Editing Scottish Deerhound (section)

== History ==
The [[Hilton of Cadboll Stone]] dates from around 1200 years ago, and depicts at the bottom of the panel a deer being chased by two large dogs and two armed horsemen.<ref>{{cite web| url= https://www.nms.ac.uk/explore-our-collections/stories/scottish-history-and-archaeology/hilton-of-cadboll-stone/ | title = Hilton of Cadboll stone | publisher = National Museum of Scotland| website =nms.ac.uk | date =| accessdate =}}</ref> However, systematic [[zooarchaeology]] and genetics have yet to show any connection between those symbolic representations of dog types and the modern breed, which only became widely known as the ''Scottish Deerhound'' related to English regional greyhounds, such as the Highland greyhound in the early 19th century.<ref>{{cite book|last=Brown|first=T.|title=Biographical sketches and authentic anecdotes of dogs|publisher=|year=1829|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_cC6FoV8cND4C/page/n95 95]}}</ref> The Deerhound was in earlier times believed to be descended from old Gaelic hounds, and therefore closely related to the [[Irish Wolfhound]],<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bell|first=E. Winston|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K958CgAAQBAJ|title=The Scottish Deerhound With Notes On Its Origin And Characteristics|date=5 March 2013|publisher=Read Books Ltd|isbn=978-1-4474-8889-7|pages=24–25|language=en}}</ref> it was in fact the major foundation breed in the late 19th century of the modern Irish Wolfhound.

The Deerhound was bred to hunt [[red deer]] by [[coursing]] and [[deer-stalking]]<ref name= Hbook>{{cite book | last = Macrae | first = Alexander | title=A Handbook of Deer-stalking |place =Edinburgh | publisher =William Blackwood | year =1880 | page=[https://archive.org/details/ahandbookdeerst00macrgoog/page/n91 91]  }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url= https://archive.org/details/sportbrom00bromrich | title=Sport | first = W. Bromley | last = Davenport | year=1885 | access-date=20 January 2009}}</ref> until the end of the nineteenth century. With modern rifles and smaller deer-forests, slower tracking dogs were preferred to fast and far-running Deerhounds. In coursing deer, a single Deerhound or a pair was brought as close as possible to red deer, then released to run one of them down by speed, which if successful would happen within a few minutes<ref name= Hbook /> — rarely were there successful sustained chases.

[[Anne of Denmark]], queen consort of [[James VI and I]], sent deer hounds as gifts to her brother [[Christian IV of Denmark]].<ref>[[Agnes Strickland]], ''Lives of the Queens of England'', 7, p. 360.</ref> With the eventual demise of the [[clan system]]s in Scotland, these hunting dogs became sporting animals for landowners and the nobility, but were also bred and hunted with by common folk when feasible. As fast and silent hunters they made quick work of any game the size of a hare or larger and were highly regarded by nobility and [[Poaching|poachers]] alike. One of the most precarious times in the breed's history seems to have been towards the end of the nineteenth century, when many of the large Scottish estates were split into small estates for sporting purposes, and few then kept Deerhounds. The new fashion was for stalking and shooting, which required only a tracking dog to follow the wounded animal, using a collie or similar breed. Although a few estates still employed Deerhounds for their original work, the breed was left in the hands of a few enthusiasts who made them a show breed.{{cn|date=February 2024}}

Teddy Roosevelt wrote that some Canadian and American hunters used "the greyhound, whether the smooth-haired, or the rough-coated Scotch deer-hound" on the wolf<ref>{{cite book | last =Roosevelt | first =T. | year = 1908 | title = Hunting the grisly and other sketches | place =New York | pages= [https://archive.org/details/huntinggrislyoth00roosrich/page/194 194–95]}}</ref> and deer<ref>{{cite book | last1= Roosevelt | first1=T. | year = 2009 | last2= Remington | first2= F. | title= Ranch life and the hunting trail| publisher= Courier Corporation | pages= [https://books.google.com/books?id=agw_AwAAQBAJ&dq=Roosevelt+ranchlife&pg=PP1 140–43]}}</ref> Dr. Q van Hummell also remarks on his Deerhound pack being used on timber wolves and coyotes.<ref>{{cite book | editor-first = G. O. | editor-last = Shields | year = 1891 | title= The American book of the dog | pages= [https://archive.org/details/americanbookofdo00shie/page/184 185–87]}}</ref>
In Australia, Deerhounds and their cross-breeds such as the [[Kangaroo Dog]] have historically been used to hunt the kangaroo as well as wild boar,<ref>{{cite book| last= Arthur | first= J. K. | year= 1894 | title= Kangaroo and Kauri: Sketches and Anecdotes of Australia and New Zealand | url= https://archive.org/details/kangarooandkaur00arthgoog/page/n71| pages= 71–100| publisher=Sampson Low, Marston}}</ref> modern descriptions of such hunts with Deerhounds on kangaroo and [[emu]] have been recorded by Kenneth Cassels.<ref>{{cite book | last= Cassels | first= K.A.H.| year= 1997 | title=A Most Perfect Creature of Heaven: The Scottish Deerhound| publisher= | isbn= }}</ref>