No More Hunting with Deerhounds.

The Hunting Debate

Until now I have avoided the debate on whether deerhounds need to be hunted to keep the breed specific to its original type.

It is no secret that I hunted with deerhounds, staghounds, greyhounds, afghans and cross bred pig dogs but gave up using my dogs for hunting years ago.

I do however run my dogs every day in an area that abounds in large wildlife including both fallow and red deer, kangaroos, goats, red-neck and swamp wallabies and emus.

Apart from occasionally running with some of these animals, out of sheer exhilaration and a need to “test” their speed, the dogs stay within the boundaries they have been trained to respect i.e. unsealed 2 chain roads when run from the “one-tonner” and the farm’s boundaries when escorted on foot.

Although there is plenty of timber and scrub, they are kept in sight at all times by voice command.

This behaviour does not happen by accident. The dogs are meticulously disciplined by methods employed from day one of their first run. Physical intimidation is not employed, however, restriction by long lead as pups is fairly routine.

The reason they do not attack the animals in the heat of the “run” is the same as that applies to the farm animals. They are familiarized as pups and disciplined to respect their right to be in the same environment.

Apart from a “kill” on these excursions the dogs are exercising all of their instincts, explosive sprints, unflagging staying power and negotiation of rough broken ground with fallen trees, thick scrub and high gates and fences. Their recognition by sight and scent of all of the animals around them is obvious by their alert and excited demeanor well before I get visual confirmation.
When a ten-point-red-buck’s worst nightmare bursts on the scene and is called to heel, the atmosphere is electric and the deerhound’s wistful expression says it all.

The dogs are run morning and night and if I’m a bit slack they let me know all about it. I have a specially adapted stock crate on the one-tonner both for the dogs’ safety and as I travel a bit, and a half-tarp on the crate assures that their comfort is guaranteed the crate never exceeding the ambient temperature, unlike an enclosed vehicle where temperature control is impossible in summer without the air conditioner turned on.

But the real beauty of a deerhound is its temperament and character and the subtle uniqueness of each individual. This extraordinary gift is wasted if the dog needs to be forever restrained by cage or chain because of an unbridled hunting instinct unnecessarily instilled by blooding young hounds in a world where the need has long ceased to exist.

I am well aware of the pride exhibited by a dog that has hunted well and do not have an axe to grind with those who hunt per se. However, I have been on both sides of the fence and can see no reason to believe the deerhound will be any the less for not hunting.

Wally Atkinson