Deerhounds

[Deerie me]

They just take your breath away (in more ways than one!)

When you live with them it's generally in the literal way.

Sitting with her bum on the couch and her front feet on the floor...

Loki does that. Idun hasn't yet!

Wow! Thanks for your post!

Glad you enjoyed it.

They are just darling!

I think so too but I'm biased.

[Abbi the dog]

Gorgeous, Gorgeous dogs!!
I so enjoyed reading about them as I also knew only very, very little about this breed.
Thanks for posting!

[pawsforthought]

your dogs are stunning. to me, dogs are a slice of nature in your own house. some are more 'wild at heart' than others but it doesnt matter. what matters is that they themselves enjoy the lives they are given, and it certainly looks like your two do!!

[Deerie me]

They certainly look fairly blissed out at the moment. Both fast asleep.

[pawsforthought]

awww monty's in his 'bedroom' (utility room where he has a nice big soft bed!!!) asleep now!!! at ten he goes off to bed. if you say 'bedtime' he'll jump up then run into his bed lol. poor lad tires himself out lol

this is random but is it true that, um 'skinny' dogs (greyhounds, whippets etc.) aren't supposed to sit down cos its bad for them? ive heard this once just wondered if it was true!!

[Deerie me]

I've heard it said numerous times that sight hounds (skinny dogs) find it uncomfortable to sit but mine don't seem to have an issue with it. A lot of the deerhound owners I know don't teach "sit" but part of the reason for that I was told was so that they don't automatically sit in the show ring.

[tkat]

first let me say your dogs are absolutely beautiful. I did not know anything about them until I read your post. I do have a question for you though. Are deerhounds agressive with other dogs, specifically puppies? The reason I am asking is that I was at petsmart saturday with my dal puppy, i like to bring her their to meet new people. while we were walking down an aisle, a man with a very large deerhound passed us and jumped on top of harlow as he went by. The dog did not bite her, just held her down. Harlow was on a very short lead because I do not allow her to automatically greet strange dogs but he was not on a short lead. The man pulled the dog off but harlow was extremely scared at that point and pulling to leave the store. I guess I just was curious if this is typical for this breed.

[Deerie me]

They do have strong prey drive but that is usually if something runs. Are you sure it wasn't a play pounce? Deerhounds play very roughly, barging into each other and knocking each other over. That is fine with an equally sized Deerhound but not so good when the other dog or animal is smaller. I think other dogs do find Deerhounds intimidating because of their size and Deerhounds are very bouncy when they are young. They can be quite a handful. My two are both young and it can be exhausting on a bad day.

I don't know of any that have been aggressive to other dogs. They are bred to hunt as a pack of four or five so are usually sociable. Adult deerhounds are generally very mellow.

Was it definitely a deerhound? There aren't that many of them around. It could have been a large lurcher although I'd be surprised if that was aggressive either. Sight hounds generally are very chilled as adults. Maybe he was having a bad day.

[tkat]

I am pretty sure it was a deerhound as i saw the man leaving and his van had deerhound stickers all over it. He was a very large dog and did not look young, some white around his muzzle, i don't know enough to know if that is their coloring. harlow was just walking past him, not running when they were even, he jumped on top of her. The man didn't say anything, just jerked the dog away and walked off. Please don't misread this, he did not hurt her (well, maybe her feelings), I just wondered about the breed. He may of just wanted to play, i don't know since his owner did not seem very friendly. But thanks for answering and letting me know about the breed.

[Deerie me]

It does sound like an over enthusiastic play pounce but without being there it is difficult to say.

Deerhounds are grey or brindle. The only amount of white permitted is on the toes and chest.

[Phyrie]

Heh. From what I've read about Deerhounds (all written by our friend here) IF the dog had wanted to hurt your dog, he would have. I have a feeling that it was just a play pounce, as Tracy said. The fact that the man didn't even say anything would seem to confirm that. If he was a breeder, or even just an enthusiast, as the stickers on his car seemed to show, he would have done something to correct a dog that was behaving aggressively. Since he didn't, it's more likely he was embarrassed by his dog's boisterous behaviour.

Phyrie

[Deerie me]

They spring in quite a cat-like fashion when they pounce. Loki was doing it at Pete last night.

[tkat]

Thanks everyone for your posts. Like I said, the dog was probably just playing but now I know more about a different breed!! I love to get info on breeds that I am not familiar with. Thanks for sharing with me!

[Deerie me]

No probs tkat. Anytime.