On another forum im on - it seems that some people are in the thinking
that deerhounds that are being shown are totaly different to deerhounds that work,

Bit like you have the split between labs, the ones that are shown are different to the ones that work.

I dont think this is the case - what thoughts do others have?

Up until the point when coursing was banned, which is only about five years ago in England and Wales, and eight years ago in Scotland, we used to show our coursing dogs and course our show dogs and quite often they were the same dogs and they won at both. That's only one or two generations ago. So no, there isn't a split in KC registered Deerhounds yet. Remember that there is also an unregistered population of Deerhounds which may well be used for work, but because they're not KC registered we don't see them in the show ring, although some may be exhibited at lurcher shows.

However, since it's illegal to work Deerhounds in Great Britain on hare or deer, the question is really whether type will change as a result of show ring pressure and that depends on judges more than anything. There have always been recognisable kennel types in Deerhounds and they all fit the breed standard - it's a pretty flexible blueprint and is open to interpretation by the judge. Personally, I'd be very sorry to see type converging to reflect what's winning so that we narrow the gene pool even further - always a dangerous road to go down.

I hope not, it would be very sad if the Deerhound ended up like the Greyhound where the version shown in the ring would be incapable of chasing anything. Lets hope there are anough discerning judges and that the Deerhound keeps its functional form.

Pam

This is the comment that infulanced me to post.



As i had posted on a thread about layla going out this sunday
on her first day ferriting (should be fun )
i would be sadened if deerhounds did end up like greyhounds or labs.

chook wrote:


Working people can be just as prejudiced as show people, it seems. Show dogs may not be working fit, but the instinct is definitely still there as some of us know well. It doesn't take much to trigger it.

Wouldnt mind Sid - but this person has never owned a true working dog,
she does have a deerhound, but failed to get it working.



At one stage i did think layla would never have any drive, recently that did change,
as has her fitness.

I cant help but think there are already two types of Deerhounds in the UK...those that follow traditional hunting form and conformation...and the other a weak..badly put-together creature that is good as a footstool...and nowt else....to my eye... this is only down to insufficient thought being given to the finished article when choosing breeding lines...and has nothing to do with show success...and even less to do with "working ability"...just a thought...

Of the 5 dhs I have/have had I would only consider 2 (or perhaps 3) to do the work , the other 2 might have been more successful in the show ring or not ....- I mean , not going after plastic or hares even , but larger prey . All of them make great pets , but not that many I think , are able to do the work - HB's words do resonate somewhat with me and I often feel a pity for those " miss- constructed " hounds , wose breeders might not have any understanding how function " creates " form and what would be necessary to have a truly athletic / functional and beautiful deerhound . And , the 3 I am talking about all have various degrees of australian working lines in them , and are bred by 3 breeders for whom soundness and function was/is the most important aspect.
Seems discussions of that kind happened already a few times on here....