James V and his daughter Mary Queen of Scots took part in the famous "deer drives," when the Highlanders would drive thousands of deer from the hills and woods and then the deerhounds were let loose on them. The clans had always been the breed's main support, so that the social amnd economic upheavals after Culloden- exile, emigration, the breakuip of the clans- saw the decline of the breed, almost to the point of extinction. However, a few of them kept up, such as the Chief of Glengarry, Alasdair MacDonnell, early in the 19th Century; and in the 1830s Archibald McNeill, Lord Colonsay, who with his brother, Duncan McNeill, undertook to revive the breed.

The sporting rifle was a great danger to the deerhound for it took away his work, with sportsmen preferring to shoot the deer rather than coursing them with dogs as in times past. But the breed's future was assured with the advent of the organized dog show, the first one being held in Newcastle-on-Tyne, England, in 1859. Since then the deerhound has been nurtured for the most part by people who show them; others keep them simply because they are such marvelous companions, devoted and adaptable in the extreme.

"the most perfect creature in heaven"
The words are Sir Walter Scott's, who had a deerhound- perhaps the most famous one of all- Maida. George Cupples, in his book Scotch Deer-Hounds and Their Masters, written almost a hundred years ago, paid tribute to this hound's sterling character:

"His inveterate keenness, no less than his strength, renders him about as bad a foe as mortal creature need wish to face. Yet how gentle and familiar a housemate is he; of all dumb favourites the most decorous by the hearth and table, a marvel of patience with the little dogs; and among the children a plaything that can be handled as they will."

And, A. N. Hartley, today's foremost authority on the breed, having kept deerhounds for more than fifty years- longer than anyone else- adds:

"He is a living link with the spacious past of big logs smouldering on heaps of flaked ashes, of flames glinting on armour, of flaring torches and heralds and minstrels and all the pageantry that has faded from the world we know. He is ours to cherish, not for the work that he might do, but for the pleasure that his gentle dignity, his pleasant companionship and his loyal love can give us."

notes on caring for a deerhound
Because of his size and instinct for coursing prey, a deerhound needs room to "let go," so a fair-sized fenced yard is almost a mandatory requirement for keeping a deerhound. However, his size belies his appetite, for a deerhound consumes perhaps half as much food as another dog of similar size. An adult deerhound should therefore be fed twice a day; up to one year puppies may want 3 meals a day, depending on the weather. Milk (powdered milk is best for economy and digestibility) is particularly beneficial for puppies. Restrained eating habits give these hounds a lean, hardy framework, which may account for the fact that, among the giant breeds, deerhounds are long-lived. It is not uncommon for them to attain a dozen years or so, with no propensity to loss of teeth, eyesight or hearing. Finally, it is important to understand the deerhound's insatiable need for human companionship. He does not take kindly to being kenneled or ignored and is clearly not the dog for you unless you are willing to give him your constant companionship. He will know if you want him only for the status he brings you and will not appreciate being thus used. But, in return for your candid devotion and attention, and for allowing him a small corner of your bed (you will be amazed at how easily this huge hound accommodates himself in the least space), what a friend you have gained, the "perfect companion of your pleasures and your toils."