is a breed of large sighthound, once bred to hunt the red deer by coursing. In outward appearance it is similar to the Greyhound, but larger and more heavily boned, with a rough coat.

Gentle

Dignified

Polite

Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA) · reference ranges from the Kintail breed dataset

Adult weight

Reference

Male

38.6–49.9 kg

Female

34–43.1 kg

Breed club figure (the American Kennel Club)

Weight for age

Stock data

Male

Female

Expected range

Expected range from the breed's own adult weight, kilograms. Growth reference: Hawthorne et al. 2004, WALTHAM (five giant-breed fits, n=35).

Heat cycles · females

Stock data

First heat

8–12 mo

typical

Interval

180 d

typical

Bleeding

~9 d

typical

Proestrus 9d

Estrus 9d

Diestrus 52d

Anestrus 110d

General figures for dogs, not for this breed — individual cycles vary widely.

Questions people ask

Adult males usually weigh 38.6–49.9 kg and females 34–43.1 kg. Most are close to their full size by around 13 months, though the last little bit of filling out takes longer. Growth reference: Hawthorne et al. 2004, WALTHAM (five giant-breed fits, n=35).

No Scottish Deerhound cycle figures are published here yet, so this is general guidance rather than a breed number: 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.

The median is 10.5 y. Median survival across 617 UK dogs (VetCompass, McMillan 2024) · half live 8–12 y. How the later years go comes down to weight, teeth, exercise and regular check-ups far more than to the breed.