GENERAL APPEARANCE
Shoulder height: 71-76cm.
Colour: Dark blue/grey, grey, brindle, red or fawn with black points.
Coat: Harsh shaggy coat 7-10cm long.
Gait: Springy and free flowing with plenty of drive. 
These tall sighthounds are built on racy lines with heads carried high. The soft dark eyes are set midway in the long skull -the muzzle has a good moustache and some beard. The velvety ears are normally rose shaped but may be erect when excited. Although the body is similar to the general conformation of a greyhound, the Deerhound’s body is larger with more bone.
The hindlegs are well bent at the stifle and have great length from hip to hock and well knuckled compact feet. Like the greyhound, the tail is very long reaching, almost to the ground when stationary.
CHARACTERISTICS AND CARE
Gentle sighthounds like these are extremely easy to live with and need plenty of exercise either playing with another dog, or running in the park.
They make excellent companions for joggers. Possessing deep intuition as to what is right or wrong, they adapt easily to different situations; however, they will not respond to harsh discipline. Their shaggy coats need periodic brushing to remove dead hair and prevent shedding in the house.
HISTORY
The origins of the Deerhound lie in the history of Scotland and presumably evolved from crosses of the greyhound to rough coated local dogs. For centuries they were highly ‘valued by Scottish chieftains for stalking, hunting and holding deer. The human association has resulted in their close affinity to people, but for a while the possessivenes of their Scottish owners almost made it extinct. However in 1825 after the author Sir Walter Scott had described Deerhounds as being “The most perfect creature in
Heaven”, coupled with the artist Landseer depicting them in many of his paintings, the breed was re-established and these dogs were restored to their rightful place in the canine aristocracy.